Staff Pick
One of McEwan's stellar character studies, On Chesil Beach is the story of a marriage gone horribly wrong, almost before it's begun. Florence is particularly naive about the mechanics of marriage, and though she and Edward are close friends, they don't communicate about things that are vital. McEwan produces a book that feels like a veiled glimpse into the intimate lives of this couple at the crossroads of romance, desire, and fear. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
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A novel of remarkable depth and poignancy from one of the most acclaimed writers of our time
It is July 1962. Florence is a talented musician who dreams of a career on the concert stage and of the perfect life she will create with Edward, an earnest young history student at University College of London, who unexpectedly wooed and won her heart. Newly married that morning, both virgins, Edward and Florence arrive at a hotel on the Dorset coast. At dinner in their rooms they struggle to suppress their worries about the wedding night to come. Edward, eager for rapture, frets over Florences response to his advances and nurses a private fear of failure, while Florences anxieties run deeper: she is overcome by sheer disgust at the idea of physical contact, but dreads disappointing her husband when they finally lie down together in the honeymoon suite.
Ian McEwan has caught with understanding and compassion the innocence of Edward and Florence at a time when marriage was presumed to be the outward sign of maturity and independence. On Chesil Beach is another masterwork from McEwan-a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.
About the Author
IAN McEWAN is the author of two collections of stories and ten previous novels, including Enduring Love, Amsterdam, for which he won the Booker Prize in 1998, Atonement, and Saturday.