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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.
peathag's review
5.0
"The people are like a famished wolf in the hollow of a tree. The people are like honey trickling from a crevice in the rock. The people are like honey in the round stones, the new honey that smells of dead things and fire. They are like the river and the fall, they are a people of the fall, nothing stands against them. They are Oa."
A somewhat pessimistic view of humanity, told through the lens of simpler, kinder Neanderthals who gaze at Homo sapiens through the bushes. Golding shows humans as fearful, warmongering people. Considering he wrote The Inheritors shortly after WW2 this view comes as no surprise.
A somewhat pessimistic view of humanity, told through the lens of simpler, kinder Neanderthals who gaze at Homo sapiens through the bushes. Golding shows humans as fearful, warmongering people. Considering he wrote The Inheritors shortly after WW2 this view comes as no surprise.
quirpele's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
will need to reread to soak it all in more. fabulous book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Kidnapping
clarke_ali's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
worldwidewouter's review
2.0
This was so boring that I did not at all register what was going on, so I can barely tell you what this book was about.
angelayoung's review against another edition
4.0
This is the gentlest and the saddest book about the coming of so-called civilisation that I know. The Neanderthals are portrayed as a simple telepathic race whose rituals and ways of communicating are peaceful and careful of others of their number, and other living things. There is an old woman who is charged with the carrying of the fire from camp to camp. It is sacred work and they are a gentle people who understand only slowly that the 'sticks' the 'new people' send their way are meant to harm them. The final chapter is written from the new people's point of view ... .
reading_on_the_road's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting and certainly original book, this documents the first encounter of a group of Neanderthals with their successors. It is at times a bit of a confusing read, as it is told from the viewpoint of Lok, who is not the brightest member of the group, which is why I've marked it down slightly.
jjweisman's review against another edition
4.0
The earliest I've read written from within the mind of a true "other". A beautiful, tantalizingly familiar worldview imperiled by an ending we already know.