
The Spire (Paperback)
William Golding (author), Ben Myers (author of introduction)Published: 07/10/2021

Filled with staggering beauty and mind-invading unease, this incandescent tale of obsession and vanity from the Nobel Prize-winning author of Lord of the Flies sees the ambitions of a man of the cloth spiral out of control.
Succumb to a churchman's apocalyptic vision in this prophetic tale by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Benjamin Myers (narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch as an audiobook).
There were three sorts of people. Those who ran, those who stayed, and those who were built in. Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire. His master builder fearfully advises against it, for the old cathedral was miraculously built without foundations. But Jocelin is obsessed with fashioning his prayer in stone.
As his halo of hair grows wilder and his dark angel darker, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, watched over by the gargoyles - until the stone pillars shriek, the earth beneath creeps, and the spire's shadow falls like an axe on the medieval world below...
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 9780571362332
Number of pages: 272
Weight: 228 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 16 mm
Edition: Main
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Astounding ... So recklessly beautiful, so sad and so strange ... Holds such a place in my soul that it's more or less a sacred text.' - Sarah Perry
'A kind of miracle ... Genius.' - Guardian
'A visionary ... Golding at his best.' - Benjamin Myers
'Quite simply, a marvel.' - NYRB
'A superb tragedy ... A classic.' - Rebecca West
'A master fabulist .. An iconoclast.' - John Fowles
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“The Spire”
A powerful satire on the frailties of pride and the complexities of religion as a project to build a monumental Catherdral turns into chaos when ego and ambition dominate. Funny in parts, this novel remains a pointed,... More
“The Spire”
The Spire is an atmospheric, troubling tale of obsession and hubris. Dean Jocelin believes that he has a divine mission, that God has chosen him to oversee the building of an enormous spire on his cathedral. The rest... More
“The Spire”
I persevered with it, however it was one of the worse reads I have endured.
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