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Editorial Review:
'this graceful novella offered a series of perfectly realised moments'
'In its precision, scope and force, this is an astounding novel, more tender than anything McEwan has hitherto produced'
`slow, detailed prose... reads like a pale memory of a forgotten age... a writer in complete control of his craft'
'a beautifully written novella of repressed fears and desires which, like Atonement, gives a wonderfully realised sense of the era'
`...a real knack comes in the emotional authenticity he imparts when writing about relationships and feelings...yet another masterpiece.'
A short novel of quite remarkable depth, power and poignancy by a writer at the height of his powers
It is June, 1962. In a hotel on the Dorset coast, overlooking Chesil Beach, Edward and Florence, who got married that morning, are sitting down to dinner in their room. Neither is entirely able to suppress their anxieties about the wedding night to come ..."On Chesil Beach" is another masterwork from Ian McEwan - a story about how the entire course of a life can be changed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.
Ian McEwan is the author of two collections of stories and ten previous novels, including Enduring Love, Amsterdam, for which he won the Booker Prize in 1998, Atonement and Saturday.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Sexual innocence, longing and anxiety in a short, touching novel In an age of sex being everywhere, media portrayals of everyone being sexual athletes and 'at it' all the time, this was a welcome novel of innocence, longing and anxiety about the 'first time.' I was touched by this short novel and would read it again. I think McEwan writes about love sensitively and look forward to reading his other works.
Paper thin plot and cardboard characters Okay, so the 1950s were dull (apart from Rock `n' Roll) and this dreary novella will do nothing to dispel that image. The plot (inasmuch as there is a plot) centres on the courtship and (very) brief marriage of Florence and Edward. More odd couple than star-crossed lovers, Florence's background is smart, academic Oxford whilst Edward is a grammar school boy from rural Oxfordshire. One day, their eyes meet across a CND leaflet and ... ... well, that's about as exciting as it gets.more info
Frustrating... I've loved all of the other Ian McEwan books I've read, but although I acknoweldge that this is very well written I just didn't enjoy it at all. I found it very hard going and frankly, didn't have much sympathy for either of the characters. Someone called it a "Tragic love story" but love doesn't really come into it in my opinion!
full of heartache and love not realised this novella is a wonderful exploration into the deeper emotions - today is a world of excess and exposure with little censure - this book is an amazing contrast, tapping into emotions, uncertaintly and misunderstanding with such precision, such clarity and such understanding to leave the reader unable to put the book down - it doesn't get 5 stars because the end feels rushed and lacking completeness - otherwise one of Ian McEwans best
