The Beach

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Consuming
Review: I had to read this book because I kept hearing about it but I didn't expect to get so involved. Amazingly I totally identified with Richard even though his world is so far removed from mine. This was mostly unpredictable and a satisfying story.

Rating:
Summary: don't believe the backlash!
Review: You don't have to believe the hype, but this book is far from shallow sci-fi mystery fare. It's a great psychological read, combining elements of Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness through the late-90s mind that thinks in terms of Vietnam war movies and video games. This is the only book I've read in a while that made me feel positively creepy when finished. The simple prose belies the more subtle tensions underneath, including some interesting ideas about what constitutes "authentic" living in modern society. As usual, the "voice of a generation" hype is pure blather and does not really apply. And whatever you think of Leo, Danny Boyle is directing the movie! The psychological tension in this is not unlike Shallow Grave.

Rating:
Summary: Readable but pedestrian
Review: I really wanted to like this book, and thought the initial setup was great. But after the first 60 or so pages, it's as if the author gets bored of his own text. You can imagine him staring at his wordprocessor around midday, thinking, 'It's such a pain getting Richard and co. from A to B. I'll let them spend a few weeks sitting on their arses smoking dope instead, oh, and they can do some fishing too. That should fill in time until all the blood and guts in the end,' A soothing read, in the way staring at prime time TV is soothing, but the writing style is too flat and clumsy to be considered great literature.

Rating:
Summary: A fun read...but a great book? Not hardly!
Review: I'm completely baffled by the effusive praise this book is getting from readers and critics alike. Is everyone just astonished that a member of the Game-Boy generation can write reasonably coherent prose? It was fine entertainment, but not much more. What was supposed to be so great about the beach anyway? Life there seemed tedious and superficial, so why should anyone care that it came to an end?

Rating:
Summary: A book with enough description to touch all of your senses.
Review: The "Beach" was one of the best books I have read in years. Alex Garland has an incredible command of language and uses it well, creating a realistic type of imagery, that few books can. I found myself not able to put the book down, and sad that I had finished the book when I did. If you don't have time to travel to this beach for yourself, let Alex Garland take you there. My only problem with the book is that Leonardo DiCaprio is going to star in the movie version...who cast that? I swear there is no justice sometimes.

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN
Review: This is all I need to describe this book

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining beach read :-)
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and entertaining. I found the story to be really imaginative and exciting. This book inspired me to go back-packing in Thailand. I've already booked the plane tickets!!

Rating:
Summary: The best book ever? Not.
Review: The book is a pageturner, no question. Still it was a thriller, NOT a masterpiece! I must congratulate Mr. Garland on a brilliant psycho-thriller that definately got into and under this veteran traveler's skin. I felt a been-there-done-that-jesus-that-could-have-been-me-and-I-know-those-people, kind of feeling the whole way through. Its a good read. Its worth it. But it should be compared with the likes of Stephen King, NOT Golding or Huxley.

Rating:
Summary: Dopes in Dystopia
Review: This novel struck me as an overly lengthy magazine piece that only served to point up the authors youthful inability to deal with the so-called weighty issues he hoped to tackle. By turns boring and uninvolving it proved to be mere fodder fiction for superficial readers everywhere. The very fact that Leonardo himself has been cast to play the lead in this thinly disguised movie treatment should be warning enough. This could very well be the first video release ever put out in soft cover.

Rating:
Summary: super story
Review: God I loved this book. I read it months ago and haven't been able to get through another book since. Last great read being Another roadside Attraction, Tom Robbins. I heard Garland say backpackers create their own reality whilst travelling and that 'Backpacker Thailand' is an amalgamation of many different expections and dreams. Interesting..... Super!