Arta reviewed ON CHESIL BEACH. by Ian McEwan
Review of 'ON CHESIL BEACH.' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
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hardcover, 192 pages
Published Feb. 1, 2008 by Editorial Anagrama S.A..
Chesil Beach
Ian McEwan, Jaime Zulaika: Chesil Beach (2008, Editorial Anagrama S.A.)
- ISBN:
- 978-84-339-7470-9
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3 stars
(21 reviews)
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 …
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.
Sharyl reviewed ON CHESIL BEACH. by Ian McEwan
Review of 'ON CHESIL BEACH.' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A beautifully written short novel about a first romance and doomed honeymoon that says so much about people, and relates our emotions to the times in which we live. The most obvious predicament facing this young couple in the early 1960's was the lack of open communication about sex. This was just before all the profound changes of the later 60's, when many young people were still bonded to their uptight, uninformed upbringing.
There is much to discuss here: are Edward and Florence simply a mismatch, or simply too young? What would have happened, if they had given this marriage more time (the path not taken)? How do early, intense romances color the rest of our lives?
McEwan deftly delves into both of their backgrounds, so that the story of this one awful night is foreshadowed through a series of flashbacks that made me feel sorry for both Edward and …
A beautifully written short novel about a first romance and doomed honeymoon that says so much about people, and relates our emotions to the times in which we live. The most obvious predicament facing this young couple in the early 1960's was the lack of open communication about sex. This was just before all the profound changes of the later 60's, when many young people were still bonded to their uptight, uninformed upbringing.
There is much to discuss here: are Edward and Florence simply a mismatch, or simply too young? What would have happened, if they had given this marriage more time (the path not taken)? How do early, intense romances color the rest of our lives?
McEwan deftly delves into both of their backgrounds, so that the story of this one awful night is foreshadowed through a series of flashbacks that made me feel sorry for both Edward and Florence.
This was a stressful read, but a fascinating one, and I am very impressed with the way the tension crescendos.
autumnleaf reviewed ON CHESIL BEACH. by Ian McEwan
Review of 'ON CHESIL BEACH.' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Absolutely superb. The best book I've read in months. I laughed my socks off, I marvelled at the rich insights, I let myself touched by the melancholic tone at the end, I lived the whole adventure with Edward and Florence. I can only wish it had been longer.
okenwillow reviewed On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Review of 'On Chesil Beach' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Oui bon, parait-il que nous avons là un pur chef-d’œuvre. Peut-être que ce n’était pas le moment pour moi, pas la bonne température, (la chaleur me met de mauvais poil et me rend irascible). Un couple de jeunes mariés, vierges tous les deux, s’apprête à consommer le mariage. Il est émoustillé au plus haut point, elle est frigide et coincée du c***. Il s’agit sans doute d’une critique de la pudibonderie des années soixante, du manque d’éducation et d’information en la matière dont étaient victimes certaines filles et fils de bonnes familles, je ne dirai pas le contraire, c’est certainement vrai, mais c’est aussi d’un ennui mortel, d’une froideur arctique, et je n’ai pas réussi à m’intéresser au sort des deux puceaux. Le survol de la dernière partie m’a confortée dans mon impression de vacuité. Tout ça pour ça ?
