I had never read Ian McEwan before, not even Atonement. So it was with great anticipation that I picked up 'On Chesil Beach'. And what a fabulous read it turned out to be!
'Wonderful...exquisite...devastating' is how the Independent on Sunday described the book (It also won the Galaxy Book of the Year British Book Award 2008). It was all that and more.
The book revolves around a newly wed couple on their wedding night. The fascinating part of the book is the manner in which the author has interwoven the present with the past. The present gives us a sketch of Edward and Florence's personality and the past gives us the how and why behind the personalities.
It is a book which you can't judge because it gives you all the right reasonings. It does leave you slightly melancholic. And maybe make you realize that there should be no pride or ego in any relationship, especially in a marriage - if you want to make it a success that is.
I found On Chesil Beach well written, moving and tragic. I ached for those characters, and could see exactly why things happened the way they did, while still wishing they hadn't, all in a minimum of pages.
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