Shabbat Reading: William Golding's The Inheritors

#whatireadovershabbat William Golding's The Inheritors (1955; Mariner Books, 1963)

Best known for his high school English classic, Lord of the Flies, Golding wrote more than a dozen other books. The Inheritors is a novel from the perspective of a Neanderthal, Lok, who encounters a terrifying entity: Homo sapiens. Told in a strange, poetic Neanderthal voice, the book takes some adjusting to, but once you get it, the story pulls you hurtling along. Like Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors is a disturbing look at the darkness in us—as individuals and as a species.