The Beach

by Alex Garland • 1996

A 20th anniversary edition of this million copy bestseller, with a new introduction by John Niven: a 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?