Customer Reviews

Beyond the Black Stump

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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The gentle and very English urbanity of Nevil Shute comes through strongly in this work. It is obvious he likes Australia and is not exactly rapt in the US.
His characters, similar to many of the others he has used, vary from the earthy but wise Irishmen who run the station, to the brash yet sensitive young Americans who come to work the oil rig. Central to it all is Shute's archetypal heroine, the English/Australian lass brimming with common sense who gets the heart of the good man...in the end. In the process, our heroine discovers there is more to materialism than meets the eye.
Shute writes lovingly of the Austraian outback, and knowledgeably of airline travel in the fifties. Although his writing is detailed, it is never dull, and he weaves a believable web.
I have most of Shute's work and consider this one of his best; though what an American would think of it is open to question! Buy it and find out.

This is one of the best books I have ever read! The writing is typical Scute, excellent! An American geologist drilling for oil in the outback of Australia meets Molly and is captivated by her. Molly's large multiracial family adds color and humor, as well as a great deal of common sense. Molly is intrigued by the American's camp equipment and all things American. Life in the "Lunatic" is very different from Stan's small town in Oregon but he comes to accept a different way of life. This book is a window into the past in outback Australia and small town America. I strongly recommend this wonderful book.

The story of an American man (Stan Laird) who falls in love with a Western Australian girl (Mollie) in the 1950s, but how their cultures can't really allow them to stay together. I'm not so sure I agree with the idea that the theme was materialism vs. spiritualism. For me, it was more, perhaps, the idea that civilization comes with a price tag. That while it can and will bring nicer material things and formal marriage etc, it can also detract from the human spirit as well. The Americans Mollie meets must maintain a certain amount of hypocrisy, apparently, to cope with life. But as Mollie wisely perceives, they shouldn't be judged too harsly for that because civilization has made things more convenient for them, both physically and emotionally. I liked very much her (Schute's) perception that the Americans of 1955 Oregon probably wouldn't welcome the Oregon settlers of 1890 in their homes because, like the contemporary outback Australians, they'd find them too coarse and vulgar.

Schute is a remarkable writer. Traditional, I suppose, but compassionate and insightful. His women characters are very well drawn and, unquestionably, the wisest, toughest and the most admirable ones in the book. Although I found it hard to sypathize with Stan Laird because he seemed like kind of a philistine, Schute showed empathy for him too. A good read.

Neville Shute has a series of novel about Australia. This is a good one. An American oil survey team comes to the Outback of Australia to search for oil deposits. The daughter of a large family of ranchers falls for the American geologist and eventually goes to the US, to Oregon, on the wise advice of her mother. She finds that there is a large contrast between her Australian family and the life of a small American town. It is well done and gives another picture of life in the Australian Outback.

"Beyond the Black Stump" may be the weakest of the novels set in Australia, but it is still an enjoyable book to read. There are no mystical elements here ("In the Wet") nor has his ability to write dialogue for American English improved any. Having said that, the book has a quickly moving plot, some excellent character development and lots of Shute's dry, killingly funny sidelights. You don't want to miss the Chinese cemetary. And there is a fine twist to the dénoument.

This book is an exceptionally crafted one and affected me profoundly.It brings out the disparity between materialism and spiritualism.The characters in this book are very vivid and this helps in the readers' involvement with the story.