LemuriaBooks

The two main characters in On Chesil Beach fall madly in love over a period of time. They have so much in common, they get to know each other's families, they fall madly,deeply in love. One problem, however, continues to surface....sex! Of course, the reader knows all of this will be resolved on the wedding night in this very amazingly short novel having almost Victorian era characteristics, but set in the 1960s. As the reader watches in horrid disbelief and all consuming empathy for both the new husband and wife, the unthinkable happens. Angers explode, selfish ways are had, last words are said, and disaster strikes on a beautiful star lit honeymoon night on the beaches of England. How can this ending really be, the reader asks himself, and the answer, seemingly simple emerges.....love is not easy and mistakes are made that thwart a lifetime of love. This novel may haunt the reader for some time! McEwan is at his best! - Nan Graves Goodman