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emmalouix's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't know what made me think a novel by the guy who wrote 'Lord of the Flies' wouldn't be depressing.
'The Inheritors' is about a small tribe of neanderthals and their devastating encounter with a group of homo sapiens. It was hard to get into at first, because of the story being told from the point of view of a rather dim member of the tribe.
Golding is a gifted writer, however, and the characters and the story become clear. I found it hard to concentrate on it and events took place so suddenly, so subtly, that I didn't even know they had taken place until pages later.
All in all it was a quick read and a far more interesting approach to the interactions between early humans than Jean M. Auel would have produced. Her version would be 2000 pages of sex behind convenient shrubbery, mentions of the Earth Mother, followed by more sex behind convenient shrubbery.
'The Inheritors' is about a small tribe of neanderthals and their devastating encounter with a group of homo sapiens. It was hard to get into at first, because of the story being told from the point of view of a rather dim member of the tribe.
Golding is a gifted writer, however, and the characters and the story become clear. I found it hard to concentrate on it and events took place so suddenly, so subtly, that I didn't even know they had taken place until pages later.
All in all it was a quick read and a far more interesting approach to the interactions between early humans than Jean M. Auel would have produced. Her version would be 2000 pages of sex behind convenient shrubbery, mentions of the Earth Mother, followed by more sex behind convenient shrubbery.
greenspe's review against another edition
4.0
A family of Neanderthals struggles with fascination, bewilderment, and the threat of extinction when they encounter the first humans.
Very slow going in the beginning (I almost stopped halfway) but it really picks up in the middle and only gets better from there. Nearly every scene with the band of humans is great, and the last two chapters are thoughtful and incredibly heartbreaking. Because it's William Golding, there's tons of natural symbolism and religious allusion, if you're into that. A really great counterpoint to Lord of the Flies, Golding's first novel.
Many passages in this novel reminded me of Sufi mysticism a la Doris Lessing, but I couldn't find anything online to support a deeper connection. More research needed.
Very slow going in the beginning (I almost stopped halfway) but it really picks up in the middle and only gets better from there. Nearly every scene with the band of humans is great, and the last two chapters are thoughtful and incredibly heartbreaking. Because it's William Golding, there's tons of natural symbolism and religious allusion, if you're into that. A really great counterpoint to Lord of the Flies, Golding's first novel.
Many passages in this novel reminded me of Sufi mysticism a la Doris Lessing, but I couldn't find anything online to support a deeper connection. More research needed.
enoughgaiety's review
3.0
Vastly underrated novel by the author of [b:The Lord of the Flies|7624|Lord of the Flies|William Golding|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg|2766512]. I actually think it has a slight edge over that more famous book, and it certainly serves as an interesting companion piece in its portrayal of the brutality of early man.
teodoramar's review against another edition
1.0
It took me sooooooo long to read. Should've just abandoned it tbh. I got it for my birthday years ago and now I understood why I kept it on the shelf all these years lol.
sanya986's review against another edition
3.0
There is somewhere a great idea that author wanted to accomplish. It is a short story actually, about crucial events in life of a neanderthal tribe. It is told from their perspective, so I personally couldn't always grasp the story line because things around them are described as they saw them. For an example, they said "log" instead of "boat" because, obviously, they never encountered one before. But it took me a page or two to realize this. And the whole book was confusing in this way. Not to mention descriptions of nature, which was by far the worst to decipher. The story itself is much deeper and I think that is what comes second although it should be more strike out. It speaks about earliest human nature and our animal insticts and of course, always with our struggle to survive no matter what we do to hurt and destroy everything we stumble upon. We will never change. So, to sum up everything, 1 star for the narration and 5 for the plot line, it totals 3 stars. I should read it again, now that I know now to read it...
lucytulloh's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. A difficult and unusual subject matter which intrigued me. I loved the language which so beautifully described the 'people' - the Neanderthals - and their ways. Their naivety is sad but endearing. There are some incredibly tense/brutal moments, but I did struggle through some sections. It started slowly, and I found some of the descriptive scenes hard to follow, but I think on a second reading I will do better (indeed I have read some other reviews insisting on a second read). It's definitely left me with a lot to think about.
night_owl's review against another edition
2.0
if the point is to make you as confused as his neanderthal and early hominid characters then it successful. narrative is very hard to follow because it is from POV of a character who does not speak our language or perceive the world in the same way a modern person would so descriptions of even simple things like sticks, hair, animals, and characters faces, and virtually all the environment, are often ambiguous and msileading and they don't share our vocabulary in any sense (they speak in 'pictures' and refer to characters in vague descriptors such as 'the new one' or the other one). it really undermines what he sets out to accomplish when you can't figure out simple details like general geography of the setting or how many people are present in a scene or whether they are a the top or bottom of a waterfall. really disappointed with this one, and that is after discounting the many assumptions about neanderthals and early hominid that have been proven false since this was published in 1955
originaljbone's review against another edition
5.0
If I give every book I read a five star rating does that suggest I only read REALLY good books or that I'm lazy about appointing stars? Whatever.
The Inheritors was a tough book at times, though Golding was skilled at writing from the Neanderthal point of view. Most details are clearly expressed. A few times I was lost but figured out by plowing through.
The Inheritors was a tough book at times, though Golding was skilled at writing from the Neanderthal point of view. Most details are clearly expressed. A few times I was lost but figured out by plowing through.