On the Beach by Nevil Shute
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Book Reviews of On the Beach
Book Review: Wanting to stay on the beach
Summary: 5 Stars
Nevil Shute's On the Beach was written in 1957 amidst the Cold War fears of nuclear annihilation. It has been made into two movies, one in 1959 starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and Fred Astaire and a smaller budget film in 2000. Shute was a bestselling writer in his time. "In 2007, Gideon Haigh wrote an article in The Monthly arguing that On the Beach is Australia's most important novel." (From the Wikipedia article on Nevil Shute.)
It's now probably categorized as science fiction, but there really is no impossible or futuristic science throughout the book. At the time it was written, it was an expression of the fears of many. Now, it is more of an alternative fiction, which is really what all fiction is anyway, of what the world would have been like if a nuclear war had broken out. To not get into the details too much, the story centers on Australia after a nuclear war had totally destroyed the northern hemispehere. Slowly, the radiation spreads south. Shute focuses on a group of people located in Melbourne who know that they are going to all die soon from radiation poisioning that is spreading south. It sounds bleak and depressing, which it is. The sadness of the book is the only reason I did not give it a perfect rating. It is excruciatingly sad.
As for the themes, the book tackles suicide. The government manufactured pills for people to take once they began to show signs of radiation sickness. There would be no possibility of recovery once the radiation started poisoning people; nobody could win this battle with death. Through the story, Shute asks, "Would suicide in such a situation be okay?"
The book made me wonder (not that my little bout with cancer hasn't also done this) if I am doing what I would like to do if I knew that I would die in three months. The people in the book were forced to ask this. In the book, most of the people just kept on doing what they had already been doing. I think I would do the same.
In the end, the book really caused me to examine what should be valued in the world we live in. I think I am a better person for having read this book.
Entertaining: 4/5
Inspiring: 5/5
Ethical Thinking: 5/5
This book was so depressing that I do not know if I will ever read it again. I will definitely keep this book. It was great to read and challenging to my thoughts. It would also be a great discussion starter.
Book Review: Happy Story Amid Saddest Hours
Summary: 5 Stars
Futuristic novels dealing with life after man's cruelty to man devastation through nuclear spill out ordinarily depict men as beasts in anarchy and don them names like Mad Max. Such is not this novel.
Instead, this novel takes a really different perspective of an awful event. It is a love story amid the tropics of Australia among soldiers and demoiselles, and all in the light of love to which not one scene involves illicit sexual contact, or even context.
Written primarily for dialogue, this is more a screenplay than novel. The characters are rich and pure, and the flippant Moira's flirtatious remarks and cunning witticisms make the otherwise stark and droll man-in-her eye, Cmdr. Dwight Towers, acceptable. She carries almost all scenes, and her positive attitudes in life or world measured by months, then weeks, then hours, are true to the end.
Although I may have given away the ending, this story is really a Titanic on an epic proportion. Love can grow even in the worst moments in man's history. And, even the little palpitations of certain people's hearts are worth reading about - and are more fun than having someone spew for countless pages about the reasons why man would destroy all humanity. And, to Nevil Shute's credit, he rarely discusses why or never philosophizes about how come. Instead, this is a man meets girl, man "kind of" gets girl (and vice versa), and man and girl lose each other and selves . . . story.
The Australian relaxed atmosphere of enjoying life to the fullest adds to the contrarian view of this seemingly morbid topic. To the end, the people engage in sports and have outings for the simple reason that these events are what men and women live for.
Surprised by the novel, except the inevitability of the ending, this book compares to his other great novel A Town Like Alice. Now I need to rent this movie which I can only imagine follows the book which is tailored so well for the wide screen
Book Review: My only friend is darkness
Summary: 5 Stars
The basic story is that Albania sends a plane with another country's markings to bomb the U.S. and we retaliate. However this is not a pacifist (don't build bombs book). This is not a sci-fi book. It could be a speculative fiction or just speculative.
The story begins after the war is completed and radiation is now covering the world. Australia is the last place to be covered. You read how different people are about to meat their end, some with hope, others with reckless abandon. Still there are those like the US sub commander Dwight Towers is loyal to his country to the end by not allowing U.S. property in the end to fall into the hands of the Aussies.
The book was written in the Cold War Era environment. So many people think that it is about countries and war; others think this story is some anti war story. The reality is that it is a study of people meeting a sure end and how they react. Other readers will balk at the actions of the people in this story; yet when they meet the same situation we will see how realistic the characters are. Still others will balk at the predictability of the characters. Still this is how many people get over a crisis by being predictable. It is these characteristics that make this novel timeless. Someone else must think so or they would not have made an updated version for our not too distant future.
Book Review: Moving and profound at 50+ years!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've found it's dicey business to revisit books I've loved some decades later. Couldn't finish "Stranger in a Strange Land," found "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet" paled before "The Golden Compass," and left "Dune" half-read for a younger set of sci-fi fans. "On the Beach," however, was as compelling and timely as the first time through.
Peopled with everyday heroes, this book is yet another "Lesson Before Dying" or perhaps more accurately a lesson about living. And no one sums it up more succinctly than Moira who gets an A+ on her final exam:
"...we're none of us going to have time to do all that we planned to do. But we can keep on doing it as long as we can."
Oh to whom shall I lend this book? But those who make the short list must promise to give it back. Don't miss this classic!
Book Review: Hidden meanings abound in book ostensibly about nuclear wint
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a book about nuclear war and its aftermath. It is about death coming as a certainty. At every turn the reader must examine his or her own feelings about the imminent fate of him- or herself. That's what really makes this book so incredibly powerful. You won't find any techno-thriller stuff here, and you won't miss it. It's about us, now, as we seek to find a meaning in life while trying to live it. This book will be around for a very long time, not because it describes so heartbreakingly the nuclear winter that is our potential future, but because it describes our life -- and our death --even without such a disaster. Read it. Savor it. It is the stuff of life.