The Beach

by John Hodge

Alex Garland's acclaimed debut novel was adapted for the screen by John Hodge, whose distinctive cinematic vision was responsible for the screenplays of Shallow Grave and Trainspotting . The Beach stars Leonardo Di Caprio as Richard, a wayward, sould-searching young traveller yearning for unrivalled adventure, who finds himself caught up in troubling, even deadly undercurrents.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571204864
• ISBN13: 9780571204861
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

The Beach - Fantastically simple

Whether seeing the movie beforehand made me subjective, I don't know. However, I can honestly say that at least I'm not a particular Leo fan, so if the movie DID affect my judgement of Garland's novel, at least it wasn't just because of Di Caprio's pretty face.The Beach is a breathtaking novel. It is simple. It is honest. It lives on in one's imagination and dreams. In fact, The Beach is more than a novel. When Richard says at one stage that travelling is more than just taking a holiday - to travel, one has to be a traveller - perhaps already then, he invites us and warns us, that this story changes the reader.Inevitably, the plot will be compared to that of Golding's Lord of the Flies, but whereas Golding's message was more straightforward, The Beach vies away from al that is blatant or political. It has so many forms of messages, that the final message will be whatever the reader wants it to be.The Beach is a rainbow of shimmering ideas, delicately described characters, vague insanity and passion. It will stay with you.