Written with a pace as blistering as the South East Asian sun, Alex Garland’s Generation X thriller of backpacker meltdown in Thailand has become a cult classic.
A 20th anniversary edition of this million copy bestseller, with a new introduction by John Niven: a classic story of paradise found - and lost.
'A white-knuckle ride into the heart of darkness' - The Sunday Times
Richard lands in East Asia in search of an earthly utopia. In Thailand, he is given a map promising an unknown island, a secluded beach - and a new way of life. What Richard finds when he gets there is breathtaking: more extraordinary, more frightening than his wildest dreams.
But how long can paradise survive here on Earth? And what lengths will Richard go to in order to save it?
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241976562
Number of pages: 464
Weight: 320 g
Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 32 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Fresh, fast-paced, compulsive and clever' - Nick Hornby
'A gripping adventure, and a fascinating jigsaw' - The Times
'A white-knuckle ride into the heart of darkness' - The Sunday Times
'Lord of the Flies and The Magus lurk at the roots of this novel, but Garland reshapes them with panache into something terrifyingly new' - The Mail on Sunday
'Garland's prose is stunningly lucid. Addictive and compelling' - The Spectator
'A highly confident debut...this incisive novel may well come to be regarded as a defining text in the history of imaginative travel writing' - The Daily Telegraph
'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' - The Times Literary Supplement
'Precise and speedy prose, with good old-fashioned romantic adventure spiced up with deadpan authorial irony' - The Guardian
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“A great book! ...But avoid this edition if you like your books to stay in at least a nice condition after reading.”
It's a brilliant book and one of my favourites. Garland keeps you hooked till the very end.
Unfortunately I have to advise you not to buy this edition. As lovely as it is, the cover material is not durable and...
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“Lord of the Flies for adults: sun, sand, drugs and danger.”
Think Hunter S Thompson meets chuck Palahniuk.
I loved this book for it's madness, the hedonistic characters who exist on the fringes of society and the thrilling pace. This isn't a languorous summer read -...
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“Page turning indictment on humanity.”
This incredibly accomplished first novel lives up to all the hype. It is a thrilling page turner which Is redolent of Lord of the Flies and The Magus.This is a coming of age travelogue which has much to say on the... More
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