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 this Booker Prize-winning novel: the first in the acclaimed Sea Trilogy by the author of Lord of the Flies.
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 nineteenth 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 . . .
'It is the emotional veracity of life at sea that powers Golding's exceptional writing ... The fury, mystery and challenge .' Kate Mosse
'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

'Golding's best and most accessible story since Lord of the Flies
.' Melvyn Bragg
'An extraordinary novel.' Observer
To The Ends of the Earth: A Sea Trilogy - Book One

©1980 William Golding (P)2022 Faber & Faber
Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Sea Adventures Adventure Sailing
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I really liked this book, however the ‘remastering’ of Golding’s original recording from the 80’s is not excellent and at times is very low in sound level. From about half way through I had to really crank up my sound system to hear the audio.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.