Good Reads / Community Library Notes
On Chesil Beach
Ian McEwan
Review by Priscilla Comen
On Chesil Beach
Ian McEwan
Review by Priscilla Comen
On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan, is the story of a young couple, Florence and Edward. It begins with their wedding night when they eat supper on the terrace of their hotel room on the Dorset coast. Two youths in dinner jackets serve them. Author McEwan describes the foods; typical English, bland and over-cooked. The couple separately worry about the moment after dinner, when the bed awaits them. Edward’s specific worry is of “over excitement” or “arriving too soon.”
Florence experiences a helpless disgust. In a modern handbook she read about “mucous membrane” and “glans” and worse “penetration.” She dreaded being touched “down there.” She knows she should have mentioned her feelings before, but what would she have said? She is twenty-two and wants to spend the rest of her life with Edward. He offers her the glazed cherry from his melon.
He has a degree in history and knows none of the famous men felt the same satisfaction he is feeling now. At twenty-two, because of Florence, he begins to like classical music. She is the firm leader of a quartet of musicians. Before the wedding, Edward indulged in “self-pleasuring” but lately he has refrained so as to be in perfect form for his bride.
They stop eating and she suggests they lie down together. He kisses her and puts his tongue in her mouth. She detests this and feels sick. Author McEwan tells the reader how they met and why they are shy and innocent. Edward had been obsessed with his pubs and football buddies, and Florence with her music. Edward reads about psychotic leaders. At a meeting on nuclear disarmament, he saw Florence. Her mother is tone deaf and her father loves only his boat, and her younger sister gets on her nerves. She has different political views from her family: her mother believed the Soviet Union was worse than Germany; Florence thought the Union was a beneficial force in the world. She had been curious about Edward, his clothes, his long hair, the stillness of his gaze.
Edward’s father is a headmaster at a primary school. In 1945 he bought a used car but still cycles to work. His mother is “brain damaged.” His father told him she fell off a moving train and been in a coma for a long time. Edward began to envision university while his old buddies planned on trade school or national service.
Florence had convinced her music group to hire an extra violist so they could play the Mozart quintet. She is sure of her own good taste. She is not that sure of herself on her wedding night. The zipper on her dress gets stuck and Edward does not know what to do. He recalls when he once became enraged on the school grounds and walloped a boy who had made fun of his friend. The friend was not even grateful. Edward undresses by the window and gets on the bed. Author McEwan takes the reader slowly and surely toward the inevitable act of love. It is a sensual trip.
Florence tries to remain calm, but Edward “arrives” all over her. She runs from the room.
The author keeps us in suspense by describing Edward’s relationship with Florence’s father in the next chapter. They played tennis and drank gin and tonics while discussing politics. Her father is “keen” to give his daughter away, Edward thought. He had extraordinary experiences with Florence’s parents and her sister. He tasted foods he’d never had, discussed many subjects with her mother, a university professor. He watched Florence play the violin and was aroused by the movement of her clothes and body. He plays recordings for her of rhythm and blues music and she wonders why there is so much drumming when it’s only four/four beat.
Edward doesn’t know where she has run. Is she on the beach? Should he go and look? Her running has made him angry. His mood darkens. She had denied him pleasure for months and even now. He needs to tell her of his anger. She sees him and dreads their conversation that is coming. When they meet on the beach, they argue about money, which has nothing to do with their problems. She pictures herself at the train, going to a rehearsal with friends and music to be played. She gives him permission to go with other women because she doesn’t like sex. He tells her she is frigid.
What happens to this complex couple when this night is over? Does Edward have the love and patience to keep Florence? Does she run back to her music career? McEwan has won many awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Booker Prize and many others. Find this story of one fascinating night with others of McEwan’s books at your Mendocino Community Library.
Florence experiences a helpless disgust. In a modern handbook she read about “mucous membrane” and “glans” and worse “penetration.” She dreaded being touched “down there.” She knows she should have mentioned her feelings before, but what would she have said? She is twenty-two and wants to spend the rest of her life with Edward. He offers her the glazed cherry from his melon.
He has a degree in history and knows none of the famous men felt the same satisfaction he is feeling now. At twenty-two, because of Florence, he begins to like classical music. She is the firm leader of a quartet of musicians. Before the wedding, Edward indulged in “self-pleasuring” but lately he has refrained so as to be in perfect form for his bride.
They stop eating and she suggests they lie down together. He kisses her and puts his tongue in her mouth. She detests this and feels sick. Author McEwan tells the reader how they met and why they are shy and innocent. Edward had been obsessed with his pubs and football buddies, and Florence with her music. Edward reads about psychotic leaders. At a meeting on nuclear disarmament, he saw Florence. Her mother is tone deaf and her father loves only his boat, and her younger sister gets on her nerves. She has different political views from her family: her mother believed the Soviet Union was worse than Germany; Florence thought the Union was a beneficial force in the world. She had been curious about Edward, his clothes, his long hair, the stillness of his gaze.
Edward’s father is a headmaster at a primary school. In 1945 he bought a used car but still cycles to work. His mother is “brain damaged.” His father told him she fell off a moving train and been in a coma for a long time. Edward began to envision university while his old buddies planned on trade school or national service.
Florence had convinced her music group to hire an extra violist so they could play the Mozart quintet. She is sure of her own good taste. She is not that sure of herself on her wedding night. The zipper on her dress gets stuck and Edward does not know what to do. He recalls when he once became enraged on the school grounds and walloped a boy who had made fun of his friend. The friend was not even grateful. Edward undresses by the window and gets on the bed. Author McEwan takes the reader slowly and surely toward the inevitable act of love. It is a sensual trip.
Florence tries to remain calm, but Edward “arrives” all over her. She runs from the room.
The author keeps us in suspense by describing Edward’s relationship with Florence’s father in the next chapter. They played tennis and drank gin and tonics while discussing politics. Her father is “keen” to give his daughter away, Edward thought. He had extraordinary experiences with Florence’s parents and her sister. He tasted foods he’d never had, discussed many subjects with her mother, a university professor. He watched Florence play the violin and was aroused by the movement of her clothes and body. He plays recordings for her of rhythm and blues music and she wonders why there is so much drumming when it’s only four/four beat.
Edward doesn’t know where she has run. Is she on the beach? Should he go and look? Her running has made him angry. His mood darkens. She had denied him pleasure for months and even now. He needs to tell her of his anger. She sees him and dreads their conversation that is coming. When they meet on the beach, they argue about money, which has nothing to do with their problems. She pictures herself at the train, going to a rehearsal with friends and music to be played. She gives him permission to go with other women because she doesn’t like sex. He tells her she is frigid.
What happens to this complex couple when this night is over? Does Edward have the love and patience to keep Florence? Does she run back to her music career? McEwan has won many awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Booker Prize and many others. Find this story of one fascinating night with others of McEwan’s books at your Mendocino Community Library.