On Chesil Beach
NATIONAL BESTSELLER β’ The Booker Prize winner and bestselling author of Atonement brilliantly illuminates the collision of sexual longing, deep-seated fears, and romantic fantasy on a young coupleβs wedding night.
βNo one now writing in English surpasses or even matches McEwan's accomplishment." βThe Washington Post Book World
It is 1962, and Florence and Edward are celebrating their wedding in a hotel on the Dorset coast. Yet as they dine, the expectation of their marital duties become overwhelming. Unbeknownst to them both, the decisions they make this night will resonate throughout their lives. With exquisite prose, Ian McEwan creates in On Chesil Beach a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.
βNo one now writing in English surpasses or even matches McEwan's accomplishment." βThe Washington Post Book World
It is 1962, and Florence and Edward are celebrating their wedding in a hotel on the Dorset coast. Yet as they dine, the expectation of their marital duties become overwhelming. Unbeknownst to them both, the decisions they make this night will resonate throughout their lives. With exquisite prose, Ian McEwan creates in On Chesil Beach a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.
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Community Reviews
Storyof newlyweds- Florence (wife)is afraid of having sex (it repulsed her) - The story goes back and forth between the wedding night and how they met- Set back in the 50's or 60's when people just didn't talk about sex and wants- All the while Florence knew she didn't want to have sex with him but would eventually- the wedding night turned out disasterous. He was pre-mature in completing his task- She was so repulsed because the fluid was all over her belly. She wiped off, got dressed, and ran out. When he found her she offered him the opportunity to sleep with whoever he wanted yet continue the relationship. He refused- insulted at her offer, story ends with him looking back on his life and knowing Florence was the only woman he truly loved in life, even though it had been since that night that he had seen her- now he was old with a failed marrage and not working in the field he had gone to school for.
This book is pretty short and it's beautifully written. I don't like grouping books like this as "romance" because it is so much more than that, but let's just say it might be embarrassing to read out loud.
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