The Beach

Rating:
Summary: one of the best books i have read
Review: Alex manages to capture his travelling experiences with inescapable enthusiasm and detail. I could not put this book down!

Rating:
Summary: Pointless
Review: Having just finished "The Monk" by Matthew Lewis, a fascinating book, after all the great reviews for The Beach, I must say I am greatly disappointed by this book. The author never trully develops his characters, nor the relationships between them, so as I was reading the story I found myself not really caring about any of them or the beach. Everything is treated in the story on the surface, almost like the author doesn't want to (or doesn't care to) explore personalities or situations. I left The Beach feeling empty, much to my dismay.

Rating:
Summary: After finishing it, I instantly read it again & again & a...
Review: This book is my absolute favourite of all time. The way he describes the surroundings & the characters is amazing. And those little observations on everything from Nintendo to Tintin are right on the spot. Buy it! Read it! Then buy two extra copies, one cause you'll wear the first one out, the other one you should put in a frame on yer wall. Now DO IT.

Rating:
Summary: Addicting!
Review: Read this book before Dec 1999, when the film will most certainly ruin it. It is so hard to put the book down, you will finish it within a week for sure!

Rating:
Summary: A simply fantastic book
Review: The best book i've read in a long time, and I read a lot of books

Rating:
Summary: A stunning debut!
Review: If you have ever wanted to go to paradise but can't find anywhere perfect enough Alex Garlands novel The Beach will certainly change your mind. Richard a young backpacker and a couple from France set off to find a paradise like beach using a map given to them by a mysterious man called Daffy Duck. What they find seems perfect, until it all starts to go wrong. A stunning debut, very compelling. A wonderful book for the beach.

Rating:
Summary: Gen-X nicotine- addict finds home with not-so-exotic losers
Review: The one thing I can say for this book is that I DID like the main character, but he was the only one. At times the narration was good, and I especially liked the parts where he was stoned. That alone should send up a few flags. I was a bit puzzled when nothing was happening in the first 160 pages, but when the plot got going, I'll admit to being a little hooked. However, I would hate to think that Richard, despite his flashes of nobility and his ability to amuse me, would be chosen as the fiction protagonist who represents my generation. I like to think that the perks of paradise involve something more significant and fulfilling than marijuana and tropical scenery.

Rating:
Summary: A backpacker classic
Review: This book was fantastic. It was so easy to read and hard to put down. Most 20 somethings that have done any backpacking can associate with it and most characters.

My main disappointment is that it will be made into a film. by reading the book you feel as if you have found the secret world of the beach and by making a main stream film it takes away the whole point of it.

BEST BOOK I HAVE READ IN AGES

Rating:
Summary: Escapism at its best
Review: Books like this don't come along too often where you can sit and read it all in one day and feel transported to somewhere else. It may be a re-hash of Lord of the Flies but it is told better and it has been brought up to date and has characters that todays generation can relate to better. I just feel sorry for the people who don't get the point of the book and didn't get something out of it

Rating:
Summary: Addicting
Review: I half-heartedly started on the book because of all the hype it was getting. Amazingly, I couldn't put it down. I finished it in two days and I can't bring myself to pick up another book yet because Richard and The Beach is still lingering in my mind's eye. Sure, its easy to nitpick about all the realistic details like why there was no sex and where they got their money but all that aside, its a GOOD read. Anything that succeeds in taking you to another world for 438 pages (1st edition) is worth reading. A classic? I'm not too sure about that. Leo as Richard? I don't think so.