20 years ago Alex Garland's novel The Beach was published and almost immediately hailed a 'cult classic'. I was a student at the time and, having just acclimatised to the exploits that marked year one studying away from home, like many I was captivated by the idea of back-packing in the Far East. This was before the concept of the 'Gap year' had been established. Back-packing was simply that, travelling with a couple of friends, with very little planning and even less money.
The Beach was the must read novel of the Summer, capturing as it does the myth around the back packing experience. This was recreational reading, binge book consuming and was completely different to the Dickens, Austin and Forster I was reading for University. My copy of the paper back was well thumbed, the cover stained with cheap sun cream and the pages crinkly from the sweat and humidity of travelling on a budget about the size of a night out today.
Like the map Richard discovers which reveals the location of the secret beach there was something covetable about this novel. Yes we were all reading it but only I really understood what it was all about, right? Needless to say the novel stayed with me. I wasn't for sharing. You'll have to buy your own.
Flash forward 20 years and The Beach has just received the Radio 4 Book at Bedtime treatment. The novel is still fresh and contemporary in a pre-social media kind of way. What Richard would be doing now?
Its hard to imagine the audience who actually listens to this abridged story (10 neat 15 minute episodes) when its broadcast but I'm sure the iPlayer audience is considerably larger. Follow the link below to episode one.
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