Reviews

The Beach by Alex Garland

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suzzeb22's review against another edition

3.0

While entertaining I certainly wouldn't praise this book as superbly written or good from start to finish. The odd turn the characters take towards the end of the book seems completely out of sync with the story. It turned into something I didn't think it was; gory adolescent images. I liked what Garland did with Richard's crush on Francoise. I liked the ending but felt it could've gone into more detail. His writing from a traveller's perspective about finding the untouched place was well done and he evoked that quite well. I would recommend it but it only gets three stars from me...

hilikus_00's review against another edition

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5.0

"I have fallen out of the habit of writing reviews for the books that I've been reading but upon completing The Beach, I felt compelled to share with others how great a book it is.
I could not put this book down. It was gripping from beginning to end. I loved how despite Richard's worsening mental health, despite the fact that a lot of the time he acted like quite a jerk, I still liked him, and sympathized with him when adversities occured; and were there ever adversities. I loved Daffy's character and how he was just a facet of Richard's psyche. There was so much that I loved about this book. Absolutely brilliant.

alissamk's review against another edition

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4.0

Reading this was like a whole experience. I think that 90's "edginess" would have been more appealing to me if I'd actually read it in the 90's when it came out. But all the same it was a very captivating if bizarre story (which kind of describes everything Alex Garland has written). I'm glad I read this.

readingspells's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I recently saw that this book is nearly 30 years old. I remember when it came out. It was everywhere, every book shop, library, airport. The original cover with the beach and the eye would be staring out at you.

I read it back then and my memory of it was that it was a bit weird but I enjoyed it. Realising it was nearly 30 years old I decided to reread it. I actually listened to the audio and really my summery is still the same. Bit weird but I enjoyed it.

It really does gallop along. The pace is brilliant and I was hooked from the first page to the last. The author does a good job of creating tension and a sense of foreboding which all builds to the ending.

Richard, the main character, is a twat. He is obsessed with the Vietnam war despite not having fought in it, has a big addiction to cigarettes which even the remote location can't cure and is fairly selfish and yet also oddly kind and caring at times too. I rolled my eyes at him multiple times and yet was also totally invested in his story.

Is he a reliable narrator? Maybe not and yet he help me in the grips of his tale right the way through and I even ended up staying up to listen to last 20 minutes as I had to know.

I am really glad I reread this. I think it's stood the test of time relatively well, it's way better (darker and grittier) than the movie and had a definite Lord of the Flies vibe running through it.

wanderlustcrew's review against another edition

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3.0

What did I just read? I’m a bit baffled. Reminded me of Lord of the Flies with more drugs. It was intriguing enough to finish it but still. WTF? Read because I’m going to Thailand and it was recommended but I would not recommend this to anyone visiting Thailand.