BORDERS BOOK REVIEW: On Chesil Beach – Ian McEwan

Shahirah Mohamed Ansari | shahirah_@nus.edu.sg
the ridge transmedia
A NUSSU Publication

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The romance novel may be overdone, but acclaimed author Ian McEwan has managed to inject originality to this tired genre in his latest novel, On Chesil Beach. In this latest offering, McEwan explores how deeply and profoundly the events throughout a person’s life can shape their attitudes and beliefs towards sex.

Edward and Florence are a pair of newlyweds on the cusp of adulthood, who, after a chaste courtship, anticipate their wedding night with a mixture of dread and apprehension. Arriving at Chesil Beach mere hours after their nuptials, they commence their honeymoon with an awkward dinner, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Through numerous insightful flashbacks interspersed across the wedding night, the reader is made aware of the unique experiences in each of the characters’ lives which define and explain their behaviour.

As the night wears on, the pressures of their respective inexperience mingled with the desire to please become a little too much to bear for the couple and the night threatens to spiral out of control.

Beneath the veneer of love and heartbreak is a cautionary tale of how our choices can lead us down the road to perdition. On Chesil Beach illustrates how choosing not to act can sometimes bring about as much adversity as choosing to act—something anyone who has been in a “shoulda, woulda, coulda” situation can relate to.

On Chesil Beach is a great book for readers in search of a slow, leisurely read on a lazy day, because this book requires some measure of patience to get through. Some readers may deem the author’s liberal use of adjectives somewhat excessive, and even tedious, but, ipso facto, logophiles will find reading this book an absolute joy.

McEwan is a masterful wordsmith who portrays settings, situations and characters with detailed intricacy. It takes little imagination on the reader’s part to actually visualise the events unfolding in our mind’s eye; his words conjure up images almost as vividly as film.

Following the success of McEwan’s multiple award-winning novel Atonement (which has since been immortalized in celluloid), On Chesil Beach seems significantly more understated in comparison. Nevertheless, its simple premise and in-depth character development make it yet another must-read from this Booker Prize-winning author.