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Summary: Great book!
Review: I saw the movie before I read the book, that's why I couldn't help but to associate the actors to the characters in the book. But I can say that the movie didn't do much justice to the book. Alex Garland has successfully managed to give depth and dimension to the characters, and the small details and descriptions here and there really set the mood and it is was very easy to be pulled deep into the story. I look forward to reading his future novels.
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Summary: Better Than The Film
Review: The book The Beach is better than the film version as it is much darker and leaves more to the imagination. The Beach is about a guy called Richard who is travelling around Thailand when he comes across a man who talks about the perfect island. (paradise). Not believing this man Richard goes to sleep and next morning wakes up to find a map stuck to his door and the man who had told him about it had killed himself. Not wanting to go alone Richard asks the french couple from next door to go with him, which they do. Once upon the island everything seems to be going fine until they find out that the island isn't all that it seems. If you have seen th film and didn't like it then give the book a try as it is much better.
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Summary: The Beach Review
Review: The book The Beach by Garland is very interesting, non-stop page turner. When I read the book, I read it from front to back in one day, all 500 some odd pages of it. Garland tells an intreging story of a group of travelers. You can tell Garland has had his share of traveling experience. The begining starts with a murder of a diranged man named Daffy who leaves a map of a travelers pardise of the coast of Thialand to a young traveler Richard. Richard and two of his traveling partners set of for this paradise leaving all their grasp of sociaty and sanity. This book is my favorite book I've read yet in my short life. Garland is a very discriptive writer and in The Beach he pants the picture of paradise and makes you feel Richards experience. After reading this book you'll really fell like you've been on a far away journey. I would recemend this book to anyone who can handle the slite violence.
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Summary: So much better than the movie
Review: I admit it, I loved this book. I was riveted by the last 100 pages, so much so that I wanted to call in sick so I could sit out on my patio and read them. Bully for a guy, Alex Garland, only in his 20s when he wrote this, to be so skillful in writing such a suspenseful read. OK, so it's not Tolstoy or Faulkner, but it sure is a heckuva lot of fun.
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Summary: You will never want to put it down!
Review: This exciting novel by Alex Garland is a must read even if you do not like to read. THE BEACH is a book that as soon as you start reading it you will not want to put it down. The book has just enough action to make the reader want to continue. THE BEACH is about a man named Rich who finds a map of a secret beach that suppose to be a place of paradise. The man that slid the map under his hotel door in Thailand killed himself right after he gave it to Rich. Rich later became bored with Thailand so he decided to seek out this perfect island, but he could not do it alone. So he asks the couple next door to him if they want to go with him. They agree and the leave to go to the island. As the go on their journey many problems arise and even after they get there their problems don't end. They end up facing many more dilemmas through out the novel. THE BEACH is a very good novel and I would recommend it to anyone even the nonreader.
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Summary: Utopia uprooted.
Review: I have to say that I did watch the movie first and I that I do like the book better. Not because everything is "different" in the movie, but because Richard is much, much more likeable in the book. Having said that, I do think that some of the story is a bit contrived, however, it's not anything that makes you cringe.
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Summary: Daffy Duck goes Head Hunting
Review: This is a novel in the same vein as such classics like Lord of the Flies. It introduces three adventuresome youths to paradise, a small beach populated by a handful of people who work together to keep their community functioning. It isn't long before things start to go awry, however. The drug lords that hold domain over most of the islands get angry when a band of unexpected travellers show up in their pot fields and the main character starts to go a little crazy. Better in every way than the ill-fated movie, Garland tells this story from the perspective of the main character, who is slightly delusional. The prose is subtle and manages to change the tone of the story from adventuresome to dark and troubling as the main character starts to hallucinate that the man that gave him a map to the beach before killing himself is still around and joining the narrator on his little adventures. Garland manages to paint a perfect picture of this little paradise and adds humor and drama to the mix for an entertaining, fairly quick read. This book comes highly recommended.
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Summary: "What the Hell??"
Review: Page 1: Boom Boom: Vietnam. What would you do to keep a secret? Would you kill to ensure the silence of its veiled deception? This book is mind-altering, psychological thriller about the illusion of a utopia. Nothing is what it seems. Author Alex Garland interweaves elements of adventure with a flawless segue about how the mind can deceive you. It flows with a smoothness that is unnoticeable. Is he crazy or just delusional? This is the question that pondered throughout the whole story. Richard is a man searching. Searching for his Eden, his Utopia; this is a beach spoken by few and found even by less. Every character makes its point, from Sal to Bugs to Mister Duck. But, he does, along with 2 of his French friends. What happens next will change your mind about how a book should be written. With its snappy quick style and smart dialogue, this is a tale that should not be missed. READ the BEACH....END
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Summary: Joanna's Book review on 'The Beach'.
Review: Book review: 'The Beach' By Alex Garland Joanna Jones 13.3.01 A book I read recently was ' The Beach'. I found it a very interesting stimulating novel that captured my attention. Living in the country in which the book was situated in, having been to many of the places it mentions, gave me clear visuals of the different places. I can recall having many of the same thoughts and feelings as the main character in this book. Many of the things he did I can imagine myself doing if I was in his situation. I found his character very easy to relate to. A guy in his early twenties, independent, in totally different circumstances to what he's used to being in. It inspired me the way this book was put together, the places and the different types of people you meet along the way as a back packer. The author had obviously back packed through Thailand at some point, to have had the kind of thoughts that people experiencing a new country for the first time have: culture shock ;people from all over the world trying to fit in with new situations when in a country like Thailand, which is of high tourist attraction. I thought the book went a bit slow and was kind of drawn out, but it's one of those books that has a lot to say for itself. It has many details that need to be explained to be able to convey some kind of feeling to the reader so he/she can picture the different scenes. I like the way the story was planned out and the way it was very much reality but managed to squeeze in some imaginative thinking also. This book has a very unique story line unlike anything I have ever heard of. I would definitely recommend this book to people who are into a bit of an adventure and don't mind a bit of gore. I would recommend it to ages 12 and up depending on the maturity of the person.
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Summary: A glimpse into human nature
Review: This book is an example of man going insane. From the time when Richard (the main character) enters the Beach, you begin to notice changes in his personallity. I thought this was very clever, because you eventually see Richard change completely, and you're with him all the way. This may not be a book which discusses why we search out for paradise as much as an end result of paradise. Great book, obviously I reccomend it.
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