'THE BEACH' BY ALEX GARLAND

I spent my whole Sunday, doing one of the best things ever-reading in bed. And I read such an amazing book too, ‘The Beach’ by Alex Garland. I watched the movie adaptation of the book when it first came out but to be honest, don’t remember much of it now. I was browsing through a book store the other day and came across the book and just picked it up on a whim. And I am so glad that I did.

I loved the book. Truth is, I like almost every book I read and every movie I watch unless it is extremely bad. But I didn’t just like this book, I loved it. There is something so appealing about being the only ones on a beautiful untouched beach, co-existing peacefully with the few others with you. But of course, paradise is not always what it seems and I like the way the author manages to bring in that concept in his book.

 The story is so beautiful, emotional, dark and twisted- I could not put the book down once I started. I tried hard to put the book down and do other things but I kept thinking of the protagonist, Richard and what he was going to do next. There is not even one moment in the whole book, where I thought it was even a teeny weeny bit boring. The clichéd word that millions of other people have used to describe millions of other good books is ‘gripping’ and I use it here to say that this book was absolutely ‘gripping’.

For some reason, I cannot stop raving about the book. Granted it’s not the best book in the world, not even close but something about this book really drew me in and kept me captivated from the start to the finish. The plot was so wonderfully exquisite ( I don’t even know if I can use the word in this context but I am) and the characters were so interesting. Alex Garland did such a good job of putting his thoughts down on paper, I think the book is extremely well-written and I loved the protagonist in spite of his extreme flaws.

The book captures the longing to travel, and the difference between a tourist and a traveler. One of Richard’s sayings that I really liked was-“If I'd learnt one thing from travelling, it was that the way to get things done was to go ahead and do them. Don't talk about going to Borneo. Book a ticket, get a visa, pack a bag, and it just happens.” Funny how it comes at a point in my life where I have been all talk with nothing at all happening on the travelling front.

This book is a must read for everyone. It truly takes you into another world and does what a good book is meant to do-stops you from putting it down until you are done with it!