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On Chesil Beach reignited the novel/novella debate when it was first published, which I'm not going to address; suffice to say that this is a wonderfully focused story with an amazing amount of subtext for a book that's just 166 pages long. As the Evening Standard says, it's "Exquisitely ... Read review
In a hotel on the Dorset coast, overlooking Chesil Beach, Edward and Florence, who got ... more
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. This is a story...
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...inevitable task that lies ahead on their wedding night in July 1962. They know what is expected, but not how it will happen. Florence has bought a manual to explain everything, but it's only served to further repulse her. Being the early sixties, no one talks about sex and the couple is unable to be open with each other. Florence is deeply in love with Edward and wants to please him, but the idea of consummating their marriage sickens her.
... ...days absorbed in fantasy, working on numerous projects that never get completed. His father struggles to run the house whilst working as a headmaster at the local school, so the house is inevitably neglected. In contrast, Florence's mother is an Oxford don married to a businessman and she's grown up with money and luxury.
Both Edward and Florence feel dislocated from their families and flourish upon finding each other. However, there ... more
Ignorant and inexperienced, Edward and Florence Mayhew are both anxious about the inevitable task that lies ahead on their wedding night in July 1962. They know what is expected, but not how it will happen. Florence has bought a manual to explain everything, but it's only served to further repulse her. Being the early sixties, no one talks about sex and the couple is unable to be open with each other. Florence is deeply in love with Edward and wants to please him, but the idea of consummating their marriage sickens her.
Florence is from a wealthy middle class family, whereas Edward's family is poorer and revolves around a fantasy created by his mother that she is the perfect housewife and mother. In reality, she is brain damaged following an accident when Edward was five and spends her days absorbed in fantasy, working on numerous projects that never get completed. His father struggles to run the house whilst working as a headmaster at the local school, so the house is inevitably neglected. In contrast, Florence's mother is an Oxford don married to a businessman and she's grown up with money and luxury.
Both Edward and Florence feel dislocated from their families and flourish upon finding each other. However, there are underlying issues that lead to the events of the fateful wedding night.
On Chesil Beach reignited the novel/novella debate when it was first published, which I'm not going to address; suffice to say that this is a wonderfully focused story with an amazing amount of subtext for a book that's just 166 pages long. As the Evening Standard says, it's "Exquisitely crafted" and Ian McEwan's talent is more evident here than in the other works I've read. I think he achieves what he set out to do in Saturday, creating a novel that portrays one pivotal day in two people's lives. There's also a sense of Atonement to it, wherein a single moment can change lives.
Somehow, McEwan manages to relate the entire story of Florence and Edward's relationship, their family backgrounds and the particular thoughts and emotions of their wedding night within five chapters. The depth of his writing reminds me of Alice Munro, whose short stories have been described as novels. I read one comment from a critic that said that not a single word is wasted, and it's true. There are very few novels that manage to be so incredibly succinct.
I believe that On Chesil Beach is the type of book to be read and reread, finding new treasures within the text upon each reading. I finished it in less than a day, mostly because it is so enthralling that I didn't want to put it down, and I plan to reread it at a slower pace within the near future. The RRP is £6.99, but I got mine for as part of a "2 for £7" offer in Tesco, where it was priced £4. It's certainly worth it.
On Chesil Beach is a showcase for McEwan's talent, but subconsciously - there's nothing pretentious or overly ambitious about it. It's simply a wonderful, beautiful, heartwrenchingly moving story.
Advantages: short, well written, poignant Disadvantages: cold
...been waiting for long, treading on the eggshells of sexual hypocrisy and individual sensitivity, led by her coy pretence of sensuality, with his perceptions coloured by his own desire. It's Florence's hangups that lie at the root of the ensuing disaster: she's not just scared of sex, she finds it physically repulsive, invasive, unbearable: her whole body (as well as mind and spirit) recoil at the notion of 'being penetrated' and the stilted and somehow ... ...might be tempted to speculate on how their personal histories and social backgrounds led each of them to this point on the Dorset beach, and whether there was a largely pre-determined inevitability to what happened and ensued, or whether is was a result of a momentary decision made by one or both of them, understandable in the context of their personalities and the mores of the time, but ultimately not inevitable until it actually happened. What ...
magdadh 03.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
Advantages: beautifully written, moving, convincing, Disadvantages: too many flashbacks, lack of perception in the male character,
...there is a credibility gap between their love and the fact that their inexperience could have such a devastating effect on their marriage. It left me wondering about this for a long time and that I feel this is the best possible accolade for a fine book. ...
wellness5 07.04.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
Advantages: a fairly interesting conceit Disadvantages: boring
...wrong. And so it goes on and on and on...until the marriage which was never consumed is instantly over.
Of course, even in the most sexually permissive era, there will be shy people, who have somehow never had the means or opportunity to become deflowered, but if this was such a massive stumbling block to sexual success, many of us would never now have been born. Our parents managed somehow and I know nobody who would consider a marriage over, simply ...
maklhouf 25.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
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Quick review of On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
McEwan is a master storyteller and he doesn't often disappoint but I did feel this this was less ambitious than his other works. Subtle it may be, but its brevity and the limiting ending makes it less enduring than his other novels. Part of the issue is its small scope - whilst this is a hugely interesting character study, it felt claustrophobic. I did like the way it dealt with the interesting issue of sexual desire, and there is something quite brave about a novel which explores sex from two sides - as something negative and depraved, as well as something natural and exciting. I did feel for the characters, both of them, but I can't help wishing the ending had been a little darker. ...
janeite 07.07.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
Quick review of On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
i was expecting something with as much vigor and captivating as atonement but, this novel was left me hanging on a wim. maybe i just had higher expectations for it. it was written well, and had a nice plot that gradually built up....but then it dissolved, and it felt like everything went down hill from there. that could have been the point, i guess this just wasn't my style, as in mcewan's previous novel. ...
jenerationx 18.07.2008
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Advantages: Compelling, beautifully written, moving Disadvantages: Struggling to think of any
and they have a passionate moment in the library. He was not to know that Briony also read the note before passing it on and is horrified - her view of Robbie as a monster is only confirmed when she walks in on him with her sister in the library. When, later that evening, her teenage cousin is sexually assaulted, Briony 'knows' who is responsible and her testimony will damn Robbie and put in jeopardy any future he and Cecilia might have enjoyed.
~~~The Author~~~
IanMcEwan has a record of producing film-adaptable novels. 'Atonement' is his 8th novel (there have been two since, his most recent is 'On ChesilBeach') and there are 6 film adaptations. IanMcEwan has built a reputation for quality character portrayals, suspense (but not in the conventional crime novel style) and layered themes. 'Amsterdam' won a Booker Prize and both 'Atonement ...
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