On Chesil Beach
by Ian McEwan
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Book Reviews of On Chesil Beach
Book Review: Another Beautiful McEwan Novel Writ in a Minor Key
Summary: 5 Stars
McEwan's books are like an Irish Ballad: beautiful, haunting, forlorn and difficult to forget, Chesil Beach is no exception. It is difficult not to finish the novel swiftly after reading the first sentence: "They were young, educated, and both virgins on this their wedding night, and they lived in a time when a conversation about sexual difficulties was plainly impossible." The novel continues with another of McEwan's trademarkes, weaving together unspeakable sexual intimacies with everyday happenings followed by the private thoughts of his characters. If one was disappointed at Atonement's ending I would suggest not reading Chesil Beach. But becoming well acquainted with McEwan's characters and seeing how their tragedy is a product of their time period is a process that will only broaden one's understanding of humanity.
One marvels at McEwan's command of the English language. It is good to see that in this age of haste there is an author who can remind one of life's subtleties; like the nervous tendency to brush aside a hair that isn't there. Somehow, McEwan manages to put into words those tiny moments that we all experience yet never consciously consider, and make them relevant, even central to the novel's theme. For this, McEwan's acuteness to words, I give his novella five stars. It is from these intricacies that the story is built and McEwan's moral of hindsight and failure hopefully help the reader appreciate all the imperfections in their own life.
Book Review: Bittersweet, heavy on the bitter
Summary: 4 Stars
On Chesil Beach is such an intimate look at one couple, married during the early 60s. I was continually impressed by McEwan's insights and how perfectly developed these two characters were. Florence and Edward are thrilled to begin their married life together, to be no longer seen as young and incomplete members of society. Florence, however, has a paralyzing anxiety about physical contact with her husband, something she has kept from him, dreading the moment that would consummate their marriage.
I loved the combined narratives in this novel. We are given glimpses into not only the wedding night, but also their courtship and their futures. The narration shifts focus from Florence to Edward so we are given both sides to the story. I really thought that this book was heartbreaking and honest, beautiful and quiet.
If I had one complaint, it is that the last chapter of the novel that explores life after that wedding night is almost exclusively about Edward. When the rest of the book had been so balanced, I was disappointed with the lack of information about Florence we received. Overall, I'm impressed with McEwan's attention to detail, especially the sensitivity he employed when portraying Florence. I'm so glad I finally picked this one up. It might be one of my favorite reads of 2010 and one that I see myself rereading again soon.
Book Review: Emotional Pornography
Summary: 2 Stars
Given that the stock of real Victorian novels is as limited as petroleum reserves, and that many avid novel readers have already exhausted it, it's no wonder that Ian McEwan is popular. "On Chesil Beach" is fundamentally a Victorian novel, and not just because the leading lady in it, Florence, is burdened with Victorian sensibilities, but also because the author passes just the kind of moral judgement on his own characters that George Eliot might have passed. Oh, mention is made of pubic hair and engorged penises, but it's still an archaic structure of a novel. Imagine all the "implicit" sexuality of a novel by Austen or Trollope, make it explicit on a bed with silk sheets, and you have Ian McEwan. Genteel voyeurism, ladies and gents!
The story told by "On Chesil Beach" is of a couple on their wedding night, with ample flashbacks to their earlier lives and courtship. They're both virgins. She is preposterously repressed. Intercourse fails, they flee from each other, and neither ever recovers from the trauma. The central bedroom catastrophe might have made a decent short story, but the flashbacks are mere back-fill, and the final chapter, rushing through the next forty years of the characters' lives, is schematic, smug, and dull.
Book Review: I WANTED TO THROW THIS STORY ACROSS THE ROOM!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
This book describes when times were innocent, how things were left unspoken and why people trudged on without clear understanding. Written in 2007 not 1957. When most women were still virgins when they wed. They were frightened of their husbands on their wedding night!!!!!
Such an old fashion story which doesn't seem to get anywhere. His other book ATONEMENT was excellent. But this really should not have got to the printer should have stayed in draft stage.
Ian McEwan writes very well but the subject matter this time was a failure. This story is just an OK.
I bought this on audio. CD1 1 star, CD2 2 stars, CD 3 & 4 3 stars.
Ian McEwan himself narrated the story and he did a wonderful job of that.
At the end of the audio there is an interview with the author and I enjoyed that more than the story. I started to feel sorry for him he sounded so lovely in the interview and I wanted to give him a 2 star before I heard the interview. So 4 star for Narration 4 star for the interview. average final stars are 3 star.
Please don't waste your money on this audio, go and buy ANTONEMENT instead far superior!!!
Book Review: Just Say Something!
Summary: 5 Stars
"On Chesil Beach" is pure Ian McEwan and I mean that in a good way. There is so much packed into this short novel with so little of the writing relying on action. McEwan is a master of character study, of coming to terms with the discrepancy between what is in a character's head and what he or she actually does. This is the story of two lovers, Edward and Forence, brought together under censorious circumstances -1960s England. Their wedding night is the point about which the entire story turns, one plagued by embarrassment and misunderstanding that will change their lives forever.
Alright, that sounds a little too much like a movie trailer for a book that is so simple and pure, but that does not make the drama any less true. I opened the front cover with a "let's see how he can possibly follow up Atonement" frame of mind. Perhaps that was not fair, but in some ways this story has some similar elements found in "Atonement," but much more concentrated due to its brevity. McEwan deftly weaves his characters with grace and compassion willing the reader to shout "just say something!" We are moved to frustration and pity in a way that is as wonderful as it is heartbreaking.