Reviews

The Inheritors by William Golding

angus_mckeogh's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting concept. Liked how Neanderthal was constantly trying to describe everyday things that we understand but he doesn't. A little sad and at times confusing even to the reader. Which was likely the goal. Overall good.

neonskylite's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book was harder to read than Riddley Walker, a book entirely written in a decayed form of English.

I picked this up because I have an interest in prehistoric humans and as part of a readathon. If the readathon's rules let me get points from a book I didn't finish I would have DNFed by Chapter 5. You can see some interesting flashes of Golding's Neanderthals (they are mildly telepathic, they worship glaciers, they are almost entirely herbivorous but scavenge meat) underneath his prose written to emulate their speech which manages to be both sparse and completely unclear at some critical moments of action - a character died but I didn't know how or where she was dying to the point I had three different explanations in my mind, and at the climax there are two characters who I think are supposed to be dead but almost fell out of the narrative entirely.

At the end of this book, the main character

gives up and lies in a ditch in despair

which I felt like doing when finishing it. Maybe it is due to me being one of those cruel murderous Homo sapiens who couldn't connect with the Neanderthals but I will forget Lok and everything about him by tomorrow.

ejcoates's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nichecase's review against another edition

2.0

answers the question no one was asking: what if language was free of signification or comparison?

thecatwhowalksbyhimself's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

lostgwennel's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

juliettreip's review against another edition

2.0

This book is about a group of Neanderthals who are threatened and driven away by a new race - the Homo sapiens. I chose to read this book because I liked the concept of the book, and the originality. The reason I have given it such a low rating is because of the language - for most of the book I honestly had no idea what was going on, because of Golding's writing style. This meant that I also couldn't find the story engaging at all; I struggled to read more than a few pages at a time, and I also ended up reading pages without taking any of it in. I've actually been trying to finish this book since last Christmas - the only reason I finished it at all is because I hate to start books without finishing them.

Maybe I have too short an attention span, or Golding's writing style is just too complicated for me. Either way, I did not enjoy this book at all, and will be glad to see the back of it.

rivermaxfield's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Golding's ability is phenomenal and on full display in this book. To so thoroughly imagine and realize in prose the vastly different minds of our relatives, Neanderthals, takes immense skill. As a reader, I was engulfed in this way of thinking, viewing the world through strange eyes. It is definitely challenging and slow going; the narrator is unable to formulate thoughts out stories in the way we are used to, so much interpretive work must be done to understand the plot, and the world portrayed. But this challenge is well worth it, especially since Golding’s writing is so poetic. This novel expertly brings to life a unique premise in an enchanting way.

wearywyvern's review against another edition

3.0

Golding is excellent at getting you into the heads of his characters, especially where those heads aren't exactly like yours. That gift makes this both a challenging book and an excellent one. There were times when I had worked so hard seeing the world through the eyes -- and minds -- of the Neanderthal protagonist that i needed to take a break. Hard work though it is, The Inheritors is worth the effort. It will challenge your idea of what it means to be a person if not what it means to be human.

zoekyriacou's review against another edition

3.0

Felt the end half got more engaging. Interesting perspective. Good for analysis on humans relationship to nature, sociality, thought, patriarchy and superiority to other animals. Would personally recommend ‘Sapiens’ imagining of Neanderthal’s more. Was a bit of a struggle to get through although well written.