Rating: 
Summary: This book ie aite
Review: The main character is Richard (the protagonist) where he travels to Asia and he finds this French couple. They talk to this elderly guy and they get this map from him, and the map showed them the way to this oasis, some hidden beach. This is the main focus of the film where a civilization free from the confines of the modern world has troubles dealing with the public eye. I feel the plotline shares this dramatized civilization hiding from the public yet; their lives are still surviving through this hidden beach. I feel this sense of urgency when Richard (the Protagonist) and the entire civilization try to survive and live on this beach without being harmed by the Vietnamese rebels. Because the area surrounding them has fields of illegal weed and they cannot step foot in it or they will come and kill them. If they leak a word out to the government, the fields might be burned out, so the rebels will not make that easy illegal money by selling it to other buyers. And none of this is helped by the fact that Richard himself has given away the location of the island to some other travelers. If he does like I said there will be a lot of tension between the community and the rebels. After reading through many chapters I don't feel Richard as the main character doing anything that harms the community, but he tries very hard to fit in with the group. I feel his character in the novel gives him a lot of love and support from the other members of the close net community. This novel is recommended, because this book offers a whole new genre of young adult reading. But also check out the movie out for a different perspective. But you should read your novel first, because there are morals to the story that will amaze you to the very end.
Rating:
Summary: The Beach is aite to read
Review: Summary review on The Beach The main character is Richard (the protagonist) where he travels to Asia and he finds this French couple. They talk to this elderly guy and they get this map from him, and the map showed them the way to this oasis, some hidden beach. This is the main focus of the film where a civilization free from the confines of the modern world has troubles dealing with the public eye. I feel the plotline shares this dramatized civilization hiding from the public yet; their lives are still surviving through this hidden beach. I feel this sense of urgency when Richard (the Protagonist) and the entire civilization try to survive and live on this beach without being harmed by the Vietnamese rebels. Because the area surrounding them has fields of illegal weed and they cannot step foot in it or they will come and kill them. If they leak a word out to the government, the fields might be burned out, so the rebels will not make that easy illegal money by selling it to other buyers. And none of this is helped by the fact that Richard himself has given away the location of the island to some other travelers. If he does like I said there will be a lot of tension between the community and the rebels. After reading through many chapters I don't feel Richard as the main character doing anything that harms the community, but he tries very hard to fit in with the group. I feel his character in the novel gives him a lot of love and support from the other members of the close net community. This novel is recommended, because this book offers a whole new genre of young adult reading. But also check out the movie out for a different perspective. But you should read your novel first, because there are morals to the story that will amaze you to the very end.
Rating: 
Summary: Forget the movie
Review: This book is about thirty times better than the film based on it. Alex Garland has proven himself multiple times (for another good example of his work, see 28 Days Later).
Rating: 
Summary: Praise From One Writer To Another
Review: I was blown away by Alex's novel. Being a fiction writer myself I know how difficult it is to take your readers on the journey you've planned out, but Alex does all that and more. He left me breathless with each chapter and strayed from boring sequences some authors rely on. The story was the best I've read in years and he's paved the way for new young authors such as myself with his captivation of this story. Alex has outdone himself and I plan on reading more of his books. The film did not do the book justice in any way shape or form. This is a superb book with an exciting beginning, an entertaining middle and an incredible ending. The Beach is for readers who love their books raw, realistic and fun!
Rating:
Summary: The Action Never Stops
Review: I had heard that this book was full of suspense and nonstop events. Once I picked it up, it just could not be put down. Seriously one of the best books I have read. Alex Garland makes it seem as if he really did experience this. To every last detail I still think it happend. I had also heard that the ending was crazy (which it is!)and that it wasnt in the movie.
(Which i still have to see) Overall, it was a great read. For anyone who loves good (I mean really really good) books, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Exotic Adventure interlaced with dreamlike story
Review: I hadn't had the pleasure of reading this book when it came out, and in an action which may be absurd to some, i saw the movie first. I liked the movie but i thought it was simplified so i read the book. It is no suprise that the script was rewritten to be more pop. Anyway, the book was great i couldnt put it down, i felt wondering what would happen next even thoguh i saw the movie. I found the story line and the internal problems of the character very well articulated. The post modernist perspective was great, perfect for the young generation, drugs, dreamlike mindscapes and exotic adventure. Defintely recommend this for the people who want to tune out from everyday life.
Rating:
Summary: Great adrenaline fueled read
Review: I might just be too generous giving this 5 stars as when it comes to the genre of tropical beaches i tend to love the book immediatley but this is a well written book and with it been his first has been very well thought. I liked the idea of exploring to find the beach as it's the kind of thing i would do so it made me empathise with the characters (especially Richard), the book is alot better than the film the film does'nt really do the book justice and the book is very lucid and well conducted throughout, the beach is a great modern adveture story and when you read the book is easy to see why you could be inspired enough to make a film of it, it's a hooking, captivating book thats hard to put down with no reall errors in it so if your looking for a good adventure book then this is probably the one, it's also got a good refrance to modern life like street fighter 2 on the gameboy etc..
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ
Review: If you have one ounce of adventure in you, you will love this book. It fills a void in all of us, the dream of finding yourself on your own tropical paradise, secluded from a world of commercialism and mass tourism. Granted, there are many woes along the way and in the end (well I won't tell you what happens at the end). But, everything has it's price. Whether or not it's worth it depends on you...JUST READ IT.
Rating:
Summary: The movie was sweet, the book is better
Review: I don't think I have ever stayed so interested in a book in my entire life. I am still young yet(20), and I don't read too many books leisurely. And yet, this book got my attention before I even started reading it. After being fascinated by the movie, I realized that I wanted to see what else the book had to offer me about all this "paradise lost" stuff. I gotta admit, of the very few books I own, this is the best one. Of all the books I have read in my life, it's definitely one of the best. It has made me think more about that craving we all have for a perfect place.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly beach material!
Review: I first picked up "The Beach" during the brief moment in my life when I briefly indulged my escapist fantasies. It was winter in New York and I was studying for the bar exam, so that was when the backpacking idea hit me. Never mind that I'd never spent so much as a single night of my life sleeping outdoors, and I'd never been to Asia. The idea just seemed really neat. So I got myself a movie-tie-in edition of "The Beach" (with Leo DiCaprio on the cover, but at least I had a temporary insanity defense) the Saturday before the exam, and wasted most of my remaining study time reading the book instead of my test prep. I was very impressed with Alex Garland's writing style at the time. His British backpacker Richard is distant and sardonic. He doesn't get any romance in the book, although he starts receiving all-too-corporeal visitations from a dead man he hardly knows, and quite possibly sets a record for most drugs consumed in one novel. The pop culture references fly fast and furious, and even in a world where pop culture "generations" pass every two to three years, the 1996 of "The Beach" -- and its protagonist born in '74, a year after me -- still seems famliar one. Obviously, "The Beach" presents no paradise. Richard risks his life three times just to get there, and quickly discovers several dark secrets at the heart of his island idyll. The other commune dwellers are also backpackers -- vague, non-demoninational left-wing travellers, running away not so much from the world as from middle-class tourists. Soon, some members of the by-invitation-only community are dead, others have food poisoning, and the batteries are dead in the island's one GameBoy. Richard is banished to the island's cliffs, where he loses his mind and witnesses a moment of unspeakable horror. Things do turn out all right for the 4 or 5 characters we actually care about, and Garland pulls no punches in the end. My backpacker fantasy ended 2 weeks after it started, and remained unfulfilled. This book certainly didn't help prolong it, mostly 'cause Garland never provided a satisfactory answer as to what backpackers use in lieu of toilet paper. I wasn't quite as enthralled after a second reading, with the surprise factor gone. I still recommend this book as superior to the movie, which curiously eliminates one of the book's more interesting characters (Jed) and alters two very creepy moments at the end to something less than scary.
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