On Chesil Beach: A Novel

By Ian McEwan

After being blown away by Atonement, I was eager to read another novel by McEwan. On Chesil Beach has received many positive reviews but ultimately, it just did not quite live up to my high expectations.

McEwan’s writing is beautiful and evocative, and the plot is intriguing. Set in 1962, a young, sexually inexperienced couple marries and endures a stressful, and ultimately disastrous, wedding night. I believed that Edward and Florence truly loved each other, but their pride and anger kept them from working through their sexual incompatibility, leaving them to live the rest of their lives without each other. The final pages are emotional and thought provoking, as McEwan writes, “Love and patience – if only he had had them both at once – would surely have seen them both through… This is how the entire course of a life can be changed – by doing nothing.”

For me, On Chesil Beach is about living a life without regrets and with nothing left unsaid. A powerful lesson about the importance of courage, honesty and tenacity in relationships, this short novel is definitely worth reading.