“This is how the entire course of a life can be changed – by doing nothing”.

It is the first night for Florence and Edward as man and wife. They are young, in love, in a sumptuous honeymoon suite and the rest of married life awaits them. But expectations and anxieties run high as the highly anticipated wedding night unfolds, the course of true love never did run smooth. Bowing to societal pressures, physical desires and mounting fears the young couple struggle with the commencement of marital life and assess what it really means to be in love.

McEwan paints a heartbreaking picture of a relationship battling to define itself. The young pair struggle coming to terms with what they should be and what they can offer the other – and what they will accept. Against the backdrop of stiff English conservatism in the late fifties and the growing trend of free love and liberty of the sixties, On Chesil Beach is not only a devastating portrayal of love but also an insightful social comment on relationships of the era.

The story oscillates between past and present, mapping out who the protagonists are and where they came from. This tale of growth and differing circumstance sheds light on the intensity of each entities’ inner conflict and discord. McEwan aptly establishes the identities and pasts of Florence and Edward in the reader’s mind, providing ample room for empathy, extreme sympathy and even comedic value over their plight. The courtship process is drawn out beautifully, injecting humor and sensitivity into the awkward rites of first dates and first loves.

With only 160 pages the story moves somewhat slowly but is paradoxically all consuming. It is measured out by McEwan's particular talent of a writing style that is detached yet simultaneously incredibly insightful and emphatic. His technique serves beautifully to depict a certain era and to convey the angst contained throughout the novel.

This story exemplifies the pains of young love and the pressures dictating how one is meant to live life. As one blindly attempts to forge an individual path, the world changes; so do the rules determining the correct way to live. These social norms transform and so do expectations. Learning how to act and when to let got does not necessarily become easier, or more apparent with age. It is obstinate pride, failed communication and those words we are too scared to say that can lead to the most disastrous of consequences.