Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach Review

Overall Rating

As usual with this author, it's beautifully written and he builds up the claustrophobic atmosphere of the dreadful British hotel where a repressed couple have a disastrous wedding night with great control and verve. Unlike others, I enjoyed the story - the slowness was a vital part of it.

For me, it flagged a bit in the middle but this is a minor criticism.

A little gem. It is a sharp and sad portrayal of a disastrous marriage, made more poignant by its setting at a time just before the great social liberations and greater sexual freedoms of the sixties.