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  • The Beach

  • By: Alex Garland
  • Narrated by: Alfie Allen
  • Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (648 ratings)
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The Beach cover art

The Beach

By: Alex Garland
Narrated by: Alfie Allen
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Summary

The classic story of paradise found - and lost.

Richard lands in East Asia in search of an earthly utopia. In Thailand he is given a map promising an unknown island, a secluded beach - and a new way of life.

What Richard finds when he gets there is breathtaking: more extraordinary, more frightening than his wildest dreams. But how long can paradise survive here on Earth? And what lengths will Richard go to in order to save it?

©1996 Alex Garland (P)2016 Penguin Audio

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What listeners say about The Beach

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The film made me hesitate...

but I needn't have. There's enough variation on the movie to maintain a feeling of discovery and surprise. Plus the narration is first class.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

20 years waiting for this audiobook!

Any additional comments?


20 years waiting for this audiobook! I can’t believe it was 20 years ago this came out, it was all the talk of my pals and I one summer when we were all 16. I read the book about 3 times and loved it every time.

The Audio edition is great but only slightly let down by the narrators poor Scottish accent when doing the Daffy Character. I am Scottish and when the accent is butchered I find it irritating. Other than that he did a pretty solid job.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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JUST BRILLIANT

Read the book a few years ago and the audio version is even better. The narration is excellent , just how I would imagine Richard [the teller of the story] would speak. All the accents of the various characters are so well done.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Twisting and turning adrenaline

The story from the point of view of Richard is do thought provoking and dangerous that you will lose yourself in this book

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent narration

Great book obviously but the narration is really first rate. He really brings you into the story and onto the beach..

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Almost better than actually reading the book

Read this book 20 years ago and have seen the film a bunch of times. Think I actually enjoyed the audio book even better. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

Always been one of my top favourites but the narration is fantastic and brought the story to life in a way I’d never appreciated before. If only Danny Boyles interpretation had been as honest to the narrative

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Better than the film

I enjoyed the film but the book is so much better. Alfie Allen is a really good narrator (although I didn't much like his Sal).

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Surpassed all expectations. Unputdownable.

Ive seen the beach film a few times and always enjoy the fantasy of the storyline so even though i roughly knew what was going to happen it did not make me enjoy this book any less. It is very well written and absolutely surpasses the film. I could not leave it alone and would thoroughly recommend to anyone wanting an easy read to be immersed into a travellers life in Asia.

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  • mr
  • 30-07-16

Exceptional

Exceptional story: dark and full of the menace of humanity. Exceptional narrator: Theon from Game of Thrones has all the ascents and a real flair for telling the story how it should be told! Bloody loved it.

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