On Chesil Beach **

Author - Ian McEwan
2007 - Nan A. Talese / Doubleday / Random House
pages - 203

Ian McEwan is one of my favorite authors. This is the 5th book I've read by him. While I don't consider him to be a master (meaning he creates masterpieces), I do think he is very good and always a solid enjoyable read. Of what I have read so far, Atonement would be the closest to masterpiece if not an outright masterpiece. The book that won the Booker Prize, Amsterdam, was underwhelming to me, though I did enjoy it.

I am discussing all this to demonstrate the variation of quality in his work, because I would consider this a minor work. I am guessing that it is something he ripped off in a relatively short time. There are several reasons I come to this conclusion just by looking at the book's physical presence. It's short (about 200 pages) and the dimensions of the page are smaller than most books. The margins are wide and the text is fairly large. I get the feeling that the publisher was trying to make this relatively small text appear meatier by using the above mentioned techniques famous to all students trying to stretch out a short paper. So it's a minor work.

It's concept is kind of limited also, though it is a very interesting concept. Most of the action happens on the night that a young couple are about to consummate their marriage. It is problematic because the couple are virgins and the time is 1962, when society was a tad more chaste to begin with (though the book does show the beginning of society growing into a more open society). There are flashbacks which describe the characters families and how they met, but I feel there is limited character development. I wouldn't call that a flaw as the main idea of the book is what happens on the wedding night. It is kind of a concept book, not a fully fleshed out piece of literature. It could almost be a short story.

What's interesting about this idea, is that this chaste setting and background further exacerbates the feelings of the bride. She is repulsed by physical touch, yet she knows it is her responsibility and duty to consummate the marriage, and she understands that, which adds to her guilt. After this fairly disastrous night is over, the author briefly describes what happens to the future of this couple and the regret and loss which occurs from things not said or done.

This is a very English books, and McEwan spends a lot of time describing the idyllic settings, which made it slow reading at times. Perhaps I could not relate because I am unfamiliar with these settings. I was not able to place myself in one setting or the other. They all seemed to blend together.

And here is someone else's much more articulate and informing book review.