On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of On Chesil Beach
Book Review: Not as good as his previous works
Summary: 2 Stars
I have enjoyed this author for years, but Chesil Beach didn't live up to his previous works.Book Review: Not his best, not his worst.
Summary: 4 Stars
While this novel is far and away better than Amsterdam, it doesn't compare with his best novels, like Atonement and Enduring Love. On Chesil Beach is a minor, well written novel, with the pacing and characterization you'd expect from McEwan. One of the things I liked about Chesil Beach was the fact that for the most part it was a very un-sentimental book, until the last five or so pages, which had enough sentimentality for the entire novel. While it may not leave you feeling blown away like Atonement, Enduring Love, or (at least for me) The Cement Garden, On Chesil Beach is a good read for a fan of McEwan. If your new to him this isn't the book I would pick up, but it's certainly worth your time. It's short, powerful, and to the point. It may fall short of greatness, but it's very good.Book Review: On Boring Beach
Summary: 2 Stars
The premise of the book is nice....a young couple and the struggle to consumate their marriage on their wedding night. Only it falls very short.
It's boring, and lacks a lot of character build. It seems like the wedding is only about the consumation, and not because these two people want to be together. Well, it sorta is....there is not enough here to fill up a book, and it's a half hearted attempt. Ian McEwan can, and has done better. This book was a quick read, but was boring, and was not remarkable in any way. There was nothing special about this book or the story. The only thing that makes it readable is that Ian McEwan is atleast a good writer, his style is good, so it was not completely awful to read. I feel like he spit this one out though, as I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did.
I've read worse,but I've read a lot better too.
Book Review: On Chesil Beach
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a fantastic book; beautifully written, and well crafted; a short, bittersweet slice of life. My book group loved it, and we had a very good discussion about it.Book Review: On Chesil Beach-A short novel which is on target to capture the love of its readers
Summary: 5 Stars
On Chesil Beach is another short novel by the fine English novelist Ian McEwan. As he has done so often before the novelist has the ability to focus on the defnining moment in a relationship. He does this with lush prose used to tell this poignant tale of lost love, impatience and lost opportunities. This feeling of "what might have been if only..." resonates with this critic and the hoardes of eager McEwan fans who enjoy intellectually sharp tales well told by a master of the craft.
Edward is 23 and his longtime fiance Florence is 22. The two are honeymooning at a hotel near Dorset in the English West Country. Both of these bright young people are sexually inexperienced virgins. Edward comes from the home of a dysfunctional familiy. His father is an underpaid schoolmaster; his mother has mental problems; his siblings bore him. Edward gets a first in History and meets Florence in Oxford. He is smitten with her big boned beauty and interest in preventing nuclear warfare. The two decorously begin a prim and proper romantic relationship. Some kissing and fondling occur but no sexual intercourse.
Florence is an outstanding musician who graduates from the Royal Academy of Music. Her string quartet is on the way up the musical ladder. She is very prim and straight-laced. She fears intimacy with a man even though she loves him very much. Florence comes from a wealthy family but Edward has no trouble ingratiating himself with her well heeled flock.
On Chesil Beach occurs on their first night together as husband and wife. They suffer through a routine meal knowing their initiation in sex awaits in the marital bed. A terrible incident occurs when Florence provokes Edward into an early orgasm. This situation leads to their ultimate estrangement. Years later Edward will look back and realize if he had only been more patient with Florence their lives would have been happier. Edward knows that he has never loved anyone as much as Florence but it is too late to revive his relationship with her. Like all of us we all have regrets as we grow older.
The novel is filled with flashbacks to the pasts of Edward and Florence helping the reader to understand what motivates these two characters We also return to the more formal era of the early 1960s which McEwan introduces through the means of hotel guests commenting on the news on the hotel's televison. This era of propriety now seems so distant in our anything goes amoral society.
McEwan has a few brief sex scenes but they are tastefully and sensitively presented. He has a keen eye for the beauties of nature and also is keen in his love for and appreciation for classical music.
This novel is short but one which will stick in your mind for years to come. Edward and Florence are two of McEwan's best characters. Romeo and Juliet were not the last star-crossed lovers in fiction as this smart novel shows us so well!