On Chesil Beach in Constant Reader

Feb 22, 2008 Jen C. rated it really liked it

I truly enjoyed On Chesil Beach. I was disappointed by Saturday, and Amsterdam, the only other short Ian McEwan novel I've read, left me cold. But OCB is a short novel with a whole lot of emotion. This is partially because the book discusses choices and consequences, paths followed and paths not followed-- themes understood universally. More importantly, however, OCB succeeds because the reader becomes familiar with and invested in the story's characters, even if they are only known to us for le ...more

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Jun 28, 2013 Pang rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: constant-reader, historical-fiction

Wow. WOW! (I'm still digesting everything.)

The book got me from the very 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. But it is never easy.

So... Edward and Florence are spending their first night together. He is certainly eager, while she... not so much.

He was under her tongue, pushing it up against the roof of her mouth, then on top, pushing down, then sl

Wow. WOW! (I'm still digesting everything.)

The book got me from the very 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. But it is never easy.

So... Edward and Florence are spending their first night together. He is certainly eager, while she... not so much.

He was under her tongue, pushing it up against the roof of her mouth, then on top, pushing down, then sliding smoothly along the sides and round, as though he thought he could tie a simple up-and-over knot. He wanted to engage her tongue in some activity of its own, coax it into a hideous mute duet, but she could only shrink and concentrate on not struggling, not gagging, no panicking.

Hahaha! But then...

In deciding to be married, she had agreed to exactly this. She had agreed it was right to do this and have this done to her. When he heard her moan, Edward knew that his happiness was almost complete.

(Emphasis mine.) That's just sad.
And in this last quote, it tells so much about the book. While the bulk of the book was about their honeymoon night, but it wasn't all about sex. Rather it was about self... and how people can't say or won't say their feelings, even to themselves. The setting, Chesil Beach, is not a sandy beach, but rather is full of pebbles. It's hard to walk on. And if you take a stroll on it, there's no other way out except to turn around. This is telling of the story of Edward and Florence.

McEwan's writing was so good, I felt like I was there with Edward and Florence, watching the whole awkward, funny, tender and pathetic first time love-making going down. Every sentence was pure poetic. I felt like he was toying with me right from the beginning, with a bit of teasing in every bite. And I did take that bite... TWICE! (I'm reading it again immediately.) Every sentence, every paragraph has meaning or clue attached to it, which makes rereading it even more joyful.

The book was funny yet sad, and for some reasons it was personal to me. They came together by chance, and yet only if they'd acted differently the outcome would have been much different. I didn't really like Atonement when I read it several years back, but I'm curious to see if I'd like it more now. May be I missed something.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****
I thought it was a little sad that Florence felt she had to marry Edward as like a natural path. And that Edward proposed to her because he could no longer take the sexual tension. This may not happen in many marriages, but I could see it for some. "Settling," anyone?

I was hoping that Edward and Florence would come back together in the end, but it didn't disappoint me enough not to give this book 5-star. He was an ass to her, and he even admitted to his anger/tantrum issue. And with us knowing what really happened to Florence, except that she turned out to be alright and lived her dream, you got to hear more of the regret Edward was feeling. He realized that he overreacted... and if only he'd called her back to him, she would have.

The digested read ...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Debbie Petersen Wolven rated it it was ok

Bleh. This book is so forgettable that I forgot to even include it in books I have read until I saw someone else's review and recognized the storyline. Way to over-react, people. ...more

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Dec 04, 2008 Mary Crabtree rated it it was ok

Having loved Atonement I was soooo excited when this came out.....but I was sooooo disappointed when I read it. It's a tiny book, with a tiny story and tiny like people living in it. ...more

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Apr 20, 2008 Marian rated it really liked it

What impressed me the most about this story was not the story itself, but the two leading characters, the man and the woman that Mr. McEwan portrayed in such loving, careful detail. The plot is slight, it can be summed up in one sentence, but I will not go into it except that it involves a young English couple on their wedding night. Ian McEwan's writing makes the reader care, very much, what happens to them. ...more

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Feb 13, 2008 Courtney rated it really liked it

I can't imagine being this afraid of sex. Do people still have this much fear going into marriage as a virgin or is it just a representation of the times? ...more

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