On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Discussion questions





1. Discuss your impressions of the book.

2. Do you think that things would have worked out better for Edward and Florence if they had been friends with Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson (Portrait of a Marriage)?

3. Many stories end with a wedding and “happily ever after”. This story starts there. Are we conditioned to expect the “happily ever after”? Why do we tell our children fairy tales? Do you think that fairy tales will evolve / have evolved to consider more modern concepts (eg feminism)?

4. Incest is a largely taboo topic. Compare McEwan’s tacit exploration of this topic with other examples in literature that are more explicit (Some examples include “Lilian’s Story” / “Dark Places” which are 2 separate Australian novels by Kate Grenville with a pivotal incestuous event told from both the daughter and the father’s point of view…Toni Collette played the daughter’s part in the movie. “Down by the River” by Edna O’Brien tells the story of a 12 year old Irish girl who becomes pregnant by her father and the response of the Irish public to this event. “Mouthing the words” by Camilla Gibb is a dark story of one girl’s incestuous relationship with her father and the effects on her life ever after…actually, there seems to be quite a few books on my bookshelf addressing this topic…perhaps it is not so taboo after all…anyone want to borrow some? Or perhaps we could just talk about something cheerier?)

5. The style of this book is a very detailed discussion of one night. It is then followed up by a rapid summary of their lives ever after. Did you like this sum-up or would you have preferred it to be left to the imagination? Do you think the story of their lives after this event was realistic? Why do you think they never made contact with each other again?

6. The fact of Edward’s mother being brain-damaged seems like an over-the-top character for a book with so few supporting characters. Why has the author done this? (I think it is just to show Edward as a tolerant and kind person.) What other mechanisms has the author used to sway our interpretation of the events? Does he want us to “take sides”?

7. I have just read several reviews of this book that do not mention incest at all…did I get is wrong, or did they miss something? Do I need psychoanalysis or do they just not want to give the plot away? It seems that they think the book is all about sexual repression / freedom in the 60’s (all these reviewers were male). Do you think sexual liberation in the 60’s is one of the themes of this book, or just a backdrop?