The Pyramid by William Golding (1967)

The Pyramid is in essence three short novellas all featuring the same protagonist. The first story introduces 18-tear-old Oliver in the summer before his going up to Oxford. The time is that of early automobiles and silent movies and the place in a small village in rural England. Young Oliver narrates his story of unrequited puppy love for one girl and the sexual pursuit of another. The second story takes place after his first term at university and concerns an amateur theatrical that his mother persuades him to participate in. The third story is narrated by Oliver as an older married man when he returns to his home village and remembers his childhood music teacher.

Golding's first and most famous novel, The Lord of the Flies, did not take long to plainly reveal that an island adventure tale was actually concerned with much darker matters. His "Beast" was obviously meant to symbolize the evil impulse in all of us. But in later novels, Golding became much more subtle, so that it takes a good while for a reader to realize that this seemingly whimsical, sometimes almost farcical, story is in reality an indictment of the unthinking hurtfulness inflicted because of class snobbery. The title gives a clue, because the only pyramid here is the social pyramid, with a few at the top, more in the middle, and a great many at the bottom. In Golding's view, each group considers the group below it as undeserving of respect or common consideration.

I love reading Golding because his writing is impeccable and he always gives me something to think about. I agree with him that all humans are flawed, but sometimes his outlook does become a bit depressing. My advice: Read all Golding's novels, not just Lord of the Flies. He didn't win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987 for only his most famous novel. Just don't read them one after another. You might sink into depression at the hopelessness of it all.


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Side Note: I read up on Golding's life (as available on the internet) and found something interesting. British writer John Carey wrote a memoir about the author in 2009 in which he revealed that, according to Golding's journals, he attempted to rape a 15-year-old girl from his home village when he was 18. A similar incident is part of the first story in this novel. Also according to his journals, he felt he had something "monstrous" inside himself. Don't we all?