"I am in awe of this book, Golding's craft, and his work in general (I have also read "Lord of the Flies" and "Darkness Visible"). The writing itself, whatever one thinks of the plot, is transcendent. I am impressed by what must have been prodigious research on Golding’s part to gain insight in the world of the Neanderthals, about whose specific reality modern man can only speculate. Whatever the Neanderthals lacked in intellectual capability, they more than made up for in their ability to use their senses, especially that of smell. As well as their possible telekinetic activity, which would have been unencumbered by more advanced intellectual processes. Golding's Neanderthals have an intuitive grasp of their world that is lacking in the modern human; on the other hand, the Neanderthals also live more wholly at the mercy of "Oa" (Mother Earth). The innocence of the Neanderthals is endearing, the "new people" Homo sapiens are dangerous and menacing. I felt compassion for the Neanderthals, and contempt for "the new people". The emotion that binds both species together is fear; -IE- Homo sapiens refer to the Neanderthals as "devils"; Fa tells Lok that “the new people are frightened of the air”.

The prose within "The Inheritors" is highly poetic; Golding paints an intricate portrait of a primeval landscape, such as our planet will probably never experience again; this description in itself adds to the atmosphere of suspense the author creates in this novel. It is not just that landscape in itself that is impressionable, but also how it is perceived by the Neanderthals and their "mind-dream-pictures"; -IE- the heightened colors seen by Lok during his hangover from the honey-drink. Golding shrouds his worlds in mystery to create a background of heightened effect, which becomes an integral part of the story; Richard Wagner used a similar technique by employing the orchestra as an additional "voice" in “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. One of the major themes of this book focuses on the evolution of innocence into corruption; a problem that unfortunately still exists in humans today. Another theme is that of the Machiavellian nature of mankind as a whole, specifically in how that behaviour was starting to evolve in Golding's portrait of Homo sapiens. I actually think this work is more engaging than the more commercially accessible LOTF (and certainly more so than the experimental-yet-inconsistent "Darkness Visible”). Golding is a recent discovery of mine, and I am looking forward to reading more of his work.
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"Now thanks to Quo’s (Bill’s) review of The Spire I came back to Golding after reading Lord of the Flies eons ago. The Inheritors is the third of his novels and surprisingly for me I have read all three…in order.

Story of a small group of Neanderthal’s ( peace loving, only eat meat that has not been killed by them, connecting through images in their head). Meeting a small group of homo sapiens ( using bows and arrows and other weapons, killing animals, drinking alcohol- fermented honey). The homo sapiens kill some of the Neanderthals and capture a young child.

Brilliant writing, well paced and deeply evocative of the times and peoples. I will remember Lok and Fa for a long time. (John Fogerty at Glastonbury so will finish now)."

"I read this twice in close succession. I read it, then I read it again. The two readings were necessary, and not because William Golding failed in any way, but because his novel, The Inheritors welcomes so much failure from his readers -- I don't say this lightly.

I taught this for the first time this year, and it was beyond my first year university students. The Inheritors challenges. It challenges readers to work hard. It challenges readers to pay attention. It challenges readers to empathize. It challenges readers to think about themselves and humanity. It challenges readers to consider other ways of seeing the world. It challenges readers to question the things they hold true. It challenges readers to look in the mirror. It challenges readers to actually read!

The Inheritors is a damning criticism of us and what makes us us. It is an attack on the civilizing drive of humans and a call to consider the wreckage we left behind and continue to create.

Mostly it is a scream into a vaccuum that swallows all sound, reminding me of my favourite contemporary authors, like ki hope, who can imagine others that the rest of us wouldn't even remember let alone imagine. It reminds me how much I miss the people (... or that person ...) that voice such important messages.

The Inheritors is a difficult read. But a necessary one for anyone who cares about life and living. "