On Chesil Beach

A bit disappointed.

Very few in my book club cared for this, but I loved it. Beautiful McEwan style, very thought provoking. Had this book on my mind for several days after having read it.

Denne boken kommer jeg til å huske lenge. En skjør, vakker og vanskelig kjærlighetshistorie. Dette er den første boken jeg har lest av Ian McEwan, kanskje nettopp derfor var jeg litt overrasket over hvordan den endte.

who knew reading about a couple consummating their wedding night could be so suspenseful & anxiety-inducing?

Unforgettable, intense; read it in one or two sittings. Held up well to a re-reading.

A love story that is sadly comical and in the end devastating. Brilliantly written.

I don't know if I've ever seen someone write so many words to say so little. I mean, did Ian McEwan really need 200 pages to write this? It all starts on a couple's wedding night and they are about to consummate the marriage. She gets cold feet and thinks about how much she doesn't like intimacy. He gets excited and "arrives too soon." That's pretty much it. These people never really seemed to go...more

I don't know if I've ever seen someone write so many words to say so little. I mean, did Ian McEwan really need 200 pages to write this? It all starts on a couple's wedding night and they are about to consummate the marriage. She gets cold feet and thinks about how much she doesn't like intimacy. He gets excited and "arrives too soon." That's pretty much it. These people never really seemed to go together in the first place. It was a slightly interesting book, I guess, but definitely not something I'm used to.   hide

Like "Saturday," Mcewan takes a single day/event and weaves a fascinating inner history/dialogue. He has an amazing ability to fully diclose a character's personality. "Chesil Beach" spins on the moment when either character could've changed the history of their relationship with a single sentence, or some modicum of understanding. But the character's innate...more

Like "Saturday," Mcewan takes a single day/event and weaves a fascinating inner history/dialogue. He has an amazing ability to fully diclose a character's personality. "Chesil Beach" spins on the moment when either character could've changed the history of their relationship with a single sentence, or some modicum of understanding. But the character's innate selfishness, combined with personal histories - hers just hinted at - and the social conventions of the time, preclude them from fulfilling their destinies together. I found the ending somewhat disappointing as I would've liked to know her story as well.   hide

I love McEwan, but this was a total miss for me.