On the Beach by Nevil Shute Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of On the Beach
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: 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.Book Review: I very badly written book
Summary: 1 Stars
This is a horrible book. The characters are so preditable and the plot is so boring and uneventful. Nevil Shute has written a lot of good books, but this is definatly not one of them. If this page had a 0 star option, I would've given it that rating.Book Review: Interesting but bleak
Summary: 3 Stars
What if the powerful countries of the world waged a nuclear war so catastrophic that all life was destroyed, and you were stuck in southern Australia, watching the deadly radiation move slowly, inexorably your way? That is the question posed by this classic post-apocalyptic novel. The inevitable conclusion is rather dreary. However, the characters seem a bit too 1950s, and therefore not quite realistic. Still, it's an interesting, if bleak, what-if scenario.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!