![]() He's in love with and in awe of Florence, and he's been waiting for long, treading on the eggshells of sexual hypocrisy and individual sensitivity, led by her coy pretence of sensuality and perceptions coloured by his own desire. ![]() It's July 1962 and the world (and more importantly, Britain) is very different from now: the couple are both virgins, sex is not spoken of, individual anxieties or desires are not shared even between those just about to consummate their union, the residents' lounge of the hotel is still inhabited by retired colonels grumpy over the handover of the Empire and overcooked beef and potatoes are served by sulky waiters as the meal for the newly weds.īoth are virgins: Edward is suffering from normal first-night nerves, but his anxieties are rather commonplace - we know that, and he'll know it, in hindsight. ![]() On Chesil Beach is the story of Edward and Florence, and their wedding night in a hotel near Chesil Beach with its infinite shingle. Summary: In a short novella, McEwan manages to fit a record of changing sexual and social mores, an extremely convincing depiction of individuals' inner worlds and a psychological (if not to say physiological) insight so piercing that it gets, almost literally, visceral. ![]()
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