On the Beach by Nevil Shute Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of On the Beach
Book Review: At the end it was really dramatically book.
Summary: 4 Stars
We gave the book an 8,and this consists of the lower note for the first part of the book(for us it was only a 6),and for the end of the story,which was really exciting and for us a 9. Some parts at the beginning were really boring,for example when Peter Holmes talked about his cart with the man,who sold the milk.It had nothing to do with the storyline.But on the other hand we were really shocked by the way,in which the people and the characters of the book had to die or to kill themselves.At the end you feel with the characters ,and you think about that,what you would do in such a sitation. We are a class of german pupils who have read the book in a simplified edition. So sometimes it was a little bit boring,because of the easy language. If we had read it in German,it would have been a better grade for the book. ENDBook Review: BAD!
Summary: 1 Stars
This book was horrible and boring. I was very disapointed in the aweful writing and sexist comments coming up often while i was reading the book. I do not recommend this book to anyone. It is one of the worst books i have ever read. ...Book Review: Best book ever....
Summary: 5 Stars
Poignant in its depiction of a selected few attempting to come to terms with the inevitable end of everything and everyone they have ever known and ever loved, On the Beach is a moving portrayal of those who have the courage to live those few, numbered days remaining to them as passionately and as fully as possible, even in the face of the end of the world. As they make plans that they know, within their souls, will never come to fruition as the world meets its doom, we become emotionally involved with Shute's characters, and we are reminded of how precious even such a mundane act as planting a garden can be. On the Beach makes you think, but it also makes you feel: this book is one of a small group of items in any medium that has ever made me cry. I can, with conviction, say On the Beach is the best book I have ever read, even being the bibliophile that I am. This book should be required reading for not only every student, but everyone. Period.Book Review: Chilling
Summary: 4 Stars
"On the Beach" is one of those books that you read for the concept and the story, but not for the quality of the writing. The plot centers around the lives of a few remaining survivors of a nuclear war who live in Australia. Since the was has taken place in the northern hemisphere, Australia has largely escaped unscathed--for the moment. But as prevailing winds approach Australia, they carry lethal doses of radiation with them. The implication of this is that all of the characters in the book--in fact everyone in the world--will inevitably be extinguished."On the Beach" has a profound psychological impact because it is devoid of the intense action that usually accompanies nuclear apocolypse films. The destruction has already occurred elsewhere and the citizens of Australia are largely going about their business knowing they will soon die. The fact that their infrastructure has not been destroyed and that all of their social aparatus is still intact makes their fate all the more sad and earie.
Although this book is set in the Cold War it's outcome is still relevant and feasible today. The nuclear warheads generated by the arms race haven't gone away. The former Soviet Union is a desparate, chaotic place, and as several reviewers pointed out, more small countries are joining the nuclear club. One could say that Nuclear madness has merely transformed itself, but its danger certainly hasn't disappeared.
I think everyone should read this book to be reminded of the possible future we all face.
Book Review: Chilling and moving
Summary: 5 Stars
After being forced to read this my junior year of high school in English class, one of my friends hated it so much that he wrote a song called "Nevil Shute Can Kiss My *#&." And my mother was so scarred after seeing the movie version as a young girl that she gets the creeps whenever she hears the song "Waltzing Matilda." Be that as it may, this remains one of my favorite books.Set in Australia, the book opens with a horrific situation--the rest of the world has been wiped out due to nuclear warfare, and Australians, who were completely innocent in the skirmish which touched off the world's destruction, are the last people alive in the last non-radioactive zone in the world. Unfortunately for them, the winds are slowly carrying radioactive particles further and further into the southern hemisphere, and the residents of the continent are simply waiting for the poison to bring certain death. Depressing? Sure. A chilling warning of what could happen to the human race if just one person pushes that proverbial red button? Absolutely.
Nevil Shute does a great job developing the characters and making you identify with them, from a young married couple with a new baby and a lonely young single woman to an American officer who just happened to be in his submarine with his crew when the war broke out, thus saving their lives and forcing him and his crew to live with the knowledge that everyone they love is gone and their hometowns are uninhabitable. This story brings the reality of nuclear war home, and is as relevant in this day and age as it ever was.