On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
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Book Reviews of On Chesil Beach
Book Review: Why did I love this book?
Summary: 5 Stars
Not because it has a happy ending, that's for sure.
In fact, if you're a reader who likes happy endings, this is probably not the choice for a day on the beach. But I don't need to tell you that. All you have to do is read the first sentence. "Tears before supper" -- that's what my mother would say. Right from the beginning the author makes it very clear that this is a story that ends badly. As indeed it does.
So why did I love this book? Why couldn't I put it down? Why did I uncharacteristically stay up all night reading it? (The last time I stayed up all night was my Senior Prom, back when dinosaurs were still roaming the earth)
I loved it because it was absolutely, fantastically beautifully crafted and written. And I loved it because it was true.
This sort of thing happens. A split second changes your life. A response. A non-response. Sometimes, you can go back. But mostly you can't. And the awful thing is, you don't know the moment is decisive until after it's passed.
This is the story of one of those moments. And it is as gripping a story as any I've ever read.
Book Review: Fascinating. Painful.
Summary: 5 Stars
Some 46 years ago (good Lord, I was alive then), we spoke so little about sex and ardor. Ian McEwan chooses this time to open up what is little more than an elongated story about lost love. Like much of his writing, "On Chesil Beach" brings us to a turning point... as one reviewer characterized it, a defining moment, upon which two lives turn.
In an awkward, painful pastiche of two young people on their honeymoon, McEwan takes the reader through the same experience from two different viewpoints. The span time of the core story is about three hours, and in those three hours, in this short vignette which starts with love and hope and ends with pain and hopelessness, McEwan once more, and beautifully, changes the way we think about sexuality. And because he needs so few words, and so little time to plant the seeds of "what might have been?" in the reader's mind, there is only one way to define this tale... it is masterful.
And painful. Keep that in mind if you decide to read it.
Book Review: "The road not taken"
Summary: 5 Stars
I've long been intrigued by those decision-making points in life that irretrievably change its course. And I've long been a fan of Ian McEwan. "On Chesil Beach" combines the best of this author--his flawless prose with his ability to dilate a day, or in this case an evening, with rich detail and seamless flashbacks into a race-through-the-book reading experience. Edward and Florence fumble badly through one of those life-defining crossroads as they take 'in love' and fantasies (or nightmares) into reality on their wedding night.
Most of us have been in love and dashed with the cold water reality of day-to-day life with our lover now spouse. In an intriguing way reminiscent of the 'choose your own ending' books that my children used to love, McEwan takes us through one couple's choices and consequences, giving us a glimpse of "the road not taken" and making us realize that, for us as well as Edward and Flo, "that has made all the difference."
Book Review: Humor, suffering, beautiful writing, great characters.
Summary: 5 Stars
At 203 small pages, I devoured this book. It was a great entertaining read; full of beautifully written dark humor and suffering and absolutely real living breathing characters...a winning combo for me. The story of a 1962 English couple's torturous wedding night, both of them virgins, as seen from each perspective, with flashbacks to their families, childhoods, meeting and wedding. It's hard to imagine the times being so different such a short time ago, but it adds a wonderful uniqueness to the story. I loved how the author was able to present the young couple in their stark nakedness, flawed but absolutely irresistable, without laying blame; McEwan is quite capable of making the reader a fully participating character in his story; there is nothing passive about this read, so hang on!Book Review: memorable book...
Summary: 5 Stars
Romantic, thought-provoking, melancholic, heartbreaking...These are the words I would use to describe this novella...At first, it took me awhile to really "get into" this book (in fact, I would probably give it about four and a half stars, but I round up...), but once I appreciated McEwan's beautiful writing and strong characters, I fell so vividly in the book...I do have to say that at first I wanted more of a plot until I appreciated that McEwan takes a small moment and just goes with it...You'll think about this book after you put it down. (By the way, I felt that the book was not unrealistic. Florence's response/feelings may be very uncommon but not impossible.)