I’ve just started reading it, because a bunch of teachers at school howled me down when I said I hadn’t read it, or even seen the movie (the b&w version, not the more modern American one, it has been insisted). Anyway, I knew there was a copy on my bookshelf in Adelaide, so I picked it up while I was there. The style is different from what I was expecting, and different from most other things I’ve read before. I’m wondering how much background of the boys will actually be given, or if he leaves it with them simply starting afresh on the island. The description is weird, but it’s good… certainly, I can see the island in my head.