I really have no idea how to describe this book, it was mesmerising. Richard, a British backpacker arrives in Bangkok and on his first night in a hostel is given a map that leads to a so-called Eden, a secret beach that few travellers know about. So with French couple Etienne and Francoise in tow, they try to find the island. When they do life is idyllic for a while, then cracks start to appear, and they find that their Eden isn't the Paradise it seems.
I can't even pinpoint what it is about this book, that a simple tale of backpackers on an island beach could be unputdownable. But it is. It is that and so much more. Highly Recommended.

Alex Garland has encapsulated (unintentionally, I think) how great it feels to be a 24 year old boy and how incredibly annoying you are to everyone else in this very silly novel about a holiday in Thailand.

I can't remember until now that this movie was the first ever to do solopacker someday before I die.

This book is maybe my favorite book ever. I have read it 5 times (just completed the fifth read) since I bought it in 2000. I never get tired of this story. The writing is extremely witty and transports you to a world that seems beautiful on the outside, but quickly turns on its protaganist to become deeply sinister and threatening. The main character of Richard is relatable to everyone: he is searching for something, he is not sure what, but thinks he has found it in the beach. He never escapes completely his own self-doubt, and realizes that utopia is an impracticality in nature, and in particular, in human beings. The book captures a point that the movie misses entirely, and the events as they play out in the narrative are much more frightening and thrilling than in the movie. Read this book!!!

Surely a modern classic in the making. The search for an Eden in Thailand. The adventure. And what happens in Eden? Multi level book with the quest for and concept of how little untouched virgin lands remains in the world. A society outside of authority how will civilisation be maintained? What are the rules? Every writer's dream, a spectacular debut novel! 8 out of 12, Four Star read.

2007 read

My immediate thoughts on finishing The Beach are this: It was pretty good. Four stars. Not the best ever I've read. Quite different than the movie adaptation.

What I liked about The Beach were several things: I really enjoyed the way Garland wrote this story. For me, it was a realistic aspect of the way someone might think, speak, feel, and act. I enjoyed the realistic quality of the dialogue. To me, it didn't really seem forced, or trying too hard. For a first novel, I'm kind of left impressed. Another thing I liked about this book was the idea. It made me think there are possibly people out there in the world on small islands, living their lives and creating their own society. For the most part, I could picture what was going on in the story with the descriptions that were given. It's almost one of those types of stories where, you can let your mind wander about what everything and everyone looks like. And despite some of the horrible things Richard, the main character did, I actually still liked him in the end. Towards the end, or even more in the middle, when things start to unravel, it seemed quite realistic. Richard had committed some severe lies which threatened life at The Beach.

What also made this more of a realistic story, and something which I kept thinking while I was reading was, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is." Life was too perfect on The Beach. Not having to pay bills, not having to pay for groceries, not necessarly having to work to think about the future, but only the immediate now, and the simplistic lifestyle. At some point, this too-good-to-be-true lifestyle will most likely come to an end in some way shape or form.

But despite the things I liked about the book, there were some things I didn't like. I guess I was hoping there would be something more to it. I get the general idea, and maybe not a lot was supposed to happen. A lot did happen, don't get me wrong. I just thought Francoise and Richard would actually be together, or something. I know that is what they did to the movie, but maybe that's just me.

I'm pretty happy with the story, but I think something a little extra could have been added to bump it up to five stars for me. There was just a little something missing for me, and I don't necessarily mean a romance or something. Also, like I mentioned before, I liked Richard, but I also liked all of the characters. The reader only knew what Richard knew, and I think it played well for the idea: You're on an island, and you've left your past life behind. End of story. You start a new life, and The Beach is your life. Also end of story.

Great book. Glad I picked it up and read. (Thanks to Trudi, actually!)

Excellent writing -- different, interesting, and colloquial without being cliche. His short descriptions of the characters are beyond adequate, as he lets you immediately understand the person. Richard, the main character, is both elusive and relate-able -- he's an enjoyable character for me because I could see myself in him. He's selfish and flawed, but tries to remain a team player and at the end of the day (or the trip?), he tries to save himself and his friends.

Everything about this book is well done, well captued -- the setting in "Thailand" or a Utopian island, the characters from the cook who's obsessed with scented soap to the Harvard students who play up pothead stereotypes to see Europeans react. Then there is Richard's relationship with an imaginary (?) friend ... one that exists somewhere between Richard's nightmares and his daily life.

The book's excitement compels you to keep reading its short chapters. The plot and its surprises are both beautiful and demonic, but always realistic.

More like 4.5 stars because Richard can go fuck himself. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book while on an actual beach, I recommend everyone do the same.

"Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is the generation that travels the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite & never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience— And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it."

53) The Beach by Alex Garland (4.5 stars) Richard, a British backpacker, travels to the hidden island of Eden after advice from a fellow backpacker named Daffy. He journies out in search of this Thai paradise along with a Etienne and Francoise, a French couple.

"Tourists went on holidays while travellers did something else. They travelled."

The beginning of this book brought me so many happy feelings of wanderlust and hope for future travel. I have traveled to South East Asia and the abundance of twentysomething backpackers in search of an adventure is bountiful. The humour within the pages was excellent and the pop culture references gave me feelings of nostalgia.

There's a point in the book where it becomes an absolutely mesmerising page-turner. Garland writes succinct and short chapters, it really makes you say "just one more" and then never want to stop. Garland has brilliant pacing in his writing that makes the book read like a script for an action/ adventure movie. I was so impressed that this was a debut novel, it was quite the accomplishment in literature that I cannot believe I skipped over reading it for 10+ years!

"There's this saying: in an all-blue world, colour doesn't exist... If something seems strange, you question it; but if the outside world is too distant to use as a comparison then nothing seems strange."

Anyways, Eden's utopian life only lasts a short time and this intense foreboding atmosphere takes over the story. It's easy to compare The Beach to Golding's Lord of the Flies but I think it stands alone in its voice and story. I can't wait to find a copy of the movie and watch it too!

Wow, my head is all messed up after reading this book. Although "The Beach" is a travel adventure novel, it also has a dark and a disturbing atmosphere.
The first half of the book was good, building up the momentum gradually, but the 2nd half was more captivating as it was more suspenseful, thrilling and tense.
I like how Alex Garland portrayed the characters in the book. I especially liked how he presented Richard's character. He's the kind of character you'd probably dislike. But weirdly, I didn't dislike his character too much. Yes, he was selfish and manipulative at times but also it's hard to judge him based on the choices he made, because it makes us wonder if we would have done anything differently after all.
Most of the characters are selfish and not likeable but weirdly that didn't make the book any less intriguing.

I've watched the movie sometime ago and I liked it a lot. However, after reading the book, it's clear that the movie gives less insight to the relationships between the characters and why they act the way they do. The movie kind of missed the point that the author clearly made in the book.
Plus, Richard is supposed to be English (which Leo DiCaprio is clearly not) and he doesn't have sex with anyone. Where as, the movie decided to add a sex scene (I think it was just one

HOLY SHIT
WAT EEN FUCKING MEESTERWERK.

Dit stond al jaren in mijn boekenkast - een keertje goedkoop gescoord bij de kringloop omdat ik dacht, hey, ik ken de film, dat is die met Leo DiCaprio toch? - en verder eigenlijk nooit gelezen. Ik heb de film héél lang geleden gezien, en ik weet er niet veel meer van, behalve dat ik het best wel een coole film vond. Anyway - het boek.

Je zit dus in het hoofd van reiziger Richard (zo'n 20 jaar oud denk ik?) die aan het backpacken is door Thailand. Op den duur komt ie achter een legende van 'the beach', een perfect utopisch afgelegen strand met een community, zonder enig contact met de buitenwereld. Met twee Franse reismaatjes die hij in een hostel in Thailand heeft ontmoet gaan ze kijken of ze bij dat strand kunnen komen. Helemaal spannend, want ze weten niet of het echt is, moeten hun paspoorten verstoppen, een heel stuk zwemmen, etc. Maar ja, de rest van het boek gaat dus over life on the beach.

Echt, het boek greep me van begin tot eind. Het is mysterieus, spannend, interessant, aangrijpend, maar vooral: F U C K E D U P. Mijn favoriete soort literatuur <3

"There's this saying: in al all-blue world, colour doesn't exist. it makes a lot of sense to me. If something seems strange, you question it; but if the outside world is too distant to use as a comparison then nothing seems strange."

Ik wil hier heel veel over vertellen maar ik wil niet dingen verklappen. Dus ik hoop dat iemand mijn review leest en denkt, goh, dat lijkt me wel wat, ik ga dit ook lezen. En dat we er dan daarna samen over kunnen praten want DAMN. En... het einde jonge HET EINDE. aaaa. "beaucoup bad shit" indeed.

Ik ga vanavond de film kijken! Zoveel zin in!!!

"It doesn't matter why I found it so easy to assimilate myself into the beach life. The question is why the beach life found it so easy to assimilate me."

The Beach
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️