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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Ode to Obsession,
By
This review is from: The Spire (Paperback)
"The Spire" manages to brush up against the successful elements of Golding's best work. Although it never reaches the heights of the brilliant "The Lord of the Flies," it does paint vivid and fragmented pictures of man come undone.William Golding, after seeing the horrors of war firsthand, rejected the foundational thought of humanism that "man is basically good." In "The Lord of the Flies," he used concise language and haunting symbolism to validate his thoughts. And, by creating sympathetic characters, he drew us into his viewpoint. Few of his other novels create such sympathy. It is as though he bought into his own philosophy so deeply that he no longer found value in his fellow man. "Pincher Martin" and "Free Fall" left me impressed with his skills, but intellectually unmoved. In "The Spire," he moves me again. At first, his protagonist--an anti-hero in every sense--is hard to sympathize with in any fashion. The man, Dean Jocelin, is driven to the point of obsession and insanity by his need to serve God, or, ultimately his need to feel worthy in God's sight. He demands obedience and servitude from those around him, driving them to complete his vision of a 400 ft spire above his cathedral. In the process, some will die, others will lose faith, hope, and love. Only as Jocelin comes to terms with his fallibility do we begin to care about the doomed outcome of his dream. Only as he admits his own pride and stubborness do we hope for his absolution, deserved or not. This book is an ode to all those who become obsessed by religion and love, who strive for something to the point of sacrificing everything of true value along the way. Here, finally, Golding once again finds a way to show the madness of humanity while still proferring a glimmer of hope.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superior Fiction,
By
This review is from: The Spire (Paperback)
Golding constructs a fictional account around a real occurrence, the building of a tall spire at Salisbury Cathedral, near where Golding lived.
It is Golding's "Macbeth", whereas "Flies" may be seen as "Hamlet". Short, impressionistic, unrelenting, "The Spire" is writing at its best. There is a lack of physical description, leaving that to the reader's imagination, but much fine dialogue. This is why I have always thought it would make a sensational film (I have always seen Alec Guiness in the role of Jocelyn). Characters are well drawn, there are inter and intra personal conflicts between Roger, the Master Builder, and Jocelyn, who thinks he is doing God's work and that Roger's skills are his instrument. Jocelyn, who rose rapidly to become Dean of the Church, is resented by others who had been there longer. At the end, Roger is a drunken wreck, and Jocelyn finds out the truth about his appointment as Dean. It is a crushing revelation, which finally kills him. On his deathbed, he asks to be helped up so that he can see the Spire, which has finally been completed. It took a terrible toll in human life, but this tribute to God is still standing today and can be seen for miles on the flat Salisbury Plain. This is a much less symbolic story than "Flies", and a lot less heavy handed, and that is why I feel it is much superior. It is a very human story of hubris, obsession, false hope, and ultimate ruination, and Golding accomplishes all this in a very short book. It is like a long epic poem, and while its writing style may take a little getting used to, it is well worth the effort. To me, this book is a bona fide classic. Do yourself a favor and read it. You will never forget it.
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the finest novels in the English canon.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Spire (Paperback)
William Golding's reach in this novel is prodigious. Not only does he demonstrate that the one historical constant is human nature, he also manages to flesh out the scope of behaviour admitted in one particlar human being. The novel takes the reader back in time and to an historically, as well as geographically, foreign place. It deals with how human beings cope with pain, loss, ambition, vision and the tenderest of feelings. The novel is a tour de force.
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