Helpful Score: 9
I just finished On Chesil Beach and it quickly moved into my top two books by Ian McEwan, the other being Atonement. McEwan efficiently provides the back stories of his two young protagonists and movingly depicts a wedding night decision that changes the course of their lives. A quick read full of memorable scenes of shared love, ambition and sexual insecurities, McEwan portrays a relationship that symbolizes the cultural divide of the 1960's, and captures the nostalgia and regret that often haunt us in our own lives.
Helpful Score: 8
This was my first time I read anything by Ian McEwan, but I am extremely impressed. At times the book can be hard to follow, it is creatively written. The characters are shown with all of their own flaws. At the end, I sat thinking about how one moment can change your whole life. Great book.
Helpful Score: 4
Ian McEwan is a writer of tremendous talent, and this book is further evidence. Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 3
Like all his books, this is a carefully and eloquently written novel. The pace moves briskly, perhaps because of its length. McEwan expertly describes the insecurities of the two main characters. All of his books (including this one) are wonderful.
Helpful Score: 2
I listened to this one, read by the author, on Audio CD. It is a slim novel, the story of two virgins and a marriage destined for failure. Set in the early 1960's, before the era of "free love", it is heartbreakingly sad that the two people (who really loved each other) could not even talk about their sexual compatibility. Highly recommend.
Helpful Score: 2
A beautifully-written, fully realized novel with a secret. In our day, when everyone talks about their sex life, it may be difficult to comprehend the sexual ignorance and lack of communications between them of the two main characters. Yet the characters ring true and their flaws tragic.
Helpful Score: 2
I read this short book in about 2 hours. I have never cared for his books before, but I enjoyed his writing style in this one and found it very easy to follow. It is a sad story but I would still recommend it, especially for someone in between *heavy* books for a quick, satisfying read.
Helpful Score: 1
It took some time to reveal the most important message in life, but it was worth the wait. Follow your heart...
Helpful Score: 1
McEwan is a master storyteller. "On Chesil Beach" is a beautifully written story of a newly married couple circa early 60s and failed expectations and actions.
While the story itself is well written, the plot is slightly trite and not very complex.
Certainly thought provoking but not enough for the current times.
The reader for all their gnashing of teeth for the characters and hoping that things will turn out better in a moment, just make this story frustrating. Failed loves of not so epic proportions tend to fail.
While the story itself is well written, the plot is slightly trite and not very complex.
Certainly thought provoking but not enough for the current times.
The reader for all their gnashing of teeth for the characters and hoping that things will turn out better in a moment, just make this story frustrating. Failed loves of not so epic proportions tend to fail.
Helpful Score: 1
I really don't know what all the fuss is about. I thought the premise of this book was weird and far-fetched. I finished it but I cannot say that I enjoyed it all that much. I have another book on my shelf by this author that I have not read yet, and I am now kind of reluctant to read it. Hopefully it will be better.
Helpful Score: 1
This slim novel (200 pages) is a jewel! In 1962 England, newlyweds and virgins Edward and Florence confront love and sex on their wedding night. Flashbacks illuminate how their they grew up, met, fell in love and married. This is a beautifully written novel, containing neither satire, religiosity, nor psychobabble, by the author of 'Atonement.' Without reading it all the way through, you will not be able to predict how it will end.
Helpful Score: 1
I did not like this book at all. Sad little story about a couple and their wedding night together. I don't know what all the hoopla was.
This is a wonderfully written book. The details make a reader feel as if he is in the room with the couple on their wedding night. The emotions are raw and palpable. As with Atonement, this is also a book of "the road not taken," and how momentary decisions may alter the course of our lives.
Ugh...I found both Edward and Florence and the sad tale of their repressed and dysfunctional relationship pretty pathetic.
Ian McEwan is one of my favourite authors; he displays his usual prolific and page turning ways in On Chesil Beach. Highly recommended!
Deeply touching.
Wonderful little book that you can just speed through and get so much out of. The author is a master at capturing the interior lives and thoughts of his characters with so many little details. This particular book describes a situation that you can easily imagine happening (and could be applied to so many different experiences of life--âif only I had swallowed my pride and said something.â âIf only I wasn't so proud.â)
This is a story about a couple's wedding night. She's a virgin, I never understood if he is or not. To me the book is depressing, but only because it's so true. I think we all have episodes in our lives where we look back and ask ourselves if we shouldn't have said something differently or reacted differently to a situation. It makes you think.
I found this book so frustrating, I can't believe I even finished it. Basically the whole book is about two people who can't open their mouth and communicate. It is just so ridiculous to me and implausible how two adults who are supposedly in love enough to get married would be unable to talk about how they are feeling.
On Chesil Beach is a novella about a young couple's views and (mis)understandings of marriage. McEwan's writing is superb, and he doesn't disappoint here.
I just could NOT finish this one. I love everything I've read by him, but I didn't like this one at all. To top it all off, it's a little hardback, so I feel ripped off too...full price for an itty, bitty book.
A bit of a strange concept for a book, but an interesting thought in the end. Pretty fast read.
This little book left me introspective and sad. Told in a unique McEwan style, the book emphasizes that momentary decisions have lifelong consequences (similar in someways to Atonement). It's also a period piece of a time when sexuality and family secrets were kept tightly under wraps.
1962 Florence and Edward celebrate their wedding in a hotel on the Dorset coast. The expectation of their marital duties weighs over them. This is story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word spoken. A heartbreaking story which could have turned around if Edward would have showed a bit of love and patience instead of giving up on her. A bit disappointing! I did love the ending however!
Interesting story.
McEwan is an artist! This is a very subtle picture of a different time when marriage was loaded with so much baggage it's a wonder anyone tried it. This story reminds the reader of the importance of communication between human beings, especially wife and husband. You ache for these characters at the same time you want to shake some of them!
While I would not say this book is for everyone, I did enjoy it. Some people complain that the situation the newlyweds find themselves in is unbelievable. I don't think given the time setting it is implausible. Also I took it in a more encompassing direction- in today's society how many time do we walk away from someone/ something because of a miscommunication and our pride being hurt? Who doesn't have at least some regrets and think that if you had handled a situation differently that a relationship would have been saved or at least still had some lines of contact still open? This is what I got from On Chesil Beach.
Beautifuly written, reminds me of Maughm.
This is a wonderfully written book. The details make a reader feel as if he is in the room with the couple on their wedding night. The emotions are raw and palpable. As with "Atonement," this is also a book of "the road not taken," and how momentary decisions may alter the course of our lives.
Found the writing wonderful. Characters frustrating and stuck. His writing on the characters internal thought processes is realistic.
very well plotted and written.
Ian McEwan can always be counted on for an engrossing, well-constructed novel. On Chesil Brach is no disappointment. Its characters are engaging, its plot intricate enough to keep one reading and waiting for the next twist and turn. Some reviewers have said that this is McEwan's best --- I would not disagree!
REALLY? What was the point-what a waste of time.
boring! didn't even finish.
All I can say about this book is BORING! I seriously could not get into this, but was still curious about the one major incident that occurred. I skimmed the entire book trying to find out out what the point of the story is...and basically found out if you marry someone frigid and they don't want to be intimate, but offer to stay married and allow you to have mistresses.....then don't thurn it down. That's what I take from this book. It's just plain boring and weird. I do not recommend this to anyone. Sorry to the author. :(
Could not get into this book......boring...boring...
