You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
Group Themed Reads: Discussions
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Our January reads - Gone by Michael Grant and On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
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I'm in the very short queue (yay) for Gone at my library and they also have On Chesil Beach!!Really like the sound of Gone and have never read any of Ian McEwan's work.
I'm looking forward to Gone it sounds intriguing. I'm not a fan of Ian McEwan it seems to take him a long time to get round to saying anything of any significance, but I know i'm in a very small minority on this so I'm sure the rest of you will enjoy "On Chesil Beach"!
Chris wrote: "I'm looking forward to Gone it sounds intriguing. I'm not a fan of Ian McEwan it seems to take him a long time to get round to saying anything of any significance, but I know i'm in a very small mi..."I agree with you on both points. Gone sounds like an interesting premise. I have tried to read two of McEwan's books and given up in boredom both times.
John wrote: "Chris wrote: "I'm looking forward to Gone it sounds intriguing. I'm not a fan of Ian McEwan it seems to take him a long time to get round to saying anything of any significance, but I know i'm in a..."it is a very good book and i think that it will be enjoyable even though it is a young adult book
Thanks John I'm glad I'm not alone! Let's hope Gone is as good as it looks.
Chris wrote: "I'm not a fan of Ian McEwan it seems to take him a long time to get round to saying anything of any significance, but I know i'm in a very small minority..."On Chesil Beach is pretty short, so in this case, he says what he wants to say more quickly than some of his books, though even so, he manages to go off on some tangents, telling the back story of the couple. Fascinating and sad, but if you don't like McEwan I won't try to persuade you. ;-)
Chris
I know that this is slightly off topic.
One of McEwan's earlier works, 'The Comfort of Strangers' is morbidly excellent - it is like 'The Wasp Factory', repulsive but highly readable.
If you want to give him another go that might be worth trying.
I know that this is slightly off topic.
One of McEwan's earlier works, 'The Comfort of Strangers' is morbidly excellent - it is like 'The Wasp Factory', repulsive but highly readable.
If you want to give him another go that might be worth trying.
Thanks Henk and Cecily I might put The Comfort of Strangers on my tbr list but no promises!!!!
Gone by Michael Grant
Book Summary
Suddenly there are no adults, no answers. What would you do? In the blink of an eye, the world changes. The adults vanish without a trace, and those left must do all they can to survive. But everyone's idea of survival is different. Some look after themselves, some look after others, and some will do anything for power...Even kill. For Sam and Astrid, it is a race against time as they try to solve the questions that now dominate their lives...What is the mysterious wall that has encircled the town of Perdido Beach and trapped everyone within? Why have some kids developed strange powers? And can they defeat Caine and his gang of bullies before they turn fifteen and disappear too? It isn't until the world collapses around you that you find out what kind of person you really are. This book offers a chilling portrayal of a world with no rules. When life as you know it ends at 15, everything changes.
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On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Book Summary
It is July 1962. In a hotel on the Dorset coast, overlooking Chesil Beach, Edward and Florence, who got married that morning, are sitting down to dinner in their room. Bound by the protocols of the era neither is entirely able to suppress their anxieties about the wedding night to come. A subtle exploration of the sexual politics of a bygone age where lives are transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.
‘A master feat of concentration in both senses of the word’
Sunday Times
‘Superb…The protagonists have everything to lose,
and their faltering journey towards a point of no return is conjured into life by McEwan with irresistible subtlety, tact and force’
Financial Times
‘Exquisitely crafted’
Evening Standard
‘Written with a fierce pursuit of the truth and
an utterly modern self-awareness, what a confident
tour de force this turns out to be’
Sunday Express
‘A short, sharp shock of a story… McEwan is word-perfect at handling the awkward comedy of this relationship and, as ever, turning it into something far more disturbing… wonderful’
Observer
About the author
Ian McEwan was born on 21st June 1948 in Aldershot. His novels include The Cement Garden, The Comfort of Strangers (shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1981), A Child in Time, The Innocent, Black Dogs (shortlisted for The Booker Prize in 1992), The Daydreamer, Enduring Love (which has since been made into a film starring Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans), Amsterdam (winner of the Booker Prize in 1998) and Atonement, (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2001) which has recently been made into a critically acclaimed film starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. He has also written collections of short stories, including First Love, Last Rites, and several film scripts. Ian McEwan lives in London and Henley-on-Thames.