Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Book Review: The Beach by Alex Garland

This book is a trip into another world. Wow. I was so caught up in it and absolutely hated to see it end! Some of the blurbs on the flap compared it to The Lord of the Flies, but I've never read that one, so can't say if it's accurate.

This story is about a young guy named Richard, off backpacking around Asia. You know the type, right? Well, while in Thailand, he hears about this beach, supposedly some kind of Eden, where a group of people is living in paradise. Curious, he sets out for it and finds it.

What follows is a compelling story that you'll be caught up in - but also a philosophical discourse about creating a society from scratch. We feel like if we could create something from scratch, with all we've learned through history, we could make an ideal society, heaven, nirvana. But as the book unfolds, you realize that maybe we're not as smart as we think we are. Suspenseful and entertaining - and not just your run of the mill mystery. Kind of reminded me of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which many of you know is one of my favorite books. You can take this book as a "beach read", or you can ponder it's deeper implications. Either way, it's a great read.

6 comments:

Kailana said...

haha, well, comparing it to Lord of the Flies would make me NOT want to read it, so you might be in luck! lol

Bookfool said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bookfool said...

Oooh, I loved Garland's "The Coma". I like mind-blowing.

Literary Feline said...

This does sound good. Wasn't there a movie made about this one? Or is it just a case of the same title?

Lisa said...

oh, I bet a movie about it would be fantastic. I see Keanu Reaves in the lead role....

Literary Feline said...

I think Leonardo DiCaprio beat him to it. :-)

I checked IMDB and it does look like the movie I'm thinking of was based on the book. I haven't seen the movie at all, and so I don't know if it was any good.