Rating: 
Summary: exciting books
Review: This books is really intrested to it because The book that I have read it was given me more information about the thing I have ever know about the Thailand, just has to be becarefull about a place that we've ever even known yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Join the beach club!
Review: After I read this book, it's rate XX. It's the incredible book ! I think the end is OK but sometimes I think Alex had a bad attitute about Thailand... so he should come back and learn Thai culture...
Anyway, it is pretty good
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read
Review: After seeing the film, which I thought was quite good, I decided to read the book. I was amazed to find that the book's main male character was actually a Londoner, rather than an American. However, the film pretty much stays true to the book albeit for a couple of sub-plots and storylines. The ending in the book is completely different and for this reason I would recommend that anyone who enjoyed the film should read it just to see what an alternative ending for the film might have been.
Rating:
Summary: Cult Classic
Review: Alex Garland's book, "The Beach," was an underground classic among the hiking and backpacking subculture long before it was made into a big-time Hollywood movie. In it, Garland takes a "Lord of the Flies" motif and combines it with the dangers of living a hedonisitc lifestyle.
Richard, the protagonist, is a 20-something searching for the ultimate adventure. Sick of the hustle and bustle of the urban world, Richard embarks on an adventure in Thailand thinking it will bring him peace, quiet, and a simpler life.
The writing is somewhat sophomoric at times, which is why this is not a five-star book. Had Garland been more eloquent and sophisticated in his writing (which he IS very capable of), this book would possibly be considered among scholars as more of a creative fictional case-study of today's modern youth culture rather than merely a "pop" read. But then again, Garland WAS only 25 years old when he wrote it -- an impressive feat!
Be sure to see the movie after you read the book, as there are several significant plot differences.
Rating: 
Summary: This novel was so so.
Review: As a international student, I read this novel to acquire more vocabulary . It was intresting and relatively easy to read. The writer described the X generation well, however, I felt unpleasant that there were cruel expressions. It was too much for me. I could understand the theme of this novel, describing human nature, but I disagree the sense of value in this novel. It seemed that the writer agreed with euthanasia and drug abuse. During reading this novel, I felt somber and cold.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling
Review: I couldn't get enough of this book and had a very hard time taking breaks from reading it. I couldn't wait to get to the conclusion, but also didn't want it to end. The plot, the flow of the storyline, the characters, and especially the setting - all fascinating. Start this book, and you'll have to finish it.
Rating:
Summary: Beach Culture Never Looked So Good, And Unappealing
Review: I loved this book at first it starts out and I think OK its a bunch of rich shallow kids who are looking for some Nihilistic experience. But then they move on and find the Beach, and its culture, Richard and his 2 French companions find that Nihilistic experience there. Only in the beginning I think Richard was a little disapointed when no one sat around all day and talked about it. "Its just a beach resort." Sal told him. But in the beginning it was so much more, Richard is mesmerized by action of fitting in, in this utopian experience. At first he sees no petty differences, just everyone living "the Life," fishing, gardening, cooking, talking. There's no television, no radio, no newspapers, and no phone. So they only have each other for company and contact. There are some symbols of the outside world, only really two to be precise, the GameBoy, and the boat. Entertainment and transportation. Two of the bigger catalysts from the modern world. But then things sour, events don't just begin to sour, there were rifts previously there already, but they are made worse by some events that cause these rifts to broaden and engulf the commune. And it becomes evident that these people are in fact spoiled brats of rich parents and think only of themselves and how things will effect them and their time at the beach. They become completly irrational, they do not help people who are in life threatening danger, and allow them to be killed, they do not notify family members that their loved ones have died. In fact when some people are killed by other forces they in fact see this as a blessing, a particular problem that was bothering them has been taken care of, and the commune did not have to confront the issue. This bit was almost completly frustrating for me. I hated the people in the book for this. Read the book, enjoyed it very much, be sure to catch all the Vietnam references, one screwed event compared to another. One reference in particular is the Tet Celebration which signifies a change in the commune's way of life as did the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent novel
Review: I was highly suspicious of reading The Beach, having heard of it being 'a great film with De Caprio in it'. Not being a fan of Leonardo (this was before he starred in Catch me If you Can' etc etc.), I was going to give this a miss, before I got stuck in an aeroport and was forced to read it.Garland creates beautiful scenery, great scenes of psychological and mental exploration, while touching on the ideas of the past, peace and ostricisation. The main character can be seen in many different lights; as both an idiot and a hero, as insane or perfectly normal, driven by a force stronger than himself. So why not five stars? In parts of the book, Garland does tend to drag out the sequences with Mr. Duck (read to understand!), and at the end I found myself wondering about what certain characters were actually like; his development of the background characters could have been better. Despite these downfalls, Garland creates an excellent, fast-paced novel with an extremely sinister and well created ending. Definately worth a read
Rating:
Summary: Life Changing
Review: Life changing? Yeah, right. I probably wouldn't read any further into a review that started like this. Especially in regards to a Gen X novel. I'm not saying that reading it is going to make you quit your day job and go find your own paradise (would that be so bad). Read with an open mind and it could change the way you think. The story is a little far-fetched, but close enough to reality to make it possible. The plot is simple, the discovery of a paradise, physical and mental. Garland's descriptions bring the island to life. It feels almost as if it were worth the journey just to be sure it doesn't exist. Garlands views on the Westernization of the world are not hidden in any metaphors. It's evident where he stands on the matter, but the book does not get bogged down in a social commentary. The message is clear, but if you disagree, you won't find yourself frustrated. I would recommend this book to anyone with an open mind and 48 uninterrupted hours. It might just change the way you look at the world. It did for me.
Rating:
Summary: We were backpackers once, and young
Review: Okay, I loved the Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Richard in the film version of 'The Beach', but (as with most adaptations) the book kicked the Hollywood arse. The story's the same, basically. A backpacker in Thailand, Richard, meets a guy named Daffy who gives him a map to a hidden island, then commits suicide. Richard takes up with two fellow travelers, though they're French. They make it to the island and find a small community living in secrecy. They dive right in and start wonderful new lives but it doesn't last. The differances range from minute details like the fact that Garland's Richard is English, to the way they end. But the ways in which the book is superior are the simplest, but most noticable. The use of Vietnam-war references gives a much more detached feeling to Richard, and the persistance of Daffy's 'ghost' is really interesting. Though the book lacks the really cool lines of the movie ('For mine is a generation that circles the globe in search of something we haven't tried before' or 'I still believe in paradise, but now I know that it's not some place you can look for...it's how you feel for a moment in your life. And if you find that moment, it lasts forever.') the extra time on the beach, as well as the deeper exploration of the rivalry between Richard and Bugs makes up for it. Another thing I liked was the fact that Garland didn't have the sexual content of the movie. Francois stays true to Ettienne, and likewise does Sal (short for Salvester) stay true to Bugs. I was kind of hoping that Garland's Keaty would love Cricket, I was hoping for an explanation on how it's played/scored, but Tetris was a fine substitute. I must say though that I liked the books ending a lot better than the movie's. Even though the movie's end, with Sal pulling the trigger on Richard not knowing that it's empty, drives the idea of 'How far would you go to protect paradise?' really well, the book asks a differant, and (I think) more important question: 'What would you do if paradise was ripped away from you?' Thus the ending, which really illustrates the question well, would be differant and more poiniant. I suggest seeing the movie then reading the book, just so you can get both elements of the story without being disapointed in the content. After reading this book, I can't watch the movie, and I loved that movie.
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