Rites of Passage cover art

Rites of Passage

To the Ends of the Earth: A Sea Trilogy, Book 1

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Rites of Passage

By: William Golding
Narrated by: William Golding
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About this listen

Lose yourself in an epic naval journey in the final novel in the Booker Prize-winning Sea Trilogy, by the author of Lord of the Flies. Read by the author in 1989, this recording was re-mastered in 2022.

I grow a little crazy, I think, like all men at sea who live too close to each other and too close thereby to all that is monstrous under the sun and moon....

Edmund Talbot is sailing to Australia in the early 19th century. In his journal, he records mounting tensions aboard the ancient, stinking warship, as officers, sailors, soldiers and emigrants jostle in the cramped darkness below decks. But when something happens to Reverend Colley that brings him into a 'hell of self-degradation', it seems that shame is a force deadlier than the sea itself....

©1980 William Golding (P)2022 Faber Audio Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Sea Adventures Adventure Sailing

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Critic reviews

"Golding writes the past as present [with] uncanny skill and tremendous intuition." (Ben Okri)

"A master at the full stretch of his age and wisdom - necessary, provoking, urgent, rich, complex and rare." (The Times)

"An extraordinary novel." (Observer)
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an Excellent novel but as others have said the sound quality is a bit ropey in places

excellent novel but audio a bit ropey

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I read this when it first came out and admired it then. I listened to it in Audible y this time being read by the great man himself and, let me tell you, it was better than ever. So complex yet with Gilding’s customary layers of storytelling that is eventually brought to a moving conclusion. Remarkable first book in the trilogy.
The recording was made at Golding’s home which means it isn’t studio quality but nonetheless fantastic to hear it told in his voice.

Brilliant to hear the book in the voice of the authoer

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The audio, although remastered, is not that clear and the volume low compared to other audio books. William Golding speaks in a clear voice and does quite well but it takes a while to get used to him, at least we hear how he wants it to be heard. The story is interesting but can be tedious at times.

Interesting

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Constructed and completed with absolute ability. I have read this and listened to it several times. The cleverness of the whole thing is a joy.

Competent authorship

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