tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post117690654384780493..comments2023-12-23T05:12:55.809-05:00Comments on The Written Nerd: Wednesday Review: Ian McEwan's ON CHESIL BEACH; LBC S&V Excitement BeginsBook Nerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896226559142059293noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1176921427101905982007-04-18T14:37:00.000-04:002007-04-18T14:37:00.000-04:00Ah, interesting, Jessica. I read this over the wee...Ah, interesting, Jessica. I read this over the weekend, and like you, I was pretty charmed. But, the end worked for me. If anything,though, I thought it was perhaps a bit preachy: It's the simple choices we refuse or fail to make that turn our lives in directions they should never go. The reason we were stuck with Edward at the end and little of Florence--I thought--was because it was his (failure/refusal)to get up and move that ended their marriage. <BR/>(and thanks for the public anti-Updike chatter).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1176914541598612832007-04-18T12:42:00.000-04:002007-04-18T12:42:00.000-04:00Really excellent review this time around. And don...Really excellent review this time around. And don't worry about giving away plot twists; I think good reviews almost demand it, despite Updike's rule to the contrary. Though it does contain a hearty dollop of (easily foreseeable, shout-at-the-screen anxiety inducing) tragedy you should really check out Atonement. I'm not a fan of reading Big Mainstream Literary Books in this vein either, but this book was a pleasure. Also, there's a precocious literary adolescent girl who I bet you'd love if your other reading tastes are any indication. <BR/><BR/>Now I have to watch that documentary, too, if only to see your bookseller's Bite-Sized Insights engine churn away.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1176908881824506852007-04-18T11:08:00.000-04:002007-04-18T11:08:00.000-04:00I started reading your description of the book and...I started reading your description of the book and thought I was going insane with deja vu until I realized that I think McEwan published a short version - or the beginning - of this novel in the New Yorker last summer or autumn sometime, since I've definitely read the first 10 pages or so of the storyline.<BR/><BR/>Glad I'm not going crazy - looking forward to seeing the full story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com