The Beach (novel) The Beach (novel) The Beach is a 1996 novel by English author Alex Garland. Set in Thailand, it is the story of a young backpacker's search for a legendary, idyllic and isolated beach untouched by tourism, and his time there in its small, international community of backpackers. In 2000, it was adapted into a film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2003, the novel was listed on the BBC's survey The Big Read. In a cheap hotel on the Khao San Road in Bangkok, Richard, a young American backpacker, meets a mentally disturbed Scotsman going by the
Beach Music (novel) southern atmosphere of South Carolina, and seeks refuge in the food and travel of Rome, Italy. Charleston, South Carolina represents all that Jack wishes to forget, namely his wife, Shyla’s, suicidal jump off Silas Pearman Bridge. Rome, Italy represents the shield Jack uses to protect his daughter Leah from their family’s tumultuous past, as well as his own discomfort with dealing with that past. Beach Music (novel) Beach Music is Pat Conroy's novel of Jack McCall, a South Carolina native who flees the South with his daughter Leah after his wife commits suicide. This novel explores the Vietnam War-era, the