Lord of the Flies

Title: Lord of the Flies

Author: William Golding

Pages: 208

Genre: Fiction

Letter Grade: A

Synopsis: The Lord of the Flies is a novel about a groups of young boys who are stranded on a deserted tropical island after a plane wreck. There are three kinds of boys in this novel. The first group are those who follow Ralph. He was the first leader elected no the island and represents democracy and order. The main character of the book, Piggy, is a part of Ralph's group. Piggy is the clearest thinking and most adult-like character in the book. This group shrinks as the book progresses. The second group of boys were the choir-boys. They originally went along with Ralph as the leader but found it more exciting to be with Jack and to go hunting with him. Eventually Jack takes over this group of boys and they begin to turn into evil savages. Roger, one of the boys in the group is expecially devilish and delights in harming other living creatures. The third group of boys on the island are the 'littluns', about whom the book talks little. The novel focuses on how the two groups develop and how Ralph's group is focused on being rescued while the boys in Jack's group live without planning for the future. The book follows the boys as many of them transition from being civilized to utterly barbaric.

My Review: This book can be a hard one to stomach. It is a fascinating, thought-provoking social commentary on how quickly we humans can change for the worse. The book is chock-full of symbolism and allegory. One of the main themes of the book is when Simon (who is good, clean and possibly symbolic of a Christ figure) has spent time in nature thinking when he comes upon the pig's head on a stick. The head is covered in flies and seem to almost be moving. SImon imagines the head talking to him. The head confirms to him that the beast on the island (that everybody is afraid of) really comes from within. He knew this all along and when he staggers out of the forest to tell the other boys about what he has learned, he finds them in the midst of their hunting dance celebrating a recent kill. The boys, thinking him to be the beast, attack and kill him. The book leaves an impression and gets you thinking about how you would act under similar circumstances. Most of us probably don't see us as a part of Jack's group, but do we really know?

1776

Title: 1776

Author: David McCullough

Pages: 294 (plus notes)

Genre: History, non-fiction

Letter Grade: A

Synopsis: This is the story of the American Revolution. The book actually begins in October 1775. It mainly tells the story of the Continental Army and their struggles. It paints a vivid picture of George Washington and the leader that he was. The American Patriots Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox also play a large role in the story of the revolution. The roles of the British Commander, Sir William Howe, his armies and the Hessian mercenaries are also related vividly and dramatically. Although the war didn't end until 1783, many of the most important battles were fought during 1776. This was not a good year for the Americans. They lost virtually every battle and saw very little success. The year did end on a good note though and gave the Americans momentum heading into the new year.

My Review: The book begins rather slowly as it is laying the framework for the rest of the book. Once the war begins though, it is hard to put this book down. If I didn't know the ending already, I would never believe how it would turn out. McCullough has an incredible talent to bring the stories to life. From accounts of people that were there he paints a picture so vivid that you know what is going on on both sides of the lines and what the generals were thinking. He takes very little literary freedom. My only complaint is that the book ends at the end of 1776 and doesn't continue on until present day. If history books were written like this, history would be everybody's favorite subject.

Map of Bones

Title: Map of Bones

Author: James Rollins

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 448

Letter Grade: A-

Synopsis: The book begins with a group of hooded men that invade midnight mass at a cathedral in Cologne, Germany. Rather than steal the golden coffin for which the cathedarl is famous, they take the relics from inside the sarcophagus and leave the golden coffin. The relics are supposedly the bones of the three wise men. This crime brings together a small American Sigma force team a Vatican historian and a Roman Carabinieri lieutenant. They go on a chase after the medieval Dragon Court which is still operating in the Catholic Church. They find out that the bones of the magi are not bones at all but a special monatomic gold that allows them to have special powers. The Dragon Court has stolen the bones because they are trying to bring about Armageddon.

My Review: I really liked this book. In many ways it is similar to the Da Vinci Code. I think that I liked this book just as much. Both books have a group of people chasing a secret ancient society and trying to solve a puzzle that has baffled people for hundreds of years. Amazingly, the main characters in both books are able to solve the puzzles in a matter of days. The people in Map of Bones are realistic and the dialogue is intriguing. The plot is clever and makes the book very hard to put down.