The Beach

by Alex Garland

Book Overview

The irresistible novel that was adapted into a major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The Khao San Road, Bangkok -- first stop for the hordes of rootless young Westerners traveling in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573220485
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
• Length: 371 Pages
• Weight: 1.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.3" x 1.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An anti-tourism book written through the eyes of a tourist

It tells the story of Richard, a self-described traveler who looks for something outside the regular tourist experience. Richard finds what he's looking for via a mystical beach that's untouched by the crowds. But paradise is not all that it seems to be as social order is challenged by external forces. Alex Garland's writing makes one feel as if they are with Richard and his adventures. Some cultural references are dated (aimed to take place in 1995), but it doesn't take away from the story. There were moments of reading when I felt as if I was there in Thailand with the protagonists. The smaller social cues and slang that Garland writes in the novel could only be known by someone who has lived the SE Asia traveler experience. It made me nostalgic about my own experiences in Thailand many years back. Another thing Garland does well in his writing is building tension and fleshing out his characters. This book is a page-turner through and through. There were nights I could not put the book down and fell asleep with it. And the underlying message that Garland tells with the story still holds true to today. How can people preserve an idyllic location untouched by tourists and how far are they willing to protect such secrets? Even though I enjoyed the book, I did find some faults in it. One issue I found was Richard's hallucination and dream sequences. Though appreciated at first, I found them more annoying later on. Garland could have incorporated these plot devices a bit better IMO. Another issue I had with the writing is that there were many moments consequential events seemed to be happening only for nothing to come of it. A bit of a letdown more than once. Though, I still find this a great read. 4/5. I highly recommend, especially for friends who like to travel or are interested in SE Asia tourism.

Guide to Utopia

Welcome to Utopia. Alex Garland's debut is one of the best travel writings I've ever read. His writings literally brings you to the streets of Bangkok and the immaculate beaches of Thailand. The characters in the book, particularly Richard and Jed (which incidentally, was apparently butchered by the screenwriter and therefore totally absent from the movie), are distinctly memorable. One may also call this book an up-to-date, hip, BazLuhrmanized version of Lord Of The Flies. It's not so much about backpacking, smoking...or a prolonged summer vacation. It's about finding a little bit of Hell in the middle of Eden and how the different groups of people's react to this. It's all about human psychology and different persepectives. It poses the question of what would you do if you were there? This book is a definite page-turner with the pace surprisingly goes from normal to top speed almost halfway through the book (I took 2 and a half days to finish it).However, a word of caution : to enjoy this book, you MUST disassociate everything between this book and the movie at all costs.

Top rate work - story, characters, and tone hit the spot.

Many other reviews here have been comparing "Beach" to other books. Yes, there are shades of "On the Road," "Lord of the Flies," Michener's "Drifters," and maybe even a little "Sand Pebbles" thrown in. That's fine - I like new stories to remind me of other great tales. Good writing examples complement each other; it's not one book vs. another. And this is good writing. Garland keeps the basic story simple; it's easy to follow and relatively believable. One of the best things done is that Garland creates a sort of tension throughout the book. The reader is not able to relax and simply glide along. You know something's going to happen but not what or when (you do know, of course, that Richard will make it due to the first person narration). When things go wrong, they do so in a wild but logical manner. Nothing goes too far over the top with characters commiting improbable acts (read "A Simple Plan" for the exact opposite, though it's still a fine story). The dream sequences enhance the story, rather than annoy the reader as often happens. This is a modern tale of adventure that ranks right up there with other generation-defining work. I haven't seen the movie nor do I plan to, this is good enough.

Let's Hope the Film Lives Up to the Book

This is truly the best book I have ever read. It captures the imagination and throughout leaves you constantly craving more of the story.Particularly in the character of Richard, Garland has pefectly drawn out very convincing thoughts of how he acesses various problems he encounters and how he tackels social situations. Thoughts which would cross all of our minds in these situations.However having seen a trailer for the film version, staring Leonardo di Caprio, I already belive the film will be a dissappointment. In about a minute of film the number of changes I saw to the story were enormous. None of which seemed to have been for the better, and all of which seemed to take something away from the story.I found that some quite significant and symbolic moments in the plot had been completly changed.Whatever you do, read the book before you see the film. This is a brilliantly original first novel by Alex Garland - well worth a read!

The Beach Alex Garlands debut!

This book is amazing, a detailed yet supprisingly easy read, It is imaginative yet truthful and very honest. You get involved even at the beggining of the book and you would do anything to try and help Richard! It is great all the way through and really captures you but I have to say the twist near the end is great, and it will be interesting to see if the movie of the book out feb 11th can pull this off, although I know Leonardo DiCaprio was perfectly cast as Richard Lewis, and when you read the book you get a very clear picture of Richard and Leo fits in there nicley it is hard toimagine anyone else in the role! It is a great book so buy it NOW!

Great post-modern ironic piece of literature.

Many people have missed the point of Garlands novel. Garland, rather than trying to convey the realism of a backpacker, is ironising the whole thing. For those of you familiar with the phrase, it is post modern. There is not depth to the characters , beacuase the characters are depthless and superficial. It is post-modern due to it's intertextuality, drawing on texts such as Heart of Darkness-Richards Vietnam fantasies; and what do the beachers become most concerned about, batteries for the nintendo. Richard sees himself as in a video game, and cannot relate to reality or it's consequences. Mr duck is an interesting character, do you not wonder why he left the beach? The only real disappointment was the ending where it all got a bit Steven King. So those who have read it already, ready it again. Leonardo di Caprio is completely the wrong choice for the role of Richard (who is an amoral person), and it si spoiled by the fact that Leo gets the girl in the film too. Guess the irony got lost here to. Expected better from My Boyle.