The Beach

Reviews

A gripping adventure, and a fascinating jigsaw Fresh, fast-paced, compulsive and clever A white-knuckle ride into the heart of darkness Lord of the Flies and The Magus lurk at the roots of this novel, but Garland reshapes them with panache into something terrifyingly new A mesmerising, knuckle-clenching read Winningly compulsive, brilliantly conceived Garland's prose is stunningly lucid. Addictive and compelling A highly confident debut...this incisive novel may well come to be regarded as a defining text in the history of imaginative travel writing Alex Garland is writing a brand new kind of adventure novel. His style is dangerously simple yet altogether captivating An exceptional first novel...An action novel that provokes subtle responses, The Beach takes in ideas about man's inevitable progress from noble savage to social breakdown (and) the related tradition of nature versus art Garland has written a powerful and frighteningly believable novel Precise and speedy prose, with good old-fashioned romantic adventure spiced up with deadpan authorial irony Expand reviews