Ian McEwan 07年的新书On Chesil Beach，使他再度入围英国布克奖。这本只有二百页的小书，就规模而言，更似novella（中篇小说），McEwan 把语言的细腻玩出了一种喜剧的幽默，别具谐趣。
英国诗人Philip Larkin’s Annus Mirabilis开头第一段这么写道：
Sexual intercourse began
In nineteen sixty-thr

On Chesil Beach

On a windy spring day in the Chilterns, the calm, organized life of science writer Joe Rose is shattered when he witnesses a tragic accident: a hot-air balloon with a boy trapped in its basket is bein