Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Flies on Dope
Review: Taut thriller that parallels much of the classic Lord of the Flies. In fact it's so similar it's hard to believe this novel hasn't been called on the carpet for its blatant thievery of the classic. What allows such a theft is Garland's simple yet effective prose. That and his ability to transport readers to an exotic place with fairly good characterization of the players in this book. He is so effective that it would be impossible for the reader not to visualize nearly every scene of this book. He also gets away with it because today's younger people have never read Lord of the Flies and to them this is fresh and novel; and spoken in their terms, complete with video games, drugs, and the obvious rebellion displayed by the young adult characters. Some parallels of this book and Lord of the Flies must be pointed out. The narrator's steely knife scene at the end is equivalent to the steely knives the children of Lord used to kill the pig. Mr. Duck is a longer drawn out version of the fly in the pig's head rising off the ground and talking to the little boy. The boat in this novel may compare to the conch in Lord. It's been a long time since I've read the classic in school but I would guess that there must be a dozen direct comparisons. This is a quick read for its written simplicity. It is also a page turner for its edginess, which is completely driven by the narrator. The ending was perhaps a bit of a let down but I'm not sure what sort of ending would justify the suspense that develops in this book. It's good just for how well it does carry the suspense. There are no heroes in this story, nobody is particularly more likable than the others. This speaks much to how well written this is since readers usually must have a likable principal character, rather than one that's no better than the rest. In that sense the comparison to The Secret History is just as valid to Lord of the Flies. This is more powerful, though, because it accomplishes the degree of increasing suspense in fewer words and with more effect. There is not a single boring or banal scene in the whole book. Every sentence and every word has direct bearing on the overall feel of the book, the overall mood that the author wishes to convey. And maybe the book can be faulted for its over simplistic writing. Perhaps true layers do not exist in the book. Maybe there is no subtlety other than the subtlety that is pointed out as obvious subtlety. I am looking forward to Garland's next work which is already out on shelves. His second attempt will prove whether or not he is modern day literary writer with the stuff that can be counted on book after book. Because this first novel of Garland's can easily be dismissed as beginners luck, a flash in the pants, a one time memoir-like greatness. And finally will his future work be truly fresh without the borrowed translation from another classic novel. One thing's for sure about this book, I was ready to light up a joint every time I picked up the book and started to read.
Rating:
Summary: This book makes you think!
Review: Alex Garland writes with insight and irony as well as humour. His characters are excellently drawn, and many have characteristics that remind me of people I know. His description of Thailand is vivid and artistic--enough so to make my best friend book a plane ticket for Bangkok after reading this!The story itself seems to be a bright narrative of life in paradise, until Nature and human nature conspire against it. This novel is an insightful exploration into the darker parts of the human soul. At times I felt almost sick while I read this book, but at other times I felt a tremendous joy, both at having discovered such a well-written book, and at the events, characters, and setting of the story. I watched the movie without knowing it was based on a book, and I admire Leo's performance. Richard's character is intricate and to some extent mysterious, and it must have been a difficult undertaking to become him for the screen. I highly recommend this book, even to people who didn't like Lord of the Flies (I happen to be one of those people).
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and interesting novel.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but Alex Garland can do better
Review: Since I too got suckered into the Koh Phangan full moon party trap by a Lonely Planet guidebook(and subsequently spent a fascinating 8 days in two Thai jails), I had to read this book. I think Aufbach's review below was the best out of the previous 377, but I'm going to give Alex Garland a bit more credit. Sure he's no Hemingway as far as travel writing goes, but I suspect that he was trying to get some points across to people who need a faster pace to get/keep their attention. Some of the characters are like cardboard cutouts used to fill out the story, and a lot of the story is very obviously borrowed from elsewhere, but I still think The Beach is a good mix of honesty and cleverness, especially for a first novel. Garland's novel does a good job of exposing the false prophet within us all as it uncovers the layers of self-indulgence and hypocrisy we westerners use to hide the fact that we're all just a bunch of philistines. It's also quite entertaining at the same time. If you're looking for the next James Joyce, don't bother with this book. If you're about to go backpacking in search of utopia, don't even get on the plane before you've read it.
Rating:
Summary: Read with an open mind!
Review: The things that I hated about this book in the beginning pages are the exact things that make this book brilliant. For example, I disliked many of the charecters right away. I was never convinced of the beauty of the beach or the surrounding islands. I felt a general sense of hoplessness while reading the story. I found myself wondering many times whether the author wanted me to admire these people who travel all over the world without a care or feel sorry for them because their lack a real home and family. I realized that this was what the author wanted you to feel. I liked how the author showed me the fine line between paradise on earth and hell, and how easy it is to slip from one to the other with no real rules or responsibilities. The ending was perfect. When I was not reading this book, I was constantly thinking about its charecters and the message behind it. The book left me feeling awful, but a book that can actually trigger this kind of emotion is worth reading. It is supposed to make you feel uneasy. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: JUST PLAIN BAD
Review: This is without a doubt one of the most boring books I have ever read. I only kept reading it because I thought it would get interesting at some point. It never did.
Garland is not only a bad novelist, he's also a mediocre screenwriter. (Did you see "28 Days later"? he's responsible for that, too). This one is not worth the paper it is printed on.
Rating: 
Summary: Flash backs of Treasure Island ?
Review: 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!!
Rating:
Summary: Eh.........
Review: It wasn't a bad book, really, but it didn't do much for me. I found myself thinking 'Lord of the Flies' the entire time I was reading about young Richard and his exploits. If this book is in your 'Maybe Read' pile, I'd say just watch the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. The scenery there is awesome and more relationships develop on screen than in the book. Most of the movie follows the book in lockstep. There is some crazy violence in the book that didn't make it to the big screen, however. You never know - you might like it. For me, though, it was a fairly unmemorable book.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: I am not usually into "traveling fiction" but my sociology class required me to read a book relating to sociology, and fiction beats statistics any day. I got a brief summary from my teacher and I just didn't see why he liked it so much, but as soon as I started reading, it clicked! The one aspect that irked me was that I could never visualize a clear image of the characters and it side tracked me numerous times. Aside from that the book was amazing; it was a great movie you didn't want to stop watching. The book played out in a series of cinematic snapshots, which seemed so vivid and alive. Garland also reeled the reader in with his enticing exploration of human nature. Desire, greed, and adventure combined to make an enthralling piece of literature.
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