On Chesil Beach By Ian McEwan
"On Chesil Beach" is a novel by multi-award winning author, Ian McEwan first published in 2007
On a summer evening in 1962, just before the "sexual revolution", two newlyweds sit down to dinner in the honeymoon suite of a Dorset hotel. Edward and Florence are both aged 22, both virgins and both are anticipating the consummation of their marriage with anxiety.
Edward is enthusiastic, if a little worried about his lack of experience. He fears "arriving too soon" but is determined not to let his worries spoil an event he has been anticipating for so long.
Florence, on the other hand is scared and rather revolted by the thought of what is going to happen. She has read a "bride's handbook" which described the sexual act in purely medical terms and this has merely served to add to her fears and feelings of disgust.
The events of their wedding night will have a profound impact of the future happiness of Edward and Florence...
"McEwan has written a story rich in psychological insight and deep compassion for his characters".
"On Chesil Beach" was shortlisted for The Man Booker Prize in 2007
"On Chesil Beach" - Table of Contents
- Excerpt From "On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan
- "On Chesil Beach" - Video About The Book Featuring Location And Interviews With Ian McEwan
- Where Is "Chesil Beach"?
- Reviews Of "On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan
- Interview With Ian McEwan - "On Chesil Beach"
- "On Chesil Beach" - Novel
- "On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan On eBay
- "On Chesil Beach" On YouTube
- "On Chesil Beach" Blog Posts
- More About The Author Of "On Chesil Beach" - Ian McEwan
- Interpreting The Works Of Ian McEwan
- "On Chesil Beach" Feedback
- Other Novels By Ian McEwan
- Other Novels By Ian McEwan
- Short Stories By Ian McEwan
- Word of the Day
Excerpt From "On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan
Extract from "On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan...
- NPR: Ian McEwan's 'On Chesil Beach'
- Though it's set in the bygone pre-Sexual Revolution era of 1962, British novelist Ian McEwan says his latest book, about a disastrous wedding night, still manages to connect with a younger generation of readers.
"On Chesil Beach" - Video About The Book Featuring Location And Interviews With Ian McEwan
Out of the Book Films: Ian McEwan (Trailer)
Powell's Books introduces a groundbreaking series of compelling short films about authors. Out of the Book™ delivers engaging portraits of writers and their work. More expansive than traditional readings, the project aims to generate spirited discussion about great new books and their impact on readers' lives. Out of the Book's first edition features bestselling British author Ian McEwan and his novel, On Chesil Beach. Directed by Doug Biro (Herbie Hancock: Possibilities) and shot over four days in England and the United States, the film includes interviews with McEwan in London, on-location footage from Chesil Beach, an original soundtrack, commentary from peers and critics, and more.
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Where Is "Chesil Beach"?
The word "chesil" means "pebble"!
Chesil Beach is an 18 miles long shingle bank reaching from Portland Bill to Abbotsbury in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The bank protects the land behind it, without it the sea would be further inland.Chesil is a steep slope of shingle fronted by pebbles which have been polished smooth by the action of the waves.
The 18 mile-long 'Great Beach' is a natural barrier to the Fleet lagoon, a tidal lagoon that is home to a variety of fish, sea anemones, sea grasses and numerous types of seaweed.
Pebbles are larger at the Portland end.
Both the Chesil Bank and the Fleet lagoon are considered nationally important and are protected by international agreements that recognise the importance of the wildlife and geology.
Reviews Of "On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan
- On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan | The digested read | Guardian Unlimited Books
- Guardian Unlimited review
- Review: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan | By genre | Guardian Unlimited Books
- Another Guardian Unlimited review
- Book Review: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
- Blogcritics is an online magazine, a community of writers and readers from around the globe.
- London Review Of Books
- Dissecting the Body - Colm Tóibín
- The New York Times - On Chesil Beach
- The New York Times review
Interview With Ian McEwan - "On Chesil Beach"
- IAN MCEWAN: A ‘first time’ as awesome as Booker night
- Ian McEwan on why human nature never changes
"On Chesil Beach" - Novel
On Chesil Beach: A Novel
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"Such is Ian McEwan's genius that, despite rambling nature walks and the naming of birds, his subject matter remains hermetically sealed in the hearts of two people.
It is 1962 when Edward and Florence, 23 and 22 respectively, marry and repair to a hotel on the Dorset coast for their honeymoon. They are both virgins, both apprehensive about what's next and in Florence's case, utterly and blindly terrified and repelled by the little she knows. Through a tense dinner in their room, because Florence has decided that the weather is not fine enough to dine on the terrace, they are attended by two local boys acting as waiters. The cameo appearances of the boys and Edward and Florence's parents and siblings serve only to underline the emotional isolation of the two principals. Florence says of herself: "...she lacked some simple mental trick that everyone else had, a mechanism so ordinary that no one ever mentioned it, an immediate sensual connection to people and events, and to her own needs and desires...."
They are on the cusp of a rather ordinary marital undertaking in differing states of readiness, willingness and ardor. McEwan says: "Where he merely suffered conventional first-night nerves, she experienced a visceral dread, a helpless disgust as palpable as seasickness." Edward, having denied himself even the release of self-pleasuring for a week, in order to be tip-top for Florence, is mentally pawing the ground. His sensitivity keeps him from being obvious, but he is getting anxious. Florence, on the other hand, knows that she is not capable of the kind of arousal that will make any of this easy. She has held Edward off for a year, and now the reckoning is upon her.
McEwan is the master of the defining moment, that place and time when, once it has taken place, nothing will ever be the same after it. It does not go well and Florence flees the room. "As she understood it, there were no words to name what had happened, there existed no shared language in which two sane adults could describe such events to each other." Edward eventually follows her and they have a poignant and painful conversation where accusations are made, ugly things are said and roads are taken from which, in the case of these two, the way back cannot be found. Late in Edward's life he realizes: "Love and patience--if only he had them both at once--would surely have seen them both through." This beautifully told sad story could have been conceived and written only by Ian McEwan." Valerie Ryan
"On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan On eBay
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"On Chesil Beach" On YouTube
"On Chesil Beach" Blog Posts
Bloggers write about "On Chesil Beach" By Ian McEwan...
- On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
- This is how the entire course of a life can be changed - by doing nothing. (Pg 166). For more... On Chesil Beach extract from The New Yorker Did I like it? Well, loved it. Recommended. A bonus: it is a short book.
- Many Many books
- 160.5 On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (2.5/5) 161.5 The Library Paradox by Catherinw Shaw (4/5) 162.5 The Geometry of Love by Jane Blank (2/5) 163 The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (3/5) 164 Naked in Death by Nora Roberts writing as JD ...
- Book Review: Ian McEwan – On Chesil Beach
- On Chesil Beach is a snapshot of the life of a newly-wed couple who are on their honeymoon at a beach. In his book, Ian McEwan describes the first night the couple is about to spend together. But that night is not full of romance and ...
- "The Child In Time" by Ian McEwan
- This week, the book blog books i done read reviewed an Ian McEwan book I've never heard of before - The Child In Time, which came out in 1987. I've read Atonement (which I loved) and On Chesil Beach (reviewed on this blog here). ...
More About The Author Of "On Chesil Beach" - Ian McEwan
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Ian McEwan - British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, And Screenwriter
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Ian McEwan has been writing fiction since the 1970's and has written many bestsellers and received numerous literary awards and glowing critical acclaim.... It is difficult to sum up McEwan's writing...a few words and phrases spring to mind...bold,...
Interpreting The Works Of Ian McEwan
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