I quite enjoyed On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan as I have enjoyed all his books. A young married couple, Edward and Florence, are having dinner in their honeymoon suite near Chesil Beach. The time is early 1960s, before the "sexual revolution" and, as virgins, they are both uncertain and lacking confidence about what is expected of them as the evening progresses. Florence is particularly unhappy about her role as a submissive bride. There are flashbacks to their earlier lives, childhood, their meeting etc. which gives the reader an understanding of how they find themselves in this situation. Then "something happens" which alters them both forever. We are left to wonder at the true meaning of "love", how lack of understanding and communication can affect lives. What "might have been"? It is a story of its time, but even in our modern times, communication in love is still essential. 4/5
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