Product Description

In the icy desolation of the North Atlantic, senseless with cold and shock, Christopher Hadley Martin, temporary lieutenant, is drowning. Then, unbelievably, out of the mirk looms a grotesque shape, larger than any ship. When he has hauled himself on to it and come to his senses a bit, Martin realizes where he must be: on that rock projecting from the sea-bed which appears only on weather charts. To drink there is a pool of rainwater; to eat there are weed and sea-anemones; to talk to there is himself. And through the long hours of sleep, dreams and terror, there is the truth must be assembled, piece by appalling piece

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #544163 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
William Golding was born in Cornwall in 1911 and was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford. He joined the Royal Navy in 1940 and was present at the sinking of the Bismarck. His first novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in 1954. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983, and was knighted in 1988. He died in 1993

Customer Reviews

Fever Dream
Naval officer Christopher Martin has fallen overboard in the Atlantic. He has no hope of rescue yet he refuses to die, his ego will not allow it. He finds refuge from drowning on a rock. There he has time to reflect on his life,and to delude himself, before he must face the terrifying truth of his situation.

To read this novel is like experiencing a vivid fever dream. It's with relief that you emerge to an ending that changes the whole meaning of what went before.

A Haunting Experience
A truly wonderful short novel which conveys the real sense of isolation and impending madness which befalls the poor shipwrecked sailor. Just when you think he's managing to survive, great streams of madness/consciousness spew forth from the pages and you are left in doubt as to the ultimate outcome of this haunting story. An excellent read, but not an uplifting one!

Dissapointing but not a bad attempt
After Reading "Lord of the Flies" I had high expectations of "Pincher Martin". Perhaps comparing it to Lord of the Flies was why I was dissapointed with this novel. In short it is long winded, and I feel that Golding would have been better off writing it as a short story as opposed to a novel. The concept of the novel is ambitious for even the most accomplished writer, two hundred pages of a man sitting on a rock is hard for anyone to write about, and it has to be said, hard for anyone to read. However, Golding makes this some what mundane subject supprisingly interesting. The lapses into the character's past are actually the least well written, and I found the description of the rock more interesting. A desperate and clostrophobic atmosphere is built up exellently, however the book is fundamentally floored by the reader being unable to empathise with the main character, and so the full impact of events is lost. The last chapter is the easiest to read and has the full impact of the turn around effect of the last line. This changes the whole concept of the book, which aulthough thought prevoking, is not nearly as profound as other works such as Lord of the Flies or Free Fall. It is worth reading this book simply for the achievment of doing so, however it is a book that is really impossible for anyone to make easy to read.