| div cl | | | | much that is real. |
| The fly cover of On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan | | | | Those who write book blurbs are often prone to |
| describes the book as âa short novel of | | | | hyperbole. The greatest, the best, the most, the |
| remarkable depth by a writer at the height of his | | | | biggest, the most superlative are terms of mundane |
| powersâ. On Chesil Beach was recently | | | | commonplace. The term âbest |
| short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, but lost out to | | | | sellingâ is usually an empty platitude. |
| Anne Enrightâs The Gathering. I have read | | | | âRealâ often signifies |
| both books and, for me at least, what is so amazing | | | | âveryâ, but without the |
| is the mere fact that two such utterly different | | | | latterâs imagined meaning. So what can we |
| concepts could have been considered for the same | | | | make of âa short novel of remarkable depth |
| prize. It is reassuringly astounding that the | | | | by a writer at the height of his powersâ? In |
| âgenreâ of literary fiction can be | | | | the case of On Chesil Beach this blurb is an |
| home to every style, every emotion, every | | | | understatement, but it is essentially accurate and |
| approach, every outcome, everything imaginable and | | | | justified. |