Nevil
Shute Norway
(17 January 1899 – 12 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in
Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute
as his pen name to protect his engineering career from any potential negative
publicity in connection with his novels.
BEYOND THE BLACK STUMP
Sheila:
Nevil
Shute was an author Sheila had read many years before. But she was almost put off
reading further after the first chapter; set in America in the 1950’s and full
of clichés.
But
from the second chapter, she loved the book. It tells the story of a young oilman
who travels the world searching for oil. In the outback of Western Australia he
meets an unconventional farming family and falls in love with a young girl.
Much of the book concerns the differing moral standards and life styles between
the people of the outback and those in his hometown in USA.
Sheila
described him as a writer of the 1940/50’s generation, no frills, plain
Australiana and a good read.
ON THE BEACH
Judy A:
Set in
1963 when Nuclear War has completely wiped out the northern hemisphere
countries and the lethal nuclear fallout is gradually heading south. The story
is set in Melbourne where people are living quite normal lives, with many
denying it will happen. As the radiation approaches, each
person deals with impending death differently.
Judy
felt that the writing now seemed dated, and the dialogue clichéd. But she was glad
to have finally read this book.
JO:
This
very good story moved Jo to ‘cry a bucketful of tears’. She also thought it
should be compulsory reading for all politicians involved in nuclear war!
PIPER PIPER
Rosemary:
The
story concerns a 70 year old Englishman, John Sidney Howard, who goes on a
fishing holiday in France partly to recover from grief at the loss of his son.
As the Second World War quickly escalates, he decides he must return to
England. Along the way he acquires 5 children from different backgrounds who
need to get back to England.
Rosemary
enjoyed the story with a particular fondness for the main character.
Ed:
Each
of the children who joined him had interesting and different stories.
Charis:
Charis
also enjoyed the book.
Howard
tells his journey in the form of a flashback to an acquaintance he meets in a
club during the London Blitz.
THE WETLANDS
Charis:
The
story begins with the narrator – a priest named Roger Hargreaves –describing his
ordinary circumstances in a large parish of the Australian outback in 1953. As
part of his duties, he has to minister to the dying and this brings him into
contact with an aged, alcoholic, opium smoking, diseased, ex-pilot and
ex-ringer named Stevie.
Stevie
tells him his story of being a pilot for the queen, but it is so incredible,
can he be believed?
Despite
this storyline, Charis didn’t really enjoy the book and became bored with the
incredulity of the story.
A TOWN LIKE ALICE
Wendy L:
The
2 main characters Jean, an English woman, and Joe, an Australian soldier, meet
while both are prisoners of the Japanese in Malaya (now Malayasia).
Returning
to England after the war, Jean finds she has inherited a considerable sum of
money from her uncle, which will be kept in trust for her.
After the war they seek each other out and
reunite in a small Australian town that would have no future if not for her
plans to turn it into ‘a town like Alice”.
Wendy
liked how the author sets up the character of the lawyer to narrate the story.
As he manages her trust, he secretly falls in love with Jean.
For
Wendy this was a chance to reread a book first encountered many years ago.
She
was shocked at how dated it had become, the language was different and the
characters clichéd, although this was appropriate for the time it was written.
Judy J:
It
was a story told in 2 parts. The first set in Malaya after the Japanese have
invaded most of the country. A group of women and children are forced to walk
from village to village for many months as there is no suitable prison for
them. As she speaks Malay fluently, Jean takes a leading role in the group of
prisoners.
The
second part takes place in Australia after the war. Jean uses her inheritance
to find Joe, the Australian soldier who had helped them out.
It
was interesting that the Japanese soldiers were portrayed as more human than in
other war accounts. One could almost feel sorry for them, they were prisoners
themselves.
Joan:
Joan
also enjoyed rereading the book and going back to simpler times. When the story
moved to the Gulf country, she could relate to this from her own experiences
there.
Joe
Harman, his character, his language were so typical of the time.
She
felt it was well worth reading again.
THE FAR COUNTRY
Pauline:
This
is another of Nevil Shute’s books set both in Australia and England and
probably based on characters and places he was familiar with.
Set
in 1952, an English couple live in the outback on a prosperous sheep farm. They
regularly send money to help support an old aunt in England.
Before
she dies, the aunt sends her granddaughter out to Australia to visit her
relatives. Here she meets and falls in love with a young Czech doctor.
The
comparisons between the relative prosperity of Australia and the harsh post war
conditions in England become very obvious in the story.
Pauline
commented that the language of the book was delightful, she liked the fact that
it was dated and described it as a nice easy read.
ROUND THE BEND
Pat:
Nevil
Shute had previously been an aeronautical engineer. This novel is the story of
Constantine “Connie” Shaklin an aircraft engineer who founds a new religion
transcending existing religions based on the merit of good work. He runs a
charter service and befriends the Russians and the Chinese without any
prejudice.
Although
Pat didn’t finish the book, from her past reading of his books, commented that
he has a no nonsense style of writing, and tells a good story.
A LONELY ROAD
Connie:
Connie
eventually enjoyed this book after getting through the rather confusing first
chapter.
Set
before World War Two, the story involves a group of people bringing guns into
Cornwall, a rich bachelor and an underlying love story.
The
author’s nautical background shows through in the very interesting and readable
facts about sailing, boats etc.
MOST SECRET
Bev:
It
is narrated by a commander in the Royal Navy, and tells the story of four men
who launch a daring mission at the time when Briton stood alone against Germany
after the fall of France
The
central character is Englishman, Charles Simon. He returns to work in France as
an engineer in the concrete industry, continuing when the works are taken over
and pressed into the services of the occupying German forces who have a great
demand for reinforced concrete structures. When he realizes what it is to be
used for he and 3 others form a daring plan.
Bev
thoroughly enjoyed it.
MARAZAN
Julia:
Published
in 1926, this was the first of many novels by Nevil Shute and includes themes
that were to be characteristic of other books, flying, small boat sailing and a
love story.
It
is the story of an air crash with an escaping prisoner rescuing the pilot, drug
smuggling via the airplane, escape by sailing cruiser, the interception of the
cargo and the capture of those responsible using another plane!
Julia
really enjoyed this intriguing story.
PASTORAL
Diane D
Reading
about life in wartime England brought back many memories for Diane. She enjoyed
this aspect of the story, but otherwise wouldn’t recommend the book.
The
story takes place on an English airbase. The brilliant young pilots go out on sorties,
some will come back, while others will not. Even during times of war, romance
still happens. Not much else seems to happen in the story. Diane had some
concerns about the author’s attitude to women, especially as this was a time
that the women were skilled, doing men’s work and finding their voice.
THE OLD CAPTIVITY
Natalia:
A
young pilot is hired to fly some academics to Greenland to survey a site of
early Norseman times. Becoming very tired from the work expected of him there,
he takes sleeping tablets to keep going but falls into a coma going back in
time to the original voyage of discovery of Greenland.
Natalia
felt that the characters didn’t really come to life and the ‘time travel’
needed more depth.
It
was a different and interesting story, and very factual about aircraft of that
time.
TRUSTEE FROM THE TOOLROOM
Val:
Keith
is an ordinary little man, living in Ealing, who makes small-scaled machinery
models, and answers reader’s queries in a magazine called Minature Mechanics.
He and his wife don’t have any children.
His
sister is married to a wealthy naval officer who sail the world. His sister and
the commander decide to sail their yacht to Canada leaving their 10 year old
daughter with her brother.
When
their boat is shipwrecked in Tahiti, and all lives are lost, Keith becomes the
guardian of his niece and sets off to retrieve the family’s fortune believed to
be a cache of diamonds hidden on the boat.
Many
people help him along the way, often they are readers connected to his
magazine. While it was a very enjoyable and delightful read, Val thought there
were a few too many and easy coincidences. Again, the author has included much
and interesting engineering detail in the story.
The
book was published in 1960 after the author’s death.
SO DISDAINED
Prue:
This
is Shute’s second book, first published in 1928 and re-released in 1951.
Set
after the First World War in Sussex in England, a returned pilot becomes the
manager of a Lord’s estate. The differences in the lives of the middle and
upper class are well described.
He
meets a pilot who is down on his luck and has been forced into flying a
photographic espionage mission for the Russians. There is much discussion as to
the morality of acting as a traitor to his country.
While
the plot was fairly elementary and the chapters long, Prue enjoyed the book.
Beautiful language and proper expressions were part of the appeal.
THE RAINBOW AND THE ROSE
Tam:
Johnnie
Pascoe is a pilot who has crashed in the Tasmanian wilderness while on a rescue
mission to help a sick child. He is annoyed at having to risk his life because
of where this child lives.
Another
pilot volunteers to rescue the crashed pilot.
With
2 narrators the story had the tendency to sometimes be confusing.
Tam
thought it a great story with a very interesting ending. She is keen to read
more books by this author.
RUINED CITY
Judy D:
Henry
Warren is a successful, hardworking banker who finds that his wife has been
having an affair. They divorce and on a whim, gets his chauffer to drive him to
the north of England so he can go on a hike and clear his head. The chauffer is
killed in a road accident while returning to London, Warren falls ill and is
taken to a nearby hospital. Wonderful people come to his rescue and as he has
no identification, he is taken for a tramp or vagabond looking for work.
While
the town had relied on industry, much of this is closing down. Through various
means, not always legal, he manages to get the shipbuilding factory reopened
and the town begins to prosper again.
NO HIGHWAY
Wendy J:
Theodore
Honey is in charge of research into the fatigue of aluminum frames at
Farnborough. His current project is to investigate the possible failure in the
tailplane of a new airliner the “Rutland Reindeer”. He is sent to Greenland to
investigate another plane crash, travelling on a Reindeer. According to his
calculations the flying hours of this current plane are close to his predicted
failure time!
How
will he stop this from happening, how will he get the people on the plane back
to England, and what will happen to him when he returns?
All
of this makes it an interesting and easy read, enjoyed by Wendy.
REQUIEM FOR A WREN
Pamela:
The
narrator Allan has been a lawyer in London before becoming a pilot in World War
11. He loses both his feet after being shot down. In the 1950s he eventually
goes back to his wealthy parent’s sheep property in Australia only to be
confronted by the apparent suicide of the family’s English housekeeper, Janet
Prentice.
He
later discovers that this lady had been engaged to his brother in England.
After he died in the war and she suffered several other personal and war
related tragedies she decided to come to Australia.
Pamela
thought the characters were well developed, but there was too much technical
detail. She didn’t think it was a depressing story. It was tragic what happened
to the young woman, but the story had an uplifting ending.
Diann:
Diann
looked at the story from a different perspective.
Janet
grew up on a farm where it was normal to go shooting. During the war, she rose
through the ranks, met a young man and became engaged. He unfortunately died.
So she came to Australia o find the family but used a different name.
Diann
described it as the story of a formidable young woman and how war affects
people’s lives.
December's Book Club:
The best book you've read this year.
Also don't forget your Christmas gift. Wrap up a book you are happy to 'regift'. Write the genre of the book on the front.
Join us for Christmas Lunch to finish the year.
