On the Beach
by Nevil Shute
List Price:
Our Price: $12.99
You Save: $8.96 (41%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.22 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Nevil ShuteEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-08-01
ISBN: 0899683657
Number of pages: 250
Publisher: Lightyear Pr
Book Reviews of On the Beach
Book Review: A dull affair
Summary: 1 Stars
This book was recommended after my disappointment with Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." I cannot say it was an improvement.
The characters in the novel are largely one-dimension with little contrast and their interactions are superficial and or stereotypical. John is the lifelong geek who finally gets a thrill. Moira falls for Dwight based on a few half-drunk interactions; this kind of quick connection is the kind of poorly-earned romance typically found in bad movies. Mary is the stereotypical housewife of the 50's whose denial of the reality of what faces her borders on stupidity (count how many times she asks if it's really going to happen to them). In fact, as a more enlightened 21st century reader, there's a lot of subtle sexism and chauvinism in the book that I found rather unpalatable. The men are pretty much all stoics and the women are the only ones showing much emotion. Dwight's by-the-book mentality, even right at the end, is a bit difficult to stomach. I also found his method of coping with grief to be a bit too much to buy -- maybe I would have if everyone else didn't have some measure of it as well.
On the whole, I found most of the book difficult to accept as genuine. The author wanted denial to be an evocative and reoccurring theme of the book, but I never feel he earned it with what he wrote. Plus, he never really goes into any deeper issues of what coping with the end of humanity would be like. It's mostly kept on a mundane level. Plus, where's the diversity of reaction? Are we really to believe everyone reacts in mostly the same way? The book was emotionally empty.
There was little of interest in the plot. I don't need action to keep me interested, but much of the plot seems extraneous in that it didn't really advance the story. A lot of the narration could have been excised without really losing anything.
The author's writing was very unimaginative and rote. He overuses words far too much (count how many times you see the word "presently" and then count how many times it was unnecessary (hint: the numbers will match)). The characters often talk in very formal, stilted language. There was one bit of dialogue, no more than a page's width, that had the word "ought" three times. Most all of the descriptions are very plain and to the point and never access anything higher. He often introduces knowledge he wants the reader to know (such as why the war started, why there's still electricity, etc) in a forced and obvious way via dialogue through his characters.
I definitely would not recommend it.
Literary Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literary Books
Island (Perennial Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Angelsby Marian Keyes
William Morrow; Published: 2002-05-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.36
Price in other shops:
A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith
Harper; Published: 2001-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.17
Price in other shops:
The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptationby Paulo Coelho
Harper; Published: 2006-07-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
Boonville: A Novelby Robert Mailer Anderson
Harper Perennial; Published: 2003-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Carameloby Sandra Cisneros
HarperAudio; Published: 2002-10-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Headhunterby Timothy Findley
PERENNIAL PUBLICATIONS; Paperback; Book
The Crimson Petal And The Whiteby Michel Faber
Harcourt, Inc./Harvest; Published: 2003; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1979-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
This Side of Paradiseby Fitzgerald
Scribner Paper Fiction; Published: 1988-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Fail-Safe,by Eugene Burdick
Mcgraw-Hill; Published: 1962-06; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Lucifer's Hammerby Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Del Rey; Published: 1985-05-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.31
Price in other shops:
Alas, Babylonby Pat Frank
Buccaneer Books; Published: 1990-12-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.24
Price in other shops:
A Town Like Aliceby Nevil Shute
Amereon Ltd; Published: 2010-06-05; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
One Second Afterby William R. Forstchen
Forge Books; Published: 2009-03-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
The Roadby Cormac McCarthy
Knopf; Published: 2006-09-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.83
Price in other shops:
The Postmanby David Brin
Bantam Books; Published: 1997; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.55
Earth Abidesby George R. Stewart
Del Rey; Published: 2006-03-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.77
Price in other shops:
On the BeachPECK,GREGORY; Release date: 2000-02-29; DVD
Best price: $6.27
Price in other shops:
Alas, Babylonby Pat Frank
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2005-07-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops: