Will to heaven

Different from other stories of unchecked power, William Golding’s The Spire creates a dizzying anguished effect because it orbits around the (noble)ambition of glorifying a single church. One man’s laser-focused unshakeable fanaticism creates unconscionable outcomes. Columns resist, hum and sway; young workers howl, scream, and die; and a young woman’s tragic life comes to an unbearable end. At every loss, we, the readers, await the realization of wrongdoing.