On Chisel Beach

 

Title: On Chesil Beach

Author: Ian McEwan

Publication date: 2008

Book's setting: 1960's

Random facts: I bought this for 99 cents in a used bookstore because it was so tiny I could bring it home in my purse.

Plot summary: A young couple (virgins) on the eve of their wedding, in a society on the cusp of a sexual revolution (that they're like a tad to old to catch) and what happens that night. The middle of the book is a recount of the courtship but the first 50 pages or so, and last 50 pages or so is purely moment-by-moment recount of their evening.

Favorite aspects: Beautifully written. I mean, insanely amazing prose. This is the man who wrote Atonement, so I expected nothing less. So quotable, so emotional. I felt like I was in the skin of both characters as they took in their environment, tried to swallow their fears. The book is quite grounded in its historical period as well. Some very funny quips about England at the time, politically. Interesting insight into the society through this microscopic story.

Least favorite aspects: I think that I was expecting something a little more driven by the end. I'm not sure what the core was. McEwan used two very separate voices sharing their own experiences, but it wasn't much more than experiences. The epilogue-type part at the end was weird. I think that the book didn't really need it. Or, if McEwan was going to give us a glimpse of the future (after the wedding night events) than he really should have hit us in the gut. Instead I felt like I was reading the five page version of One Day by David Nicholls.

Other works it reminded me of: One Day by David Nicholls.

Sadie's merciless break-down: I enjoyed it more reading it than I did in retroscept. It was one of those novels where the prose, the insensity of the reading process, the emotional insensity- that's what made it so good. Now... looking back, I don't really care much what happened in the book. (Unlike Atonement, where I think I'll take that trauma to the grave.)

Recommendation rate: Only if you don't mind sad books. Or if you are a sucker for perfect prose.