Customer Reviews

The Beach

5 star:		(273)
4 star:		(155)
3 star:		(61)
2 star:		(49)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

I loved this book from start to almost finish. I found it a lot better than the movie. Having seen the movie before reading the book, I enjoyed that it gave me something extra to visualize whenever the island was described in the book. The book went downhill after page 424 when the drug lords make their threats and the group subsequently turns on the main character in some sort of drugged frenzy. I thought that was a little overdone... I would have liked too if the epilogue hadn't been so rushed. Otherwise, the book was great. A very smooth read that kept me consistantly entertained.

The Beach is Alex Garland's amazing first novel. Visionary and disturbing, this book is a must read.

Richard is a traveler from Europe who leaves everything behind him after being jilted by a lover. While in Thailand he meets a man who leaves him a map to a paradise beach. After deciding to share this treasure with two fellow travelers, they set off.

The journey to the beach is difficult for it is illegal for foreigners to go there, but after buying off a man who owns a boat and swimming a considerable distance they make it to the island. Before they even have time to enjoy their discovery, however, they land into danger when they discover that the island is used as sort of a mega-greenhouse for marijuana. They still decide to press on, though and after some time they find the fabled beach. A bit disappointed at first, they eventually grow to love the beach and the entire community of people they find living there. Integrating into the lifestyle there is done very quickly and before they know it, months have passed. Their languid, carefree lifestyle lulls them into a sense of false security, though, and they find themselves unprepared for the disasters that lay ahead.

Filled with pop culture references and very violent imagery this book may best appeal to the twenty-something generation. In a way that's a shame, though, because the story behind all of the icons and imagery is intense and enjoyable. At times the story gets almost too disgusting and graphic but none of it is gratuitous since it is all important to the plot.

I heavily recommend this book to all of the members of my generation and I also hope some of the younger and older generations will give it a chance too. I do feel that it is important, however, that you try to read it before you see the movie, because from what I've heard it seems like they have changed it quite a bit. Make sure to pick up a copy of this great book. Another book I need to recommend -- very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez, an exceptional, funny, entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.

This book is great wether you are just looking for a good story or something with a little more substance. It won me over with a beautiful, deeper message. I highly recommend you read this. I wouldn't bother with the movie if I were you.

Great read, I enjoyed it. I never really considered reading the book after watching the movie two or three times over the years. But I picked it up and flipped through it in a bookstore/coffee shop in Thailand, after reading a few pages I bought it and couldn't put it down. The plot is very different from how it was portrayed in the movie once they arrive on the beach, so it was like taking in a completely fresh story.

The Beach is Alex Garland's amazing first novel. Visionary and disturbing, this book is a must read.

Richard is a traveler from Europe who leaves everything behind him after being jilted by a lover. While in Thailand he meets a man who leaves him a map to a paradise beach. After deciding to share this treasure with two fellow travelers, they set off.

The journey to the beach is difficult for it is illegal for foreigners to go there, but after buying off a man who owns a boat and swimming a considerable distance they make it to the island. Before they even have time to enjoy their discovery, however, they land into danger when they discover that the island is used as sort of a mega-greenhouse for marijuana. They still decide to press on, though and after some time they find the fabled beach. A bit disappointed at first, they eventually grow to love the beach and the entire community of people they find living there. Integrating into the lifestyle there is done very quickly and before they know it, months have passed. Their languid, carefree lifestyle lulls them into a sense of false security, though, and they find themselves unprepared for the disasters that lay ahead.

Filled with pop culture references and very violent imagery this book may best appeal to the twenty-something generation. In a way that's a shame, though, because the story behind all of the icons and imagery is intense and enjoyable. At times the story gets almost too disgusting and graphic but none of it is gratuitous since it is all important to the plot.

I heavily recommend this book to all of the members of my generation and I also hope some of the younger and older generations will give it a chance too. I do feel that it is important, however, that you try to read it before you see the movie, because from what I've heard it seems like they have changed it quite a bit. Make sure to pick up a copy of this great book. Another book I need to recommend -- very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez, an exceptional, funny, entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.

I was highly suspicious of reading The Beach, having heard of it being 'a great film with De Caprio in it'. Not being a fan of Leonardo (this was before he starred in Catch me If you Can' etc etc.), I was going to give this a miss, before I got stuck in an aeroport and was forced to read it.

Garland creates beautiful scenery, great scenes of psychological and mental exploration, while touching on the ideas of the past, peace and ostricisation. The main character can be seen in many different lights; as both an idiot and a hero, as insane or perfectly normal, driven by a force stronger than himself.

So why not five stars?

In parts of the book, Garland does tend to drag out the sequences with Mr. Duck (read to understand!), and at the end I found myself wondering about what certain characters were actually like; his development of the background characters could have been better.

Despite these downfalls, Garland creates an excellent, fast-paced novel with an extremely sinister and well created ending. Definately worth a read

Thousands of people every year throw all of their earthly possessions into a dirty backpack and hop onto a plane to end up in some magical destination where they can forget all of their troubles, and forget about their real lives. People go to Europe, or Australia, or the Far East to get lost and found all at the same time. And for most of these people, their only goal is do have the chance at doing something that nobody else has ever done before.

"The Beach" is the story of Richard, a disillussioned Brit headed for Thailand because travel really is an escape for him. Once there, he meets a strange man named Daffy Duck, who explains to him a story about a beach, completely protected from the ocean, where everything is perfect. Aware that he is hearing Eden described to him, Richard recruits his new French friends, Etienne and Francoise, to go on an adventure, and try to find this beach that is more legend than reality. The pace at which Alex Garland writes is similar to that of an adventure novel, and at face value, that is exactly how you could interpret "The Beach". But it is more than that, and it seems to be much more to those who have travelled.

When the beach is found, it is a chance for everyone to start again, to create their own little world where there are not the usual problems. This is a utopia, surrounded by some of Mother Nature's best work, and some good people willing to make life on the beach possible.

Garland writes in many cultural references, including many quotes from "Apocalypse Now" and endless references to Game Boy games. This gives the book enough touches of reality that there is a small part in your brain wondering if such a place could actually exist.

This novel is also a metaphor for modern society, building itself up before the inevitable desire to destroy itself takes over. We tear down the things we hold dearest, and this is a human charateristic that exists even in a perfect world, even on the beach. There are many themes here, including how far would you go to keep everything perfect, even when you know that things could never be the same.

Alex Garland has created a masterpiece in "The Beach", and from experience, this book is a cult favorite among those who dare strap on the backpack and seek new adventure. An absolute must-read, there is something for everyone in this novel.

I had chosen this novel for a school project with some early scepticism. After reading only a few dozen pages I was hooked. This book is fast paced and always twisting the projected outcome. Please don not base this book on the movie, for it is much better.

I would reccomend this book to all readers looking for an interesting adventure.

Alex Garland has plenty of talent, but for some reason he couldn't finish the book the way it started. The creative flow ran out of fuel when Richard found the beach.(Advice, That would be the ideal spot to move onto another book.) If you are interested in fishing and gardening, then continue with the last half. Basically the book turns into lord of the flies in the last chapter. It even has a the same story plot as Treasure Island in the begining, it makes me wonder sometimes. I still can't believe it was made into a movie!!

written in simple language , the beach is an easy read but entrancing all the same. from the inhabitants of the beach to the adventure seeking travelers every character is a spark for curiosity and interesting to learn about. one of those books u can read without a break until you are done.