= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Archive for August 11th, 2008
Monday, August 11th, 2008On Chesil Beach - Book Review
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. -From On Chesil Beach, page 3-
Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach is the story of two people - Edward and Florence - who marry in 1962, on the cusp of the sexual revolution. They come from starkly different pasts. Edward is the son of a poor farmer, while Florence comes from a wealthy background. Florence is a gifted musician who loves classical music, and although Edward loves to watch Florence play the violin, his musical interests lie in rock and roll. But it is not only their pasts and interests which diverge in this slim novel, but their expectations of intimacy. Early on the reader feels a sense of unease about Florence, that there is a secret she clasps close to her heart while emotionally isolating herself from others.
All these years she had lived in isolation within herself and, strangely, from herself, never wanting or daring to look back. In the stone-floored echoing hall with the heavy low beams, her problems with Edward were already present in those first few seconds, in their first exchange of looks. -From On Chesil Beach, page 76-
On Chesil Beach takes place mostly on the eve of Edward and Florence’s wedding where the expectations around consummating the marriage create the tension in the novel. Each character brings with them a past which shapes the present…and ultimately their future.
McEwan is a precise writer who has sharpened his prose to a fine point in this stunning book about intimacy and empathy. Inaction can be more tragic than action - and On Chesil Beach demonstrates this idea vividly. McEwan is brilliant in the development of his characters - compressing their lives and drawing their motivations toward one moment in time which becomes irretrievable. The writing is absorbing and riveting and no word is wasted.
Many readers may find the subject matter uncomfortable, which I believe was McEwan’s intent. But those readers who overcome their discomfort will uncover a gem of a book which is sharply observed and compassionate.
On Chesil Beach was short listed for the Booker Prize in 2007.
Highly recommended.
Check this out…
The Piker Press, a weekly ezine, will be periodically publishing reviews by Caribousmom on their site. This week a review of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is being featured. The Piker Press publishes a wide variety of short stories, serial novels, essays, creative non-fiction, poetry, book reviews, photography, and original comics. If you haven’t stopped by to see them, I encourage you to do so! And tell them Wendy sent you!
Mailbox Monday - August 11, 2008
It’s Monday and time to take stock of the gems that appeared in my mailbox this week.
House and Home, by Kathleen McCleary - I received this for the upcoming Book Tour hosted through TLC Book Tours. Here is the schedule for the book tour:
Wednesday, September 3rd: Hooked on Houses
Friday, September 5th: It’s All About Books
Monday, September 8th: The Literate Housewife
Wednesday, September 10th: Books and Cooks
Friday, September 12th: Breaking the Spine
Monday, September 15th: She Is Too Fond Of Books
Wednesday, September 17th: Caribousmom
Thursday, September 18th: Age 30 - A Year of Books
Monday, September 22nd: Booking Mama
Wednesday, September 24th: The Inside Cover
Friday, September 26th: In the Shadow of Mt. TBR
Monday, September 29th: Displaced Beach Bums
Devil’s Brood, by Sharon Kay Penman - I was thrilled to receive this Advance Reader’s Edition. The book is scheduled for release October 7, 2008. I am a huge Penman fan and this is the long awaited third book in the Trilogy of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine (first in the series is When Christ and His Saints Slept; second in the series is Time and Chance). Penman writes compelling historical fiction. I can’t wait to read this one!
To see what other readers got in THEIR mailboxes this week, visit Marcia’s post today on The Printed Page.