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| On Chesil Beach | 
 enlarge | Author: Ian Mcewan
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy Used: £0.12
You Save: £6.87 (98%)
New (34) Collectible (1) from £2.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 778
Media: Paperback
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0099512793
EAN: 9780099512790
ASIN: 0099512793
Publication Date: January 3, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Boring June 9, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
McEwan appears to like to write depressing stories with an overwhelming amount of boring details. Very difficult to plod through. This book takes the cake. Who wants to read pages and pages of excruciating details of a couples intimate sex life on their wedding night. I've forced myself to read half the book, but I don't know if I can talk myself into finishing it. In the beginning I tried twice to start reading it and couldn't get interested. Then someone in our book club recommended it, so I'm trying to make myself read it. Don't think I'll succeed in finishing it.
Overblown and underwhelming May 31, 2008
4 out of 9 found this review helpful
McEwan used to be a terrific writer of short stories. He still is, only nowadays tends to inflate them to whatever length qualifies them for the Booker and the 3-for-2 table in Waterstones. This is a faintly risible tale of two shy and repressed individuals making a total hash of their wedding night and consequently the rest of their lives. It could have been a sharp and affecting short story, instead McEwan makes his "lovers" so incredibly naive and inarticulate they become caricatures, cyphers for a trot through every cliche about British uptighness. It's not really clear who this is aimed at or what the point is, and it's beautifully written but there's no excuse whatsoever for the inordinate length.
 very disappointing May 17, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've enjoyed most of McEwan's work, and thought Atonement was outstanding, but this failed to deliver. It really felt quite shoddy. If it had been written by someone else I wouldn't have had high expectations, but as it is it felt like McEwan couldn't be bothered. The language felt clumsy, and I didn't believe in the characters let alone empathise with them. I was also irritated by the fact that a couple of facts in the book were plain wrong - for example, about National Service which would have been pahsed out before Edward as eligible for it.
Having said all the above, I thought the subject itself was interesting and there were times when I could relate to the situation, but the chararcters let it down. It could have been so much more than it was, there was a lot there that could have been explored. This is one case where I think "less is more" definitely doesn't apply.
 faultless May 14, 2008
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
A perfectly crafted book. A very short book (I read it in one morning, on Salalah beach - very different from Chesil), but a flawless exploration of love, desire, uncertainty and the consequences of decisions.
A very Ian McEwan book, with all that his books think about personal relationships and brooding possibilities of disaster. I was swept away by Atonement and Saturday, which are great novels - but I now see the flaws in them - this I found faultess.
Far from his best May 10, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
I think I have read all of McEwan's work, so obviously I am a fan. However I found it rather disappointing. It is still very readable, but really not up to the standard that McEwan has set.
Although very short, I found most of the book a little laboured - taking too long to get through a relatively small amount of plot. And then suddenly he covers forty years in a few pages, which is rather bizarre.
If, like me, you like McEwan's work you will probably read it anyway. If so, don't set your expectations so high as his better work and you will probably enjoy this as a mediocre work.
If you have not read McEwan before, I suggest you start elsewhere. "Enduring Love", "Atonement" and "The Cement Garden" are all excellent.
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