Review:'On Chesil Beach' By Ian McEwan

'On Chesil Beach' tells the story of Edward and Florence, two young virgins, on their wedding night. Both of them are nervous about consummating the marriage for their own reasons and yet, unable to communicate with one another, these worries begin to tear them apart.

THE PLOT: This is only a very short book and yet the plot still manages to make a big impact. Although, we kind of know from the beginning that the pair are doomed you can't help but to hope that they actually attempt to communicate with one another properly. The plot doesn't really go far but still holds a lot of meaning and that's only one of the reasons why I'm such a huge fan of McEwan.

THE CHARACTERS: Florence was a character who I really sympathised with, she was too ashamed to reveal her real reasons for fearing sex and therefore just came across as frigid, when really it was something so much more than that. However, I thought Florence was really mean during the confrontation between her and Edward; she had, in fact, whether maliciously or not, deceived him and he had a right to be angry and yet she became nasty and mean and tried to blame him for her failings. Edward was a great character, I agreed with him and his arguments the whole time; however, I do think he could have been a bit more understanding towards her fears - however he didn't really know these fears existed until it was too late. The root of the problem between the couple is communication and it really shows how a lack of communication in a relationship can be disastrous.

THE WRITING STYLE: Ian McEwan is a writing genius. I will never know how the man can create so much emotional turmoil with only 160 something pages.

THE ROMANCE/FEELS: It was just so frustrating because as the reader, we know how much the pair love each other and yet they fail to communicate and that's what leads to the breakdown of their relationship. I found myself getting angry at them and begging them in my head just to tell the other how they were feeling!

THE ENDING: It was so bitter-sweet. Very very sad but also sweet at the same time. You couldn't help but to wish for what could have been if only they'd been more honest.



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