Garland, Alex. The Beach. New York: Riverhead Books, 1997.
Reason read: Thailand’s Constitution Day is observed on December 10th.
The quick and dirty plot: Richard is a young and adventurous English traveler hellbent on moving around the fringes of the world with a brazen attitude. He boasts of exploring where others fear to tread. However, on his first night in Bangkok Richard’s whole world changes after he thinks he has seen everything. His meeting with Daffy, also known as Mr. Duck, is a fateful turning point for all involved. Daffy, a Scottish traveler, ends up committing suicide but not before he leaves Richard a map of a beach he called paradise. Intrigued and unable to ignore the siren call of adventure, Richard recruits a French couple to join him and find this hidden oasis. Compared to Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Garland takes us to the beach where a group of other tourists have created a commune, complete with an off-center leader and other misfits.
Author fact: this is Garland’s first novel.
No quotes to mention.
Book trivia: The Beach was made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio in 2000.
Nancy said: nothing except to say The Beach takes place in Thailand.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Thai Tales” (p 226).
~*LunaSea*~ 