Rating: 
Summary: Excellent stuff
Review: A fascinating story of how seculsion and idyllic surroundings can never prevent the human instinct for self destruction. The only criticism I would have is the infuriatingly short chapters which seem to punctuate the book needlessly. A must read for anyone visiting Asia looking for adventure.
Rating:
Summary: fun reading
Review: I picked this book up after hearing a family member rave about it. I got it on a Friday night and was done with it by the next morning. This is simply one of the most exciting books I have read in years. An interesting subplot of the novel is the search for a "utopian" lifestyle and how far one will go in order to find it, and once it's found, keep it. I can't wait to read Garland's new one.
Rating:
Summary: Great read for those that explore
Review: I just finished this book and I was sad to see it end. Alex Garland has done a great job at capturing the essence (travel bug) of what is out there for everyone but is (unfortunately) often only drawn on by the youth. I would recommend this book to those that have experienced their travel bug and would like spits of it thrown back at you. Just be thankful you made it back in one piece - a naive search for truth, beauty and purpose can often end up biting you in the ass. The main character, Richard is an extremely likable guy - a bit whacked, curious, and endlessing searching. I pictured Alex Garland's face (great back cover photo) often for main character Richard. Extra perk.
Rating:
Summary: Sick and delightful
Review: Okay. I've read most of these reviews and it is pretty clear that most people under 35 appreciate the book to some degree and most people over 35 believe that it is a waste of time. Too bad Amazon.com wasn't around when On The Road was first published. I bet the reviews would be similarly divided. Personally, I think the book was pretty decent. Yes, the characters were not well drawn, I kept trying to picture Leo in the role and realized that I didn't even know how Richard looked. Although I took note of this, I did not miss it. The story was intriguing enough to cover some of the flaws. Yes, there are people who spend a portion of their lives doing nothing but smoking pot and then they move on to something productive like writing books. I have recommended this book to non-Generation X friends (I'm not a generational elitist)not because it was written by someone in my age group, but because I believe it is a good story that they would enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: What's all the fuss about?
Review: You've heard of those stories that are criticized for not having a second act? Well this is one of them. If you only read the first one hundred pages, then skipped ahead and read the last hundred, you'd get the same effect. This is an OK read, not, by any means, great. One has to wonder how all these phenomenal reviews came to be. My sense, being a member of the media myself, is that someone, somewhere, gave a great review and everyone else felt that they must have missed something. Rather than wanting to be seen as "not getting it," the rest of the lavish reviews followed. The media are notorious followers -- not originators. With all that said, this is still a decent read. But I was setup for a great read based on the reviews. You can do a lot better.
Rating:
Summary: A very good book.
Review: One og my reasons for reading this book is as a assistant professor in Tourism & Hotel Management.Espesially if you are into the issues of backpacking and eco tourism. His writing style with jumps in time and place keeps you on your toes. This could acctually have happened. I am also thinking of possibly have this book as required reading in my class. I dont know if I want to see the movie as this, I have heard, is made with and american hero. Well the film and the book will be two different things. I have just started on hgis next book, and I hope that it is as good.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow characters, shallow plot, set in shallow water.
Review: If you can't think of anything for your characters to do, have them smoke some more dope. That seems to be the most distinguishing feature of Garland's writing style in this lame tale about a bunch of uninteresting, shallow-minded, self-absorbed drifters who end up in their idea of paradise...a beach stocked with its own marijuana plantation and a Gameboy. None of Garland's characters evokes any sense of empathy, rather, they evoke a dull sense of disgust combined with a desire for the Thai authorities to find these people as quickly as possible and lock them away where they will never be heard from again. To compare this piece of...fiction with Lord of the Flies is an insult to the artistry of William Golding.
Rating: 
Summary: "The Beach" will make you want to crave adventure.
Review: The book was so good in a sense that it made you want to get on a plane and head for Thailand yourself. You want to be one of the characters in the story and be part of their lives. You feel the sun and the sand, along with the splash of waves on your legs. For a first novel, Alex Garland did a miraculous job and I think that he should continue. I have met people before when I was travelling, and sometimes you never know what will happen with them.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic story in adventurous locale
Review: A fantastic debut for the author. I was completely intrigued by this book. It takes place in a far away land, that I can only hope to one day visit. The characters are true adventurers, not your typical backpackers. And the risk they take to find the ultimate paradise brings them to a place that is both breathtaking and dangerous. This is Leonardo DiCaprio's first role since Titanic and I think it will be a great one for him, as long as they don't change the script too much. The great thing about Leo is that his previous movies had an indepedent feel to them, Titanic was an atypical Leo movie.
Rating:
Summary: A generational statement
Review: Being just shy of generation x, I found this book enthralling. Not so much for the story, but for reading the first writer to truly capture what it means to be under thirty in the world today. Analogies between life and video games may seem trite to those of middle age, but they show the power that technology has had over the young adults of today. Comparisons between colors and tie-dye reflects a metaphor that not even children of the sixties would make, but shows the commonplace icon status that the revolutions of generations past hold today. The references to Vietnam raise for discussion the idea that this is how those under thirty see war at the turn of the millenium, not as a place where people distinguish themselves in broad daylight, but as a guerilla-like struggle of stealth. I think Mr. Garland does an admirable job of defining his generation without falling into the trap of simply painting them as disillusioned slackers.
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