The Beach

The Beach is an adventure fiction novel written by Alex Garland and originally published in 1996. Garland wrote the book during his time in the Philippines and was inspired by the landscape there, as well as historical events such as the Vietnam War. It was adapted into a successful major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Danny Boyle in 2000, and the novel was included on a BBC list of most-read novels in the UK in 2003.

This guide uses the 1997 Riverhead Books edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The Beach and this guide contain references to death by suicide, sexual assault, and drug use.

Plot Summary

Protagonist and narrator Richard, born in 1974 during the Vietnam War, arrives in Bangkok, Thailand, with a thirst for adventure. He is disappointed that it is like his own home, full of strange people and uncomfortable circumstances. In his guest house, he meets a man named Daffy who talks to himself about a beach and throws a joint at Richard. The next day, Richard finds a map on his door indicating a mysterious beach on an island near Koh Samui. Richard goes to ask Daffy about the map but finds Daffy dead by his own hand and covered in blood. The sight traumatizes Richard. He meets Etienne, a French man, who laments how boring Thailand is, and Richard mentions the map. When Etienne’s girlfriend, Françoise, hears about the beach, she is eager to go. They all set out for Koh Samui, another city on the way to the beach on Daffy’s map.

In Koh Samui, the group meets Sammy and Zeph. When Zeph mentions a mysterious beach, Françoise panics. Richard draws Sammy and Zeph a copy of the map. That night, Richard dreams of war games with Daffy in Vietnam, and the next morning, he Etienne, and Françoise set off for Koh Angthong, the next stop on the way to the beach on the map. Once there, they decide how they will swim to the final island. Richard goes for a walk and stops in a glade for a cigarette. He uncharacteristically throws the butt in the bushes, noting this as the moment where he stops recognizing himself.

The trio makes the grueling swim to the next island, and once there, they drop from sheer exhaustion. After a long trek through the jungle the next day they discover a marijuana field and the armed men who guard it. They also find themselves at the top of a cliff and can see the surrounding islands, lagoon, and a waterfall leading to a pool below. They jump down and meet Jed, who takes them to the beach. There, Richard, Etienne, and Françoise meet Sal and Bugs. The encampment is made up of huts, tents, and a longhouse. Sal seems to be the leader and does most of the talking, and Richard faints from exhaustion and nerves immediately upon arrival. He hits his head and develops a fever, spending the night in delirium and dreaming of Daffy.

The next day, he finds that his reality is still blurred with dreams and hallucinations, as well as paranoia. Sal is sitting in front of him and asks Richard to explain how he knows Daffy and found the beach. Richard asks her what sort of place this is, and Sal explains that it is an escape from beach resorts. Richard goes out to explore and finds nobody in sight, including Etienne and Françoise. He feels isolated, but marvels at the natural beauty around him. He soon finds people spearing for fish and realizes Françoise and Etienne are among them. Etienne is happy to see him. He introduces Richard to the others, including a man named Gregorio, whom Richard finds friendly and warm. Back at the longhouse, Richard notices a man playing a Game Boy, and due to his love of video games, approaches him. The man, named Keaty, invites Richard to play a game. Richard assimilates to island life and the people there. Richard, Etienne, and Françoise are given seashell necklaces to signify their full acceptance on the island. Richard takes up spearfishing and enjoys diving down to see the corals. He forgets the outside world, including leaving the map.

When the rice is spoiled, Richard and Jed volunteer to go to Koh Pha Ngan, the nearest city on the mainland. The boat is hidden inside the caves and Richard and Jed must swim through the cave water to get to it. Richard gets stuck in an air pocket half-way. Resolving to live, he chooses a tunnel, hoping to come out somewhere, and survives. Out on the water, Richard and Jed stare at Koh Pha Ngan, nervous of what they might find. Richard and Jed split up when they reach the city, and when they reunite Jed explains that he overheard Americans talking about a map to a beach and mentioning Richard. Richard admits he gave them a map in case he got lost, and Jed forgives him.

Upon returning to the beach, Richard quickly returns to island life and forgets about Koh Pha Ngan. When torrential rains hit, food becomes scarce, but Richard manages to trick and spear a shark large enough to feed everyone supper. Richard goes exploring in the jungle one day and finds papaya trees, and on his way back Sal asks if he is willing to take up a position in the jungle with Jed so Keaty can move over to fishing. Richard has no choice but to agree. He and Jed soon discover that Sammy and Zeph, the men that Richard gave the map to, have reached the neighboring island along with some friends. They appear to be unsure how to complete the journey, but Jed insists they must do what is necessary to turn them away if Sammy and Zeph reach their island. Richard enjoys his new lookout position, feeling like a soldier in the jungles of Vietnam. One day while exploring, he comes across a papaya grove, but when Bugs hears about it, he finds it and claims credit for its discovery, upsetting Richard. The same night, he is called to the lagoon by Keaty, Etienne, and Françoise, who show him the beauty of phosphorescent algae in the moonlight.

One afternoon, Richard and Jed come back and discover that most of the camp is violently ill after eating a dead squid that Keaty mistakenly caught. Bugs defecates all over himself, and Richard refuses to help. Bugs becomes enraged, and others criticize Richard for ignoring Bugs. Richard instead goes to tend to Françoise, giving her water and a kiss on the cheek. Etienne sees the kiss and is offended. The next day, Bugs punches Keaty for not helping during the chaos, causing a divide between two social groups. Richard hears about Bugs and Keaty, and realizes the Swedish men, Christo, Sten, and Karl, never came back from fishing.

Soon, Karl returns with Sten on his back. Sten is dead, having been half-eaten by a shark, and Karl’s perception instantly seems to break from reality. Richard goes out to look for the third man, Christo, whom he finds in the air pocket in the caves. Christo is alive but injured and ill. He is put in a tent with Jed, and when Richard goes to visit him, he finds that Christo’s stomach is black and hardened. Jed is sure he is getting worse, and complains that nobody comes to visit; the camp would rather forget Christo. Sten’s body is behind the tent and is starting to rot, and Karl, the third Swedish man, is in shock and refuses to leave a hole he has dug for himself on the beach. Richard falls deeper into his own mind, seeing Daffy during his waking hours and feeling like he is in Vietnam, pushing his luck with the drug guards, and forgetting to check for Sammy and Zeph.

A funeral is held for Christo, and Sal demands that everyone put their conflicts behind them. Richard finds it unsettling how quickly people are able to forget about the Swedes. On his lookout, Richard realizes that Sammy and Zeph have crafted a raft and are on their way over. He tells Sal, who hopes that they will be stopped by the drug fields or waterfall. Jed says he no longer cares about the beach. The next morning, Richard is instructed to go to the lookout and wait for Sammy and Zeph. He watches as they reach the cannabis fields and begin whooping and grabbing plants when a guard comes out with his gun. Soon, all five visitors are being beaten. Richard watches as his image of Daffy urges him to help, but Richard never moves. He sees his friends being dragged away and hears them shot. He goes back to camp, his head spinning, and tells Sal.

Afterward, Richard goes to Karl, blaming him for everything. Karl lunges at Richard, and Richard attempts to suffocate him. Karl manages to escape and runs past the camp and out as everyone stares. Richard lies and says Karl attacked him for no reason. Richard goes to check on Jed, who tells Richard that all he sees in him is Daffy. That night, Richard dreams of Daffy, who explains that the beach was never meant to exist forever, implying that everything Richard did to protect it, including letting others die, was for no reason. In another dream, Daffy tells Richard about when the beach was first discovered. Daffy talks about how places like the beach are impossible to protect, and no one thing or person is responsible for the beach’s destruction. Richard realizes that all of the dark, terrible, selfish things that he did to preserve it were in vain. Richard “wanted Vietnam” (378) and got Vietnam.

The next morning, Sal indirectly asks Richard to kill Karl. Richard swims out to find Karl and fool Sal into thinking he killed him. Richard reaches the cave edge and realizes the boat is gone, implying Karl has left with it. Richard lies to Sal and tells her Karl is dead. Etienne finds Richard by the caves and apologizes for overreacting about the kiss. Richard asks Etienne if he wants to leave the island, and Etienne then goes to convince Françoise of the same. Richard heads off to find Jed and Keaty, and when Keaty sees the boat missing, he thinks it is his fault and instantly wants to leave. Jed says he will only join them if Christo is dead before then. Richard goes to get Jed and finds him asleep, so he suffocates Christo to free Jed from the island. On the beach, they find that everyone is becoming horrifyingly strange, and Richard knows it is time to go when he sees Daffy appear. The next moment, the drug guards come out of the jungle and drag Richard forward. They yell at the beach-dwellers about creating a map and inviting people to the island. They beat Richard and leave the bodies of the rafters on the beach. Sal starts trying to move them but slips and falls on Sammy. Bugs begins hacking at Sammy’s body, eventually decapitating him. Soon, most of the people on the beach are joining in, slowly dissecting each body. When Sal finds the note that Richard left for Sammy and Zeph, everyone realizes it was he who invited them to the island, and they begin stabbing him. Keaty, Etienne, Jed, and Françoise grab spears and defend Richard, dragging him away and escaping on the raft. They talk the whole way back to Bangkok, and after that, Richard never sees Françoise and Etienne again, though he hopes to. He remains friends with Keaty and Jed and carries the scars of the island forever.