"On Chesil Beach" by Ian McEwan is a great study of human nature. McEwan is an excellent writer - among the best of our time. What makes him so good is that he creates wonderful, believable characters, and writes in such a way that he is able to takes us through one moment or period of time in multiple, complex layers. These layers might be physical, emotional, sometimes from the point of view of one perception, and then another. The narrative voice is omniscient, but not judgmental, and guides us through the past and into the present from a comfortable distance.
In this novel, the two characters are Edward and Florence, young newlyweds on their honeymoon in 1962. The story is simple - it is about expectation and disappointment. We find out what led them to have these expectations, and how each characters' perceptions create paths of thinking...paths that seem to be parallel, but are not. It's a difficult story, and we are given enough information about both of them as individuals to create empathy, but at the same time clearly seeing their shortcomings. When Edward and Florence find themselves at a crossroads, we are shown just how damaging it can be once their true feelings are brought the surface. We learn about tolerance and limitations, at times watching the characters sitting firmly on the edge, at other times watching them plunging full speed in one direction or another.
I enjoyed the book very much, again largely because McEwan is a beautiful storyteller. As with his other works ("Amsterdam", "Atonement", "Saturday"), it has stayed with me for days after I finished it.
