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On Chesil Beach

(Random House Large Print (Hardcover))

By Ian McEwan

(365)

| Hardcover | 9780739327265

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Book Description

A novel of remarkable depth and poignancy from one of the most acclaimed writers of our time.

It is July 1962. Florence is a talented musician who dreams of a career on the concert stage and of the perfect life she will create with Edward, an earnest young history student at University ColContinue

A novel of remarkable depth and poignancy from one of the most acclaimed writers of our time.

It is July 1962. Florence is a talented musician who dreams of a career on the concert stage and of the perfect life she will create with Edward, an earnest young history student at University College of London, who unexpectedly wooed and won her heart. Newly married that morning, both virgins, Edward and Florence arrive at a hotel on the Dorset coast. At dinner in their rooms they struggle to suppress their worries about the wedding night to come. Edward, eager for rapture, frets over Florence’s response to his advances and nurses a private fear of failure, while Florence’s anxieties run deeper: she is overcome by sheer disgust at the idea of physical contact, but dreads disappointing her husband when they finally lie down together in the honeymoon suite.

Ian McEwan has caught with understanding and compassion the innocence of Edward and Florence at a time when marriage was presumed to be the outward sign of maturity and independence. On Chesil Beach is another masterwork from McEwan—a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.

Critics

  • 'On Chesil Beach' by Ian McEwan

    This is one of those delightfully languid books that should be read in one sitting -- and at just 176 pages you can comfortably achieve this without frittering half your life away. Set in England in 1962, it tells the story of two young, some might s ... (read full critics)

    readingmatters published on Tue, 28 Sep 2010

  • Innocents abroad

    On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan Cape £12.99, pp242 THERE IS no epigraph to this short, elegantly realised novel, but if there were it would surely be the celebrated opening couple of stanzas from Philip Larkin's 'Annus Mirabilis': Sexual intercourse be ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

34 Reviews

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  • 8 people find this helpful

    Reading On Chesil Beach

    Ian McEwan remains one of my favorite writers working today, and On Chesil Beach provides testament as to why. As with his previous books, detail is key. McEwan places the reader so solidly in the story that it feels as though you're standing right alongside the main characters.

    The novella c ... (continue)

    Ian McEwan remains one of my favorite writers working today, and On Chesil Beach provides testament as to why. As with his previous books, detail is key. McEwan places the reader so solidly in the story that it feels as though you're standing right alongside the main characters.

    The novella centers around a brand new married couple and the events of their wedding night. The story is set in the late 50s, when sexual mores were obviously significantly different than they are today. Both husband and wife have serious hangups and fears going into the big night, and we flash forward and backward to see the evolution of their relationship. The story is brutally realistic, but beautifully told. McEwan is able to write sentences so sublime that they require reading and re-reading. As with all McEwan novels on my list, this one is highly recommended.

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    moogle said on Apr 21, 2007 | Add your feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    Ian McEwan's writing is really very 'crisp'. He just writes to the point. The characters are so real and believable. The plot and the flashbacks are nicely put together.

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    hermia said on Mar 16, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    With On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan has once again proved himself to be one of the most talented and beloved writers of contemporary literature.

    The story about the wedding night of a young couple in 1962 is told in a little over 160 pages. Such a simple plot in the hands of McEwan will never be ... (continue)

    With On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan has once again proved himself to be one of the most talented and beloved writers of contemporary literature.

    The story about the wedding night of a young couple in 1962 is told in a little over 160 pages. Such a simple plot in the hands of McEwan will never be what it appears to be, as McEwan never balks at dealing with shocking, disquieting and unspeakable taboo subjects.

    I can assure you after finishing the book, you would muse over the protagonist's decision for a long time.

    On Chesil Beach did not win the 2007 Man Booker Prize. However, with it under his belt, McEwan has confirmed that he is still the master of English literary fiction.

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    Tracy W said on Feb 4, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • So well written that the reader can almost be one of the characters!

    For Spanish, click on the link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-chesil-b…
    The author of this novel says that he wrote it because the topic of sex is a mystery even in our modern times. Nobody speaks about sex; it is only insinuated in movies and literature, or overe ... (continue)

    For Spanish, click on the link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-chesil-b…
    The author of this novel says that he wrote it because the topic of sex is a mystery even in our modern times. Nobody speaks about sex; it is only insinuated in movies and literature, or overexagerated in pornography. He wanted to create a very intimate picture of the first night of sex experienced by a young recently married couple. Of course, with the concatenation of both their lacks of experience, that first night turns out to be a disaster. This is no surprise at all, but the important thing is that the author creates the atmosphere and the mood so the reader can almost touch the characters, or even better, be them and feel as thay feel. That is -to me- the higher value in this work. I liked it very much, found it very entertaining and am sure it is easy to read in a couple of hours (kind like going to the movies)

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    ariadna73 said on May 18, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Probably my favorite McEwan book; I liked that it was so tightly constructed and the writing was great, as usual; I think he got the atmosphere of the period just right but I could have done without the present day bit at the end. Finally, I felt that he set the reader up for some act of violence wh ... (continue)

    Probably my favorite McEwan book; I liked that it was so tightly constructed and the writing was great, as usual; I think he got the atmosphere of the period just right but I could have done without the present day bit at the end. Finally, I felt that he set the reader up for some act of violence which he then failed to deliver, leaving me a bit confused.

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    Top of the pile said on Mar 31, 2012 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Beautifully written and interesting plot and dynamics. However I found the end quite depressing.

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    Mati said on Oct 10, 2011 | Add your feedback

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9780739327265 Hardcover $25.00 $20.00 bn.com
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