On Chesil Beach

This short novel has at its core a calamitous wedding night between an inexperienced pair of characters in the early 1960s, the circumstances that led to this moment, and an epilogue describing the repercussions it left for one of the characters. Most of the focus is on the inner thoughts of the characters, making their feeble attempts to communicate with one another seem all the more pathetic. I pitied them in a way for how poorly they had been equipped for the task at hand, and I felt that McEwan told their story in a way calculated to make it difficult to assign all the blame to any one individual.

If I had read this book in my early twenties, I probably would not have enjoyed it. I am in my mid-fifties and can appreciate the story so much more. I see this as a story of two immature, frightened people, caught in the social proprieties of the times. They are unable to truly communicate with each other with disastrous results. My heart ached for each of them. Edward loved Florence but didn't understand the importance of patience and gentleness. Florence loved Edward but was traumatized by the sheer physicality of making love (and perhaps some previous abuse at the hands of her father). I found this short novel to be full of rich detail and glimpses of some very complicated characters. I have to wonder how many marriages in the show more sexually repressed fifties and early sixties had similar beginnings. McEwan's shifts in time and point of view were powerful backdrops to the pivotal scene and made the outcome both somewhat predictable and all the more tragic. I also felt his description of Edward's later life (and Florence's to a lesser degree) made the story even more compelling. This event was truly life-changing for both characters. The reader can't help wondering what would have happened if they had been more open to discussing the problem and less constrained by social mores and their own lack of confidence. show less

When we look back on our lives, the things we chose not to do might turn out to be far more important than the things we did. Ian McEwan beautifully explores this notion in On Chesil Beach. The novel, set in 1962 England, presents us with a newly-married couple, both of whom are 22-year-old frightened virgins. Sadly, and ultimately tragically, they're stymied not only by the sexual repression of their time and place, but also by rigid class distinctions.

The end of this story is as heartbreaking as you'll ever read. This is one of the few books I've read in the past few years that I can't get out of my head.

Summary: It's 1962, and Florence and Edward have just gotten married, and are on their honeymoon. Both are virgins, both are unsure about what happens next, both have wildly divergent opinions about sex (Edward being eager; Florence being totally disinterested and disgusted, but still feeling a sense of obligation). Neither of them, however, is able to communicate their feelings about the matter to the other, and so their wedding night quickly spirals further and further into awkwardness, isolation, and unhappiness.

Review: I'm having a hard time reviewing this book. On the one hand, I understand that it was meant to be more of a literary exercise, and on technical grounds, it succeeds wonderfully - it's elegantly crafted and flawlessly show more written. On the other hand, I didn't particularly enjoy listening to it, in large part because I wasn't in the mood for "literary exercise" - I wanted a story.

It's also very hard to enjoy a story when you find both characters to be obnoxious twits who you just want to shake by the shoulders while yelling "Just TALK TO HIM/HER, already, GOD!" And yes, I get that the fact that they couldn't talk to each other was kind of the point of the book, but that didn't stop it from being annoying. The resultant awkwardness was certainly recognizable (how often do we really talk totally openly about sex, even nowadays?), and familiar enough to make reading about it uncomfortable. While literature that makes you uncomfortable certainly has its place, and there are certainly tons of folks out there who can and do appreciate this book for its meditative musings and meticulous tone, it just wasn't what I wanted to be listening to. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: I can recommend this book for aspiring writers as an excellent look at the process of crafting story, scene, characters and conflict. For someone who's just looking to get lost in an enjoyable read, however, they'd be best served looking elsewhere. show less

Ian Mc Ewan is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

This is a short, simple story about a newly married couple called Florence and Edward and how " You can ruin everything by not speaking up"

I listened to this book which was narrated by Ian McEwan and what a wonderful experience that was.
This is one of those books that is full of hidden depth. On the surface the story may seem quite straight forward and yet there is so much depth to the characters and situations than first appears.

McEwan has a gift as a writer and he pays amazing attention to detail, his prose is beautiful and not one word is wasted in the perfectly paced novel. I love how vivid he can create characters in such a short novel . Florence and Edward are just show more wonderfully developed and I found myself sympathising with both of them and the tragic situation they find themselves in. Like them or not you just can't help being drawn into this story.

A great read and a book that would make for wonderful discussion in a book club. show less

Ian McEwan has a unique ability to make me love his books, despite making me feel so terribly sad. On Chesil Beach is the story of one young couple's ill-fated wedding night. The book opens as Florence and Edward are enjoying a private dinner in their honeymoon suite:
They were young, educated, and both virgins on this, their wedding night, and they lived in a time when conversation about sexual difficulties was plainly impossible. But it is never easy. They were sitting down to supper in a tiny sitting room on the first floor of a Georgian inn. In the next room, visible through the open door, was a four-poster bed, rather narrow, whose bedcover was pure white and stretched startlingly smooth, as though by no human hand. (p. 1)

Florence show more was scared to death, ill-informed, and disgusted by the few facts she knew about impending events. Edward was filled with desire, but also with intense fear of failure. The first chapter (33 pages) builds tension up to the point that Florence and Edward make their way towards that four-poster.

McEwan then leaves Edward and Florence in a state of suspended animation, and takes the reader back in time to understand how they met, their family histories, and their relationship. Florence is a violinist in a string quartet, and the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Edward was from more humble stock, but well-educated, and while he did not particularly appreciate classical music, he was very supportive of Florence. He also dutifully accepted employment with Florence's father, even though it was far removed from his field of expertise.

Back to the bedroom, where you can cut the tension with a knife. You just know things aren't going to go well for this couple, and their complete inability to communicate just takes things from bad to worse. It's not just that they can't talk about sex, it seems they can't talk about anything important. Their responses are all too human, but as McEwan shows, small acts of anger have lasting consequences.

At just over 150 pages, On Chesil Beach was a very quick read, but Ian McEwan is such a master at both characterization and drama that the book had enormous emotional impact. show less

I remember that my Creative Writing professor – though imparting a world of wisdom on to me about many different forms of writing – had very different tastes to me when it came to reading preferences. I found that our opinions differed heavily on what we thought was good and wasn’t and we would often get into little spats about some writing.

Nevertheless, I always took her suggestions and ran with them, at least researching the book and deciding if I wanted to read it. One of the books she spoke about was this one, although she did say something that I disagree with. But we’ll get to that later.

On Chesil Beach is about a couple, Edward and Florence, who are young newlyweds on their honeymoon in Dorset. Edward and Florence really show more do love each other, and you can tell that they’re excited to experience the rest of their lives together, if for one small thing. Neither one of them has been spoken to about sex before, only knowing that it is a duty that married couples should embark on and not something that should be enjoyed.

The book’s premise is quite simple – it centers around the fear of intimacy on their honeymoon, and the repressed nature of the time frame of the book (1960-1970s). The novella also gives us an insight into their relationship, how it came about and how they are around each other, each other’s parents, their friends, their family. It gives you a pretty good idea of who they are as people, and it is so beautifully written.

But…

I remember that when I picked this book up, my professor had told us that it was obvious that Florence was a lesbian and hadn’t accepted it, seeing as that was the mentality of the time in the UK. But once I picked it up and read it myself, fully expecting to get this feeling from her as a character, I found that I couldn’t find it myself.

Because Florence isn’t a lesbian. She’s asexual.

Now, you might be telling me that asexuality isn’t a thing, but hear me out. I have met a fair few people in my life who have identified on the asexual spectrum. All it essentially means is that somebody doesn’t experience sexual attraction. It’s a perfectly normal thing, albeit it you don’t meet a lot of people who are asexual, and you certainly don’t see it represented in the media or books. And Florence, with her genuine fear of sex in general despite her actual love for Edward, is the perfect example of an asexual literary icon.

While the ending leaves a little bit to be desired (spoiler alert: people who are asexual don’t have to spend the rest of their life alone and can be in fulfilling marriages and have successful lives too end spoiler) I feel like the novella does a really good job of looking at not only the consequences of not having a proper sex education, but also the consequences of following societal norms when they just aren’t for you. And whether you agree with me or read Florence as a lesbian, the message there is still pretty clear.

Final rating: 5/5. Wonderful read! show less