My bellwether librarian agreed that she remembered how difficult it was for everyone to go about their regular business with the oppressive presence of the eminent demise of civilization looming over their lives. My Father has always said he has never been more afraid of the World Ending than in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Luckily she bailed me out and told me she read the book much later, but still while we were up to our eyeballs in the Cold War. I wanted to ask what it was like to have read this book in 1957, but that is a rather delicate question to a woman of an indeterminate age. When I checked this book out of the library, the librarian, the same one who gave me such good material for my In Cold Blood review, said that this book terrified her, not because of the horrifying circumstances in the book, but the plodding calmness of the characters. Those years between 1957-1963 proved to be tumultuous years indeed. On the Beach was published in 1957, but the novel is set in what was then the near future of 1963. I dare say it will get along all right without us.”Īn Instructional Manual from 1951 on what to do in the event of an A-Bomb attack. The world will go on just the same, only we shan't be in it. A taut, tightly written tale by an underrated, indeed largely forgotten writer.“It's not the end of the world at all," he said. the drama comes from Shute's ability to capture how different people choose to come to the end of their lives, sometimes heroically, sometimes selfishly, but always gripping the reader's imagination and twisting the emotion. This book by Nevil Shute, is one of the finest of the period. But, as a nuclear cloud drifted over to people in Australia, it did show how knowledge of the end can dislodge the truest of feelings from their hiding places and give them a second chance Boston GlobeĪ novel which, while aiming at popularity, respected its readership and was possessed of a decent level of craft Philip Hensher, Spectator On the Beach didn't offer a literal second chance at life. Timely and ironic.an indelibly sad ending that leaves you tearful and disturbed Los Angeles Times
Still incredibly moving after nearly half a century Economist
We stared into the abyss and then stepped back from the brink Guardian The most evocative novel on the aftermath of a nuclear war The Timesįictions such as On the Beach played an important role in raising awareness about the threat of nuclear war. Shute's most considerable achievement Daily Telegraph Remarkable books.I share a fierce personal regard for Nevil Shute Richard Bach
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