Another grenade thrown into the current gender wars? Another poke at sexual repression? On Chesil Beach – the book – is not this. I see the book by Ian McEwan, and the new film, are being misused for these polemic purposes. Pity, because here is something worthwhile and relevant, 55 years after it was set.
In placing the drama in 1962, McEwan is deliberate. It is a direct reference to Phillip Larkin’s Annus Mirabilis, the year sexual intercourse “began”. McEwan describes well the times. I am old enough, just, to remember some of this, CND, Macmillan, colonies getting independence, etc. Now, reviewers sneer at the effective evocations, “melon boat for starters? Ha ha.” After year and years of rationing, that was exotic. Even using onions was not universal.
Travelling Outside In 