Book of the Week

The Beach by Alex Garland

Recommended by Alex Kilsby

Let me start this off by saying: I’m not one for books. I’m a very picky reader. And I don’t read as often as some would like me to. So, when my mum handed me The Beach saying “Read this, or so help me god I will go nuts,” I felt I had no choice. And somehow I was so gripped by the first few chapters I just kept reading. Until, twenty four hours later, I finished it, satisfied and overjoyed with it. And let me tell you, that is incredibly rare for me.

The Beach, written in 1996 by Alex Garland, is an anti-tourism book written through the eyes of a tourist. It tells of paradise ruined by trampling feet, and westerners only looking for a good photo. A traveller who yearns for something more than a brief holiday spending the time next to noisy roads, shouting tourists and stale locations. 

The novel is presented through the eyes of an English man named Richard, in the setting of Thailand. He arrives, but quickly realises he wants a rare and new type of holiday. True paradise, not the average holiday for some cheap midwestern suburban family. He then soon learns of an island, with a beach (yes, THAT beach), that has soft sands of gold, glistening lakes and bays, and fruit and fish to last a lifetime. Not only that, but he is given a map by a slightly strange hotel neighbour. In the morning, he sets out with two others for the beach.

This book starts out as a typical tourist/hiking adventure, and as you progress through it, it turns into an powerful thriller. You become emotionally connected to each and every character, and care and worry for them. Further toward the end of the book, you realise the ticking clock situation as every page goes by, wondering how it will end. The entire book builds up tension, only to astound you in a single chapter. The Beach is definitely worth reading, with a well written story, understandable characters, and moral dilemmas.