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Trustee from the Toolroom Paperback – July, 2002

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Nevil Shute (Author)
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Nevil Shute (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars 177 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 316 pages
  • Publisher: House of Stratus (July 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1842323016
  • ISBN-13: 978-1842323014
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,809,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA quietly courageous adventure
By Rebecca Brown on March 15, 2002
Format: Hardcover
I read this one when it was printed before ISBNs came into being. Before I left London & it has always been my favorite Nevil Shute story.
In this age of in-your-face language & novels saturated with every evil event a human's mind can plausibly conjure up, this master storyteller's quiet & lean prose about real, ordinary people & their choices, entices you into one man's little life of miniature models, hardworking wives & honoring one's vows.
From an unpeturbed basement workshop to the paradise of the broad Pacific ocean, a middle-aged man, more comfotable at his workbench than jetting across the world, takes on a mission to retrieve a treasure he himself hid in the ballast of his sister & brother-in-law's wrecked sail boat.
For the sake of his niece, he leaves the safety of his suburban routine to travel far & wide to bring her inheritance back.
A deeply satisfying & redemptive read, of a time long ago, when things were a lot more simple & simple honor was a lot more evident.
Warms your heart, soothes your soul & tells a good story as well!
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4.0 out of 5 starsTo be re-read
By A Customer on May 3, 1999
Format: Hardcover
The last line of this novel tells it all about the protagonist, Keith Stewart: "He was ...supremely happy". Keith was happy because he forsook more renumerative possibilities to do what he wanted to do most; design and write in the arcane field of "miniature mechanics" or model engineering, working out of a machine shop in his basement. In addition he is also a very moral and responsible human being.
In typical Nevil Shute fashion, the book's plot consists of a wonderful, almost believable adventure during which Keith travels to the South Pacific and Washington State to save an inheritance, but it is really a portrait of Keith and how the goodness of ordinary people, personified by the warmly drawn out characters, will conquer all adversity without resorting to too much guile. Besides Keith there is his wife Katie, their niece Janice, errant boat bum Jim Donnelly as well as a kind-hearted lumber magnate, Sol Hirzhorn, and his family. All are good people and the story ends well.
If all this sounds trite, I suppose it is in these cynical times, but that does not prevent "Trustee" from being a marvelous read. I have re-read it many times and, perhaps more importantly, have learned that model engineers like Keith and the magazine he wrote for really exist. Largely as a result of reading this book, I have taken up the hobby myself, including my very own basement workshop, and work on projects taken from magazines similar to the fictitious one Keith wrote for. Reason enough to love a work of fiction.
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5.0 out of 5 starsWonderful tale of a common man doing extraordinary things.
By Gary M. Greenbaum on July 7, 2002
Format: Hardcover
Keith Stewart lives quietly in suburban London, working free-lance for a model mechanic magazine. His sister and brother in law have him hide a jewel box aboard their sailboat just before they emigrate to Vancouver. But when the ship goes down in the South Pacific with them both, Keith must not only raise their young daughter, but must seek to retrieve the jewel box from the wreck.
Keith has never before left Britain, and is very much a fish out of water. But there's not that much suspense to this story, as he finds that many people who have read of his work are delighted to help him along.
All the same, it isn't an easy trip for Keith, but it is a far easier one for the reader, with a fine read and memorable characters.
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4.0 out of 5 starsWords to Live By
By A. Ross HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on December 25, 2000
Format: Hardcover
This was Neville Shute's final novel, and perhaps derives much of its mood due to this. Best known for the depressing nuclear holocaust story On the Beach, Shute wrote this as a celebration of the simple pleasures in life. The protagonist Keith is an unassuming, married, but childless, middle-aged man living in suburban London (Ealing) with his working wife. He has forsaken a more lucrative engineering career in order to pursue his love of miniature modeling and a very meager income as a columnist for "Miniature Mechanic" magazine. When his sister and brother-in-law die in a shipwreck near Tahiti, he becomes the guardian and trustee for his 10-year-old niece. Next thing you know, Keith, who has never left the country, has to find a way to make his way to a remote Pacific island to recover a box of diamonds that was on the wreck. Shute writes convincingly of the things nautical and engineering Keith encounters on his adventure. Along the way he is aided by a somewhat improbable number of people who know him from his reputation in he world of miniature mechanics. It teeters on being trite and corny, but ultimately works as a celebration of karma. Keith has been a good, selfless man, and so other good, selfless men are willing to help him--and he ends up doing what he loves. At the end of his life, Shute returned to this basic message on how to live and love life, and it works.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA perfect trust in the unexpected
By Arline Curtiss on April 19, 2004
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful book. A simple story about an unassuming man who has turned his avocation of fabricating small machines into a modest occupation that makes his everyday existence a pleasure for himself and his equally unassuming and good-hearted wife. He decides to embark upon a quest to reclaim his niece's lost inheritance--a treasure chest of diamonds hidden by himself and her father on the wrecked ship in which both her wealthy upper-class parents were killed. He does not want the diamonds for himself but the education and future of his niece which he will not be otherwise able to supply on his own rather meager income. So the hero starts out on a trip half way around the world with not enough money and no legitimate assurance that he will even make it back alive, much less win the prize. He knows it is a long shot. But, with the encouragement of his wife who will hold down the fort at home, he embarks upon this high-seas, dangerous journey simply because he thinks it's the right thing to do. He wouldn't feel right if he didn't try. That he might fail is not the important thing. This very rational, prudent man who has lived what many would consider a rather dull life of habit and order will now put all his trust in the enexpected and taste a life of risk and adventure. Very inspiring.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

meh

Published 22 days ago by Amazon Customer Paul
5.0 out of 5 starsNice plot

Totally recommend this book. Dry writing style which lets the plot do the work. Good narrative on different characters and their perspectives... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Ronin
5.0 out of 5 starsFun and informative

Fun reading with subtle humor

Published 1 month ago by L Gene Gorton
5.0 out of 5 starsFICTION AS IT SHOULD BE

Characters in Nevil Shute stories are people as clean and honest as people could and should be. Refreshing now that modern fiction paints a gallery of warped and troubled... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Alfonso
5.0 out of 5 starsA classic story. Worth reading over and over.

A classic story. Worth reading over and over.

Published 2 months ago by Farmer
5.0 out of 5 starsUnderstated excellence.

A brilliant story told in a low-key style rich in psychological and technical detail. Quite possibly Shute's best work. Highly recommended.

Published 2 months ago by Jason Wright
5.0 out of 5 starsPretty good book, good price.

Heard a lot about this book from friends. It is a little simplistic, but a decent read.

Published 2 months ago by Big G
4.0 out of 5 starsLike a lot of things British

Like a lot of things British, it took a while to get going, but it got more exciting and then had a nice ending. It was a good read.

Published 2 months ago by James Porter
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

GREAT! I READ THIS BOOK LONG AGO. REREADING WAS SHEER PLEASURE.

Published 2 months ago by glenhunt
5.0 out of 5 starsIf you are a sailor you will enjoy this book

Really enjoyable story with realistic instances of sailing schooners and small model engineering. If you are a sailor you will enjoy this book.

Published 3 months ago by Robert P Fynn

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