The Beach
-
- £4.99
-
- £4.99
Publisher Description
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Beach, a classic story of paradise found - and lost, the book that inspired the major film starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Richard lands in East Asia in search of an earthly utopia. In Thailand, he is given a map promising an unknown island, a secluded beach - and a new way of life. What Richard finds when he gets there is breathtaking: more extraordinary, more frightening than his wildest dreams.
But how long can paradise survive here on Earth? And what lengths will Richard go to in order to save it?
'Fresh, fast-paced, compulsive and clever' Nick Hornby
'A powerful narrative drive, exotic locations that unfold like a corrupt and mysterious flower, and a moody intelligence that holds everything together' J.G. Ballard
'A gripping adventure, and a fascinating jigsaw' The Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Garland's amphetamine-paced first novel plunks some young European expats down on a remote island in the Gulf of Thailand. There, tired of the prepackaged experience available to them in the West, they try to create their own paradise. The narrator is an Englishman named Richard. Born in 1974, he has grown up on popular culture and is a fan of video games and Vietnam War movies. While staying at a creaky Bangkok guest house, he finds a carefully drawn map left by his angry, doped-up neighbor, a suicide who called himself Mr. Daffy Duck. The map points the way to a legendary beach where, it's rumored, a few favored international wanderers have settled. Richard's new friends, Etienne and Fran oise, convince him to help them find the island. But Richard, inspired by sudden anxiety about Etienne, gives a copy of the map to two American backpackers-an act that later haunts him as keenly as the ghost of Mr. Duck. Richard and his French companions find the island: half is covered by a marijuana plantation patrolled by well-armed guards; the other half consists of a gorgeous beach and forest where a small band of wandering souls live a communal life dominated by a gently despotic woman named Sal. At times, Garland seems to be trying to say something powerful about the perils of desiring a history-less Eden. But his evocations of Vietnam, Richard's hallucinatory chats with the dead Mr. Duck and various other feints in the direction of thematic gravity don't add up to much. Garland is a good storyteller, though, and Richard's nicotine-fueled narrative of how the denizens of the beach see their comity shatter and break into factions is taut with suspense, even if the bloody conclusion offers few surprises. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; foreign rights sold in the U.K., Germany, Holland, Italy.
Customer Reviews
Robinson Crusoe with Cannabis: The Journey of Richard the British backpacker.
The Beach follows the adventures of Richard, a young British backpacker, who flees his home country to leave behind all the problems life had thrown at him. Written after the events, Richard takes the reader on an amazing journey entering into the beautiful, yet often sinister, world of Asia - notably Thailand. Meeting beautiful foreign women, such as Francoise, and intolerable alpha males, like Bugs, all add to the ebb and flow of emotion and character develop that Garland creates. Centred heavily around the affects of drugs the book provides an authentic insight into the unreal world of cannabis which is heightened by the stringent drug laws of this Asian paradise.
Robinson Crusoe with cannabis, this book is definite read especially if, like me, you are travelling throughout Thailand and the Phuket religion (near to Phi Phi island where the film depiction of this story was filmed) as you will find yourself visiting many of the places described within.
I would encourage you to read this book for the interesting weave of events, the heart warming relateability of Richard and the unexpected conclusion that help to form this trippy, edgy and exciting tale.
For all who dream to travel...
A truly awesome cult classic by Garland. I make a point of reading it every summer and never fail to get lost in its prose. Garland's narrative dazzles, converting us from tourists to travellers and reminding us that something dark always lurks just beyond the shores of paradise...
awesome
read this book at least 4 times. awesome book would definitely recommend it.