The Spire

Many students won't dare pick up another William Golding book after suffering through Lord of the Flies in high school. Which is a shame, because his later novel is worth reading.

The Spire is A Scarlet Letter meets Dorian Grey, a character-driven story focused on a priest who has a vision of building a spire atop his local parish. There's only one small problem: the church was built without a foundation.

You can guess the metaphor: There's only so much pressure you can put on a cornerstone. The priest is immune to reason, blinded by the brilliant light of his vision, and shrugs off all other duties.

It's a short book with a rather straight-forward moral, but it's worth the read all the same. Who among us hasn't fought against a project that is destined to fail simply because the scaffolding isn't enough to keep it in place once the work is finished? No matter the cries of purpose and righteousness, vision alone cannot erase reality.

If you do decide to pick this one up, give the audiobook a try.