I did this backward. I loved this film many years ago, and at the time, didn’t realize it was a novel. It feels like a fairly realistic commune. And it didn’t hurt that I was picturing Leo and Tilda Swinton as the leads. It’s an island with a naturally formed hierarchy, alliances, etc. They SOUGHT a utopian society. Stop the Lord of the Flies comparisons. Ralph, Piggy and all had NO choice but survival. But I digress. This is good!

A story of utopia gone wrong. Arguably also a story of how cults thrive in isolation.

This book speaks to the common, maybe universal human desire: the intoxicating promise of a perfect beach somewhere out there, an escape from the mundanity of our lives where relaxation and adventure are guaranteed and constant. A place where life is simple, where food and fun is abundant, and the noise of the modern world has been completely removed.

This book was a great until the ending, which was abrupt and pretty extreme (no spoilers). I actually like the movie ending much more than the book ending.

This book makes me think of how fraught human happiness is. The beach is only paradise as long as it's a well kept secret that isn't overrun by tourists (the tragedy of the commons). It's only paradise until something goes wrong (like an injury or an illness). And ultimately the beach, secluded from the noisy, dirty, outside world, can only exist as a byproduct of the outside world. People still need rice, soap, deodorant, tampons, condoms, clothes - all of which require having money and taking occasional trips to the city to buy things. This utopian community is not truly independent of the outside world.

Of course a utopia can only last for so long, only until someone or something fucks it up. But while it lasts, it seems like it can last forever.

''η ευτυχία είναι ένα όνειρο και η δυστυχία είναι πραγματικότητα''
Βολταιρος

O Alex Garland είναι γνωστός για την πολύπλευρη του σταδιοδρομία στον Κινηματογράφο είτε ως παραγωγός ταινιών μυθοπλασίας, είτε ως σεναριογράφος -και τακτικός συνεργάτης ταινιών του σκηνοθέτη Danny Boyle- πραγματοποιώντας πριν τρία χρόνια κ το σκηνοθετικό του πολυβραβευμένο ντεμπούτο με το Ex Machina (2014), μια ταινία επιστημονικής φαντασίας όπου η Τεχνολογική και Ρομποτική Επιστήμη έρχεται αντιμέτωπη με τις τερατώδεις ανακαλύψεις της ..Αυτό που ελάχιστοι ίσως γνωρίζουν είναι ότι ο Garland έγινε γνωστός στο ευρύ και κυρίως νεανικό του κοινό ως συγγραφέας ενός από τα πολυδιαβασμένα βιβλία της δεκαετίας του ’90, την Παραλια. Εκτοτε κυκλοφόρησε δυο βιβλία κ έπειτα ..τον κέρδισε πιθανότατα η επικερδής βιομηχανία του θεάματος καθώς εδω και μια δεκαετία αγνοείται η λογοτεχνική του ενασχόληση.

Ο Garland με την έκδοση της Παραλίας χαρακτηρίστηκε από πολλούς κριτικούς ως ο συγγραφέας της Generation X, της δημογραφικής ομάδας που ενηλικιώθηκε περίπου την δεκαετία του 80 με την ταυτόχρονη δημιουργία της τεχνολογικής κ επικοινωνιακής επανάστασης, με τον τερματισμό του Ψυχρού Πολέμου κ την επιτάχυνση της Παγκοσμιοποίησης. Σε μια περίοδο όπου οι οικογενειακοί δεσμοί ειναι πιο χαλαροί σε σχέση με την προηγούμενη γενιά των Baby Boomers, τα διαζύγια αφθονούν, η τηλεοπτικη ψυχαγωγικη εικονα εχει εδραιωθει -η Gen X εχει αλλωστε χαρακτηριστει και ως MTV Generation- ειναι η πρώτη εφηβικη ομάδα που ήρθε σε επαφή με την αρχική μορφή των videogames, του modeling, επιτραπέζιων παιχνιδιών, νεοτευκτων μουσικών ιδιωμάτων όπως της grunge, της indie και της hip-hop και με ενα πληθος ματσο Κινηματογραφικών Χολιγουντιανών ηρώων όπως οι Rambo, ο Terminator, ο Rocky κ.α., και ταινιών πολέμου όπως το αριστουργηματικό Apocalpse Now (1979), το all-time classic Platοon (1986), το εξαιρετικό αν και οχι τοσο δημοφιλες Full Metal Jacket (1987) του τελειομανή Stanley Cubrick.

Γνήσια απότοκα της Γενιας Χ ειναι και οι αντιήρωες του μυθιστορήματος του Garland που πραγματοποιουν τις διακοπες τους σε ένα από τα πιο δημοφιλή παγκόσμια θέρετρα και οικονομικά κέντρα της Νοτιοανατολικής Ασίας, στην εξωτική Ταϋλάνδη. Ένας χάρτης που απεικονίζει στο θαλάσσιο πάρκο της Ταϋλάνδης μια μυστήρια παράλια -σε ένα απαγορευμένο νησί για την πολυπληθή μάζα των τουριστών- και έρχεται με δραματικο τροπο στα χερια του Βρεττανου Ριτσαρντ και ενός ζευγαριού από την Γαλλια φαντάζει η τέλεια αφορμή για την διαφυγη από την συμβατική και ασφυκτιουσα πραγματικότητα και την αναζήτηση μιας αληθινης περιπέτειας που οδηγει στην συλλογή εμπειριών και αναμνήσεων. Thai αλλωστε στα Ταυλανδεζικα σημαινει ελευθερια.

Παραδεισένιες θαλάσσιες τοποθεσίες βγαλμένες από τα πιο μαγικα παραμύθια, ένα ιδανικά εξοπλισμένο και οργανωμένο κοινόβιο με πλήθος νεαρών hipsters από όλα τα μερη του Κόσμου άλλα και Χασισοφυτείες, ταϊλανδοί άγριοι οπλισμένοι ‘Βιετκογκ’, είναι οι πρώτες και γενικές εικόνες από ένα νησί που είναι κυριολεκτικά χωρισμένο στα δυο συμφώνα με τον σικελικό Νόμο της Σιωπής.. Όλα δείχνουν να ακολουθούν τον ασφαλή δρόμο της γαληνης και μιας ονειρικης ευτυχίας αλλά ένα τραγικό δυστύχημα κ μια επίσκεψη νέων θαλασσοπόρων εξευρενητων διαταράσσει την επιφανειακή ηρεμια. Ο παράδεισος μετατρέπεται σε εφιάλτη, η παράνοια διαδέχεται της λογικής και η προστασία της παραλίας μετατρεπεται σε ένα πολεμικο videogame της Nitendo, ενας επικίνδυνος όπως καθε ειδους εθισμός, οπου οσο ανεβαινουν τα levels του παιχνιδιου τοσο πιο γρηγορα αυξανεται η αδρεναλινη, δοκιμαζονται τα αντανακλαστικα και ο ψυχισμος του καθενος πλησιαζοντας το ξαφνικο Game Over!

Ο γραπτός λογος του Alex Garland αν και πρωτοεμφανιζομενος κρινεται ωριμος, λεπτοδουλεμενος, αποδραματοποιημενος και εξαιρετικα θελκτικός στην αναγνωση, ανασύροντας ομοιότητες στην εξελιξη της δρασης με μια κλασική νουβέλα της Παγκόσμιας Λογοτεχνίας, τον ‘Άρχοντα των Μυγών’ του Γουιλιαμ Γκολντιγκ.

I don’t write reviews.

“And I carry a lot of scars. I like how that sounds. I carry a lot of scars.”

That’s the last line in this book and not a spoiler. Could it not be a line from any of our autobiographies? Perhaps some don’t like that weather-beaten, battle-wrought, hardened look, but I do. I’m scarred, yet not defeated. Maybe, I’m more interesting of a character because I’ve been through it.

Richard, the main character of this book, goes through it, in every sense of the word. His adventure was terribly entertaining like Robinson Crusoe and Lord of the Flies and Blue Lagoon. Can anything perfect remain so eternally? As they say, all good things must come to an end. Do we enforce that because we can’t allow ourselves to be happy or is it simply true? Both, I think, maybe.

This story deals in coincidences, of which I don’t believe to exist. My “coincidence” was thus: I bought this book by chance last week. I knew of the story, but that’s all. A day later, I watched Annihilation and I liked it. Suddenly, during the film I shouted, “Isn’t this a Jeff VanderMeer book?” It is, I later confirmed. Then I thought about reading The Southern Reach books, but decided on The Beach. After fifty pages, I stopped and looked at the name, Alex Garland. My brain said, “But didn’t he direct Annihilation?” And he did. The end?

3.5 stars

Alex Garland is better known as a screenwriter and film director than as a novelist, but his first novel, The Beach, created something of a sensation when it appeared in 1996, seen by many as a key text for understanding the spirit and times of generation X. Whatever.

The novel follows the exploits of a young Brit, Richard, who on a backpacking trip to Bangkok comes into possession a map that purports to show the location of a whispered-about Eden, a remote Thai island untouched by tourism and modernity’s pitfalls, where a small community of ex-pats lives in idyllic simplicity. With a French couple he has befriended, Richard sets off and discovers the island and its secret community, a community it turns out with lots of secrets, most of them not nice. Uncovering these secrets, and dealing with the evolving distrust and tensions, become the core of the novel.

Had The Beach stuck to this basic storyline, the novel would have been much stronger than it turns out being. Garland is a skilled writer, and he does a fine job capturing the backpacking district of Bangkok (the infamous Khaoson Road) and the tortuous quest to discover the mysterious island. Garland is also effective at establishing the myriad relationships structuring life in the island community, revealing bit by bit the belly of the beast in which the newbies find themselves. Lots of suspenseful reading.

But eventually Garland starts pushing too hard, bringing in storylines that muddle rather than sharpen the development. Given Garland’s later career in film, it’s probably not surprising that the novel evolves into a mishmash of Blue Lagoon, Deliverance, Night of the Living Dead, and especially Apocalypse Now (and by extension Conrad’s Heart of Darkness). Sounds intriguing, right? There’s nothing necessarily wrong with mishmash if it’s handled well, usually with a light hand so that the mish can satisfactorily mix with the mash, the various elements intermingling in ways that don’t seem gratuitous or heavy-handed. But Garland pushes way too hard, particularly in his attempt to make the novel a retelling of Apocalypse Now. Most of this unwieldy effort comes through Richard’s ruminations about the Vietnam war, ruminations which seem odd given that he’s a Brit and probably wasn’t even born until after the war’s conclusion. Many of these ruminations come in his increasingly fraught hallucinations in which he engages with the man who had left him the map and had committed suicide (he was one of the founders of the island community but had left—that’s another story).

Richard’s fixation with the Vietnam war, clearly like Garland’s, comes primarily through film and television, particularly Apocalypse Now as well as the TV series Tour of Duty, memories of which provide Richard useful military tactics. Really? Anyway, as I’ve been suggesting, the idyll eventually becomes a nightmare, with no Zombies appearing but something close. More muddled mishmash. And the ending? Let’s just say the resolution is comfortably tidy in spite of all that’s happened.

All that said, The Beach is never dull and often gripping, particularly before things go too awry, both in the narrative and on the island.

i had problems with the pacing but the ending was WILD

Having seen the film a couple of times, I was worried it would ruin my experience of the book, but not at all. This was a great read, and quite hard to put down, as I wanted to know what was going to happen next (even having seen the film). The film and the book version feel like two very separate things to me.

Hmm, this is one of those books that I don't know how to rate. On one hand it was a fantastic first novel and I don't want to diminish that. On the other hand, it was not fun for me to read it. For most of the book it revolves around bunch of people talking, eating, fishing, swimming, helping each other, and accusing each other when something goes wrong. Besides the thing that happened at the end, most of the book consists of the variations of the things I've listed above.

I also predicted correctly how the book will end. For the most part, I was right. During one part of the book I was just aimlessly reading the beginnings of the chapters and few sentences at the end and I felt like I really did not miss much, if anything. This is one of those books that rely a lot on the interactions of characters instead of the story. A lot of the times the characters were doing the most mundane things yet the conversations kept the story moving in some way. Whether it was character development, tasks ahead of them, life on the beach, connections being created, or the thoughts of home, the conversations always manage to say something.

There was not much of a suspense going on. Sure, sometimes characters have concerns but it usually turns into something easily resolved. Besides the ending which was about 20 pages of actual suspense (at least to me), nothing too surprising happens.

I do like the appeal of the Beach. Away from worries, smoking dope all day long, swimming, helping others, chatting with friends, and creating a strong sense of family. It was in a sense an Eden. There was no worries of how to make a living or where to work every day. It was all about working together to eat and survive another day. I liked it.

Some of the characters are one dimensional with no discernible characteristics. They were not memorable and their "disappearance" was not really missed.

Overall a not so memorable book. Nothing special about it besides its clean prose and very simple story. Again, a great first novel.

Lost in Paradise
20 November 2020

tI didn’t actually realise that there was a book that the movie was based on, and even if I did I would have been rather hesitant to actually read it, namely because, well, the movie wasn’t particularly great. In fact, I was rather surprised that it wasn’t well-received considering that Danny Boyle directed it, and he does tend to be pretty good when it comes to films. I did see it a while back, but didn’t find it all that great.

tHowever, that is sort of what surprises me about this film because, well, when I went to Thailand everybody seems to think that the film put Phi Phi island on the map (despite the fact that the events take place on the other side of the peninsula near Koh Pha Nang, which is known for its full moon parties, but then again so is Phi Phi). Yeah, it’s odd because people go on tours to see Maya Bay and some small island (Khai Island) between Phi Phi and Phuket, and ironically what used to be just a sandy spot devoid of everything has pretty much become a tourist haven full of bars and beach chairs, and they all claim that it became that way because of the movie.

tSeriously? Because of that movie? Honestly, it isn’t as if it was like Abbey Road, or Game of Thrones, it was The Beach.

tOh, and here is a picture of Khai Island, just so you know:



tThe reason that I ended up reading the book was because I heard that it was a more modern version of Lord of the Flies, so that sort of intrigued me. I even want to watch the film again because, well, now that I’ve read the book I want to see what’s different (though you can pretty easily find that out by going to IMDB so you don’t have to watch it again (or for the first time – yeah, it’s like that).

tThe thing is that it isn’t like Lord of the Flies. Not at all. Okay, both are set on a tropical island but that is pretty much about it. Okay, both involve a group of people that are separated from society, one by choice, the other, well, they didn’t have that much choice in the matter. However, that is about it. Yet, there are some interesting things that do come out of the book, and while I did find it somewhat engaging, I wasn’t really all that thrilled with the end. In fact, I thought it was a bit rushed. I’ll get to that shortly.

tHowever, before I go any further, here’s a picture of Maya Bay:



tThe reason I decided to include this photo is to try and show what they were trying to escape, and what they were trying to prevent, and that is a horde of tourists descending upon the island and completely destroying what they considered to be a paradise (and they have since shut Maya Bay because of that). Mind you, I still am a little confused as to why they had to cross the island to get to the beach when sailing around it would have been much, much easier. Then again, our protagonists could only swim, though the interlopers did have a raft (and a map). Another thing was that there was a huge amount of weed (as in marijuana) being grown on the island by some drug lords.

tAnyway, this is one of the things about this world. You find a place that seems like paradise, but as long as nobody knows about it, it remains like that. The problem is that people have a habit of locating these places, and when they do, you could say that it is paradise lost. The other thing is that if you tell one person, they will tell another, who will tell another, and so on, and this was the case with Richard. The thing is that they had a go at Richard for telling people about this place, but how was he supposed to know that he wasn’t meant to copy the map and give it to others, and when he did find out that he wasn’t supposed to do it, well, the damage had already been done.

tThen again, the other thing was that this was supposed to be in a national park, and tourists were prohibited from coming here, so even if it became well known, as soon as the backpackers piled over, you could be assured that the Thai government would have cracked down on it. Then again, that probably would have been bad news for the people living on the beach, and for the drug smugglers as well.

tThe thing that really got me though was all these hallucinations that Richard was having. It just seemed to be somewhat out of place, and there was no real explanation for them. It felt at times that the book was leading us somewhere, but it ended up going nowhere. In fact, the part at the beginning, about the Vietnam War, really had no point or meaning whatsoever. Honestly, that is probably why I ended up finding the book to be rather disappointing, that there wasn’t some twist, or explanation, as to why he kept on seeing and talking to, this guy that had given him the map and then proceeded to kill himself.

tYeah, I’m going to have to say that while the book is definitely better than the film (isn’t it always), it still wasn’t all that great. I guess my issue is that the ending, well, kinda sucked. It built itself up, and then just fell off the cliff into a pit of pointlessness. Surely Garland could have finished it off somewhat better than he did.

Раят на плажовете
(Цялото ревю е тук: https://knijenpetar.wordpress.com/201...)

Наистина съм обсебен от някои сюжети и определени книги. Доста време мина, откакто реших да прочета „Плажът“ („Алма“, 2017, с превод на Албена Левакова), напълно обсебен от едноименния филм преди години. Знаех, че книгата ще разкрие доста повече, както се случва обикновено. Образите ще бъдат родени само от моето въображение и нищо няма да ми попречи да го развихря така, както аз си знам. И наистина получих подобаващ коктейл от драма, малко приключения и психологическо напрежение. Точно тази книга не бих оценил с чиста съвест, защото обсебването си го имаше и всичките ми емоции преливаха извън определените норми. Ако човек погледне нещата отстрани, би видял просто една „развлечена“ история, която би могла да бъде поне със стотина страници по-кратка. Фактите говорят, че се случва прекалено малко и някак пресилено, доста далеч като сравнение с други подобни книги. Но пък ме накара да се настроя на друга честота. Започвам да виждам умове, характери и умисъл във всички решения на героите, виждам нюансите в поведението им и следя с изострени сетива почти невидимото „напрягане“ в развитието на сюжета. В един момент започва да ми се струва, че съм в нечие чуждо съновидение, достатъчно ярко, за да се откъсна напълно от реалността навън. Това е приключение с много тайни и изненади за ума. Навлизаш все по-дълбоко и отиваш… другаде.
(Продължава в блога: https://knijenpetar.wordpress.com/201...)

Deciding to re-read this book over fifteen years since reading it last had me a bit wary. I worried that it would feel dated; something a younger me thought was powerful, but an adult me no longer connects with.

I was wrong.

This book is every bit as energetic and sun-soaked as it was the first time around, and left me wondering what the characters would have made of the world to come. They seek to find someplace new because tourists and crowds swallow up every other interesting place on the trail. They gripe about people travelling halfway around the world but still wanting the comforts of home. What would they have made about people wandering the world over, but doing so while still staying tethered with their technology.

THE BEACH is checkered by the film it spawned, which isn't the worst thing in the world...but makes it's very different ending that much more powerful when it arrives.

This was a welcome trip down memory lane...now where's my passport?

I liked the story, atmosphere and the adventurous quality of this book. But I thought the writer struggled with his descriptions. He didn't always manage to convey the characters' emotions or thoughts in a convincing and natural way, nor did some of the scenes seem fluent. Plus I really disliked the protagonist, Richard. His immature, superficial macho behaviour got old really fast.
3.5 stars