Two pages of dialogue in a book would be ten in a cartoon strip. I realised it was a non-starter, and also that, as my comfy existence at university was about to be shattered, I had to do something. But I'd learned to tell a story simply and directly. I'd call myself a tourist if it didn't sound pretentiously self-deprecating. A lot of nonsense is talked about travelling, and I've often felt very uncomfortable in that scene.
Garland looks far from unhip.
His next novel, written from his stand-point as a passionate atheist, will deal with superstition, myth and religion. Although The Beach is set in Thailand, it could really be anywhere. After all, not long ago, the young Londoner was backpacking around Asia, working odd jobs to finance an insatiable travel fixation. It was a bright sunny day. It was a beach, so if there hadn't been sun we wouldn't have been there.