The Spire

by William Golding

Book Overview

The vision that drives Dean Jocelin to construct an immense new spire above his cathedral tests the limits of all who surround him. The foundationless stone pillars shriek and the earth beneath them... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156847418
• ISBN13: 9780156847414
• Release Date: January 1965
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 215 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Facinating

This is written in a "stream of consciousness" style which makes is somewhat inaccessible and difficult to follow. The book is written as the thoughts of the insane bishop building the spire. What interested me in the book is actually visiting Salisbury cathedral in England and seeing the impossible spire myself. Golding taught at the school attached to Salisbury cathedral and this inspired his story. The hubris of building the tallest tower and stone spire in England on top of thin pillars never meant to hold the weight, themselves built on 4' deep foundations set on wet gravel is amazing. The fact this this was done in the thirteen hundreds is amazing and might inspire one to faith. Read this classic and then go to see that cathedral that has been continually about to fall since the middle ages.

A classic of the first order

I stumbled upon this book by accident, and decided to read it due to Golding's reputation as author of the wonderful, "Lord of the Flies". "The Spire" is likewise a fairly quick read, and every bit as engaging. Even arguably superior. Briefly, it is the story of a cleric, Dean Jocelin, who embarks on an over-ambitious building project at the cathedral he oversees. The time and the place is not important, and indeed could be 21st century America (the book seems to be set in 19th century England). The project is the addition of a 400 foot spire. Jocelin is single-minded regarding the project, as he decorously steamrolls the project along under color of devotion to God. The result is disastrous. I respectfully differ with the several other reviewers that see the spire project as misdirected devotion to glorifying God. There is much evidence in the story that Jocelin is a megalomaniac. The structure is to be self-glorifying. To boot, he is also apparently a closet lecher. He prays, and seems to rationalize the project as an act of devotion - but I think he is really all about self-promotion. Always woven into the storytelling is the church building itself. Golding paints a vivid picture of the old stone pillars audibly protesting under the ever increasing weight of the spire that slowly grows above them, the construction of the spire, the majesty but the tension, and the feeling of looming catastrophe. Wonderful writing. This is a great piece of work. It is well worth the quick read and it will stay with you. Recommended.

An Ode to Obsession

"The Spire" manages to brush up against the successful elements of Golding's best work. Although it never reaches the heights of the brilliant "The Lord of the Flies," it does paint vivid and fragmented pictures of man come undone.William Golding, after seeing the horrors of war firsthand, rejected the foundational thought of humanism that "man is basically good." In "The Lord of the Flies," he used concise language and haunting symbolism to validate his thoughts. And, by creating sympathetic characters, he drew us into his viewpoint. Few of his other novels create such sympathy. It is as though he bought into his own philosophy so deeply that he no longer found value in his fellow man. "Pincher Martin" and "Free Fall" left me impressed with his skills, but intellectually unmoved.In "The Spire," he moves me again. At first, his protagonist--an anti-hero in every sense--is hard to sympathize with in any fashion. The man, Dean Jocelin, is driven to the point of obsession and insanity by his need to serve God, or, ultimately his need to feel worthy in God's sight. He demands obedience and servitude from those around him, driving them to complete his vision of a 400 ft spire above his cathedral. In the process, some will die, others will lose faith, hope, and love. Only as Jocelin comes to terms with his fallibility do we begin to care about the doomed outcome of his dream. Only as he admits his own pride and stubborness do we hope for his absolution, deserved or not.This book is an ode to all those who become obsessed by religion and love, who strive for something to the point of sacrificing everything of true value along the way. Here, finally, Golding once again finds a way to show the madness of humanity while still proferring a glimmer of hope.

One of the finest novels in the English canon.

William Golding's reach in this novel is prodigious. Not only does he demonstrate that the one historical constant is human nature, he also manages to flesh out the scope of behaviour admitted in one particlar human being. The novel takes the reader back in time and to an historically, as well as geographically, foreign place. It deals with how human beings cope with pain, loss, ambition, vision and the tenderest of feelings. The novel is a tour de force.

Golding Genius

This book is a masterpiece , Golding really has the Knack of personifying his characters and Ideas in a way that the reader can relate to. A book about the struggle between one man and his ambition his obsession with one building one dream, In which nothing else matters. Truly a classic. Inspiring...