Fire Down Below by William Golding (1989)

WARNING: This review contains spoilers. You might not want to read it if you intend to read the trilogy.



This is the last volume of Golding's To the Ends of the Earth trilogy. The first volume, Rites of Passage reviewed in March), is outstanding, extraordinarily well written and meaningful, and can be read as a stand-alone novel. The second installment, Close Quarters (reviewed just previously), is still accomplished, but it is obviously a middle section. It narrates a series of events, some being tense and exciting and some being almost surreal, and then stops, with no climax. It cannot be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. Fire Down Below, which brings the story of a young man's long sea journey to a close, would not be very understandable as a stand-alone either, and it ends in a seemingly happily-ever-after anti-climax that at first glance seems inappropriate and, indeed, improbable coming from the pen of the generally pessimistic Golding. But the Golding who wrote this near the end of his life is much more subtle than the Golding who wrote Lord of the Flies.

To the Ends of the Earth could perhaps be read and enjoyed as an exceedingly well written sea adventure in the style and voice of a typical 19th Century novel, complete with a seemingly doomed love match turning out well against all expectations. The accounts in this last volume of a catastrophic storm and a close encounter with an iceberg are riveting. The conversations between the narrator Edmund Talbot and an activist fellow passenger seem to inspire the young aristocrat, and yet.... At the end of the voyage, young Edmond appears to have learned nothing from the experiences of the long trip. He returns to his life of privilege and leaves the lessons behind.

Thus, upon further reflection, I believe that the entire story should be understood as a metaphor for man's seeming inability to learn from mistakes and to permanently change for the better. In that sense, the trilogy tells a much more cynical story than is first apparent. The double understanding of the novel is hinted at by the double meaning that can be attached to the titles of each of the three books. In this case, the "fire down below" refers to a literal fire caused by the heating of metal to attempt to repair the faltering ship. It is also a phrase used metaphorically by the crusading activist to name the divine spark from God in each man which would inspire him to serving others. Throughout, sea terms are used which have since transferred to metaphors for common life situations. For example, a common phrase for peace making, "pouring oil on troubled waters," is revealed to have an actual literal meaning, when sailors pour oil in the sea to calm the waves.

Throughout the history of literature, a long journey, particularly a voyage by sea, has been used by writers to symbolize the education of a young man through trials. That's what Golding has done here. Except that his hero seems to have learned nothing. And that's pessimistic, for sure.

As I said, this is a very subtle book. I hope I have not misunderstood it and attributed more to Golding than he intended. Has anyone else out there read this series? Comments?