On the Beach (Vintage International) [Paperback]

Nevil Shute (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 9, 2010 | Series: Vintage International

Nevil Shute’s most powerful novel—a bestseller for decades after its 1957 publication—is an unforgettable vision of a post-apocalyptic world.

After a nuclear World War III has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path. Among them is an American submarine captain struggling to resist the knowledge that his wife and children in the United States must be dead. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from somewhere near Seattle, and Captain Towers must lead his submarine crew on a bleak tour of the ruined world in a desperate search for signs of life. Both terrifying and intensely moving, On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The most haunting evocation we have of a world dying of radiation after an atomic war.” —The New York Times 
 
“The most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off.”  —San Francisco Chronicle

“A novelist of intelligent and engaging quality, deservedly popular. . . . Nevil Shute was, in brief, the sort of novelist who genuinely touches the imagination and feeling.” —The Times (London)

From the Publisher

8 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (February 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307473996
• ISBN-13: 978-0307473998
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (285 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Short Stories

More About the Author

Nevil Shute Norway was born in 1899 in Ealing, London. He studied Engineering Science at Balliol College, Oxford. Following his childhood passion, he entered the fledgling aircraft industry as an aeronautical engineer working to develop airships and, later, airplanes. In his spare time he began writing and he published his first novel, Marazan, in 1926, using the name Nevil Shute to protect his engineering career. In 1931 he married Frances Mary Heaton and they had two daughters. During the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve where he worked on developing secret weapons. After the war he continued to write and settled in Australia where he lived until his death in 1960. His most celebrated novels include Pied Piper (1942), A Town Like Alice (1950), and On the Beach (1957).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 153 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Emotionally Shredding December 20, 2000

By Jeffrey Leach HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I think most people here have already summed up this book, and there is little I can add to what they've said. I'll try anyway.

On the Beach tells the story of the aftermath of an all-out nuclear war. The setting is Australia, one of the few places in the world to escape not only the bombs, put the deadly clouds of radioactive fallout from the war. But they'll only survive for a little while, because the global wind currents are slowly pushing the deadly fallout down to Antarctica. The Aussies only have a short time before they all come down with radiation sickness and die. The whole book is an emotional rollercoaster as the dreaded day of death looms ever closer, with absolutely nothing to prevent doom. Most people are resigned to their fate, and try and stay busy with various daily rituals in an effort to keep their sanity.

The two main characters of the book are Dwight Towers, a U.S. submarine commander who has survived the war and is in refuge in Australia, and Moira Davidson, a young Australian girl who is bitter about her fate and seeks consolation with Dwight. Other characters are introduced, such as a young couple with a baby and a scientist who likes racing cars. The reader is quickly drawn into these people's lives, and really comes to care about what happens to them. Needless to say, the ending isn't warm and cheery. I had to stop reading the book several times and take a little break to get rid of the huge lump in my throat. It is a VERY tough read at the end. If you don't get emotional, you just might be dead.

There are several small points to make about the book. The author, Nevil Shute, isn't exactly the best writer in terms of grammar. There are awkward sentences and errors, and it sometimes detracts from the story. He also wrote this book in the late 1950's, and he's English, so there are words that don't make much sense today. Despite these flaws, the story is still gut wrenching and compelling. I really appreciated Shute's sense of irony. Moira first meets Dwight because she is enlisted to keep his mind off of his dead family in America. However, Moira ends up being the one who starts to break down. More irony appears when people make plans that they know they won't be alive to keep. The scene when Peter and Mary are planning their garden is is a good example of this irony, and you'll groan in anguish over it. Overall, I haven't been this upset over something since I watched the film "Cutting Moments".

I'm surprised more people haven't heard of this book. I gave it to my Mom to read first, and she bawled like a baby at the end. You may not bawl, but you'll certainly be affected.

59 of 62 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling June 1, 2000

By C. Colt

Format:Mass Market Paperback

"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.

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book--Nevil Shute's most famous if not his best July 2, 2002

By Gary M. Greenbaum

Format:Mass Market Paperback

After a nuclear war, radiation slowly drifts southwards, gradually killing off humanity there as it has already been killed off in the Northern Hemisphere. The end is less than a year away, yet Australians, and a few American naval refugees seek to maintain their daily lives in the face of doom, and even send an exploratory submarine northwards.

The fascination of the book is watching how people react to the inevitable doom. Many just go on plegmatically, a few pretend it will never happen. Most interesting is Moira Dawson, an Australian girl who had dreamed of visiting London and Paris, and now never will, and who seeks to live what little life is left to the fullest. She learns a lesson from a stillborn romance with Dwight Towers, the submarine commander who acts as if his wife and children are alive in Connecticut.

Perhaps the limitation of this book is that most of the characters simply accept their doom, presumably having come to terms with it before the start of the book. But more of a range of viewpoints might be welcome. Could you imagine the anger and frustration of teenagers under these circumstances, in the throes of adolescence without the promise of adulthood, knowing they will never have their independence.

As in most of Shute's later works, there are no villians. That is welcome when so many books have paper villains for us to vicariously hate.