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jmrprice's review against another edition
3.0
Once again, transported back in time and space - now to the Channel coast of Britain in the late 1930s. Intriguing detail and vagueness propel the story arc and the budding romance. Excellent story telling.
warrenl's review against another edition
3.0
This is the second Nevil Shute that I've read, and I'm starting to get an impression of him as a workmanlike writer who tells a good story. His prose is a little clumsy. I couldn't tell you how many times Professor Legge was referred to as "the civilian", or how many times the hero's car's engine was described as "worn". I was left particularly bewildered by an odd paragraph in which Shute inexplicably appears to break the fourth wall and writes in first person singular about encountering some secret material regarding the protagonist Chambers.
Shute makes up for his shortcomings with his profound technical knowledge, his ability to convey it to the reader, and his gift for stringing together a good plot. Quotable he isn't, but the stories stick. In this case he has got me very interested in going to look at the Avro Anson on display at an aircraft museum near me.
The acid test is: will I read another Shute? Sure I will.
Shute makes up for his shortcomings with his profound technical knowledge, his ability to convey it to the reader, and his gift for stringing together a good plot. Quotable he isn't, but the stories stick. In this case he has got me very interested in going to look at the Avro Anson on display at an aircraft museum near me.
The acid test is: will I read another Shute? Sure I will.
lgpiper's review against another edition
4.0
Although I'd heard about Nevil Shute many decades ago, I had never read him before. This book was quite good, and I'll likely read something more from Shute. The writing is a bit spare and to the point, so doesn't flow smoothly is it might in the hands of a language master, such as Dickens. But Shute was an engineer by trade, so I can cut him slack.
The story takes place early in WWII, before the US enters the war. It is about a young RAF pilot who is part of a squadron who flies out over the English channel for reconnaissance and to protect England from German ships, in particular the German U-boats or submarines. The young man sinks a sub that he was pretty sure was German, but the Admiralty thinks he might have sunk a British sub that went missing the same day.
While his early flights and then the sub inquiry are going on, the young man begins a romance with a bar girl. They feel increasing comfort in each other's presence. After the inquiry into the sub sinking, the young man is transferred away. But after a few months, he returns to the area as a test pilot, and the romance resumes again. So, in a way, it's the story about how people try to continue with normal life during the very abnormal times that existed in Britain during WWII.
I've always been a sucker for old English books and movies of that period. I adore Vera Lynn songs. Interestingly, in my mind's eye, the action in this book took place in black and white, as would be the case were I watching the action in a movie theater of that time period. The lack of color didn't detract one iota from the story. That's just the way my mind works. I read Jane Austin in color because I've seen her portrayed in color. I read WWII stories and noire detective stories in black and white because that's the way I've seen them portrayed. Weird, huh?
The story takes place early in WWII, before the US enters the war. It is about a young RAF pilot who is part of a squadron who flies out over the English channel for reconnaissance and to protect England from German ships, in particular the German U-boats or submarines. The young man sinks a sub that he was pretty sure was German, but the Admiralty thinks he might have sunk a British sub that went missing the same day.
While his early flights and then the sub inquiry are going on, the young man begins a romance with a bar girl. They feel increasing comfort in each other's presence. After the inquiry into the sub sinking, the young man is transferred away. But after a few months, he returns to the area as a test pilot, and the romance resumes again. So, in a way, it's the story about how people try to continue with normal life during the very abnormal times that existed in Britain during WWII.
I've always been a sucker for old English books and movies of that period. I adore Vera Lynn songs. Interestingly, in my mind's eye, the action in this book took place in black and white, as would be the case were I watching the action in a movie theater of that time period. The lack of color didn't detract one iota from the story. That's just the way my mind works. I read Jane Austin in color because I've seen her portrayed in color. I read WWII stories and noire detective stories in black and white because that's the way I've seen them portrayed. Weird, huh?
notthatcosta's review against another edition
2.0
This is not a book I would ever read of my own volition, there's just very little about the set piece of Portsmouth during World War Two that I find particularly engaging for a novel. However, it came free from a coffee and book subscription I was gifted for Christmas, so I figured I would give it a go.
Even though I admire the simplicity around the story and characters, the over-simplicity and lack of dimension to the main characters made it a bit of a chore for me to get through. There was just very little that kept me turning the pages, other than me being a completionist to a fault.
Even though I admire the simplicity around the story and characters, the over-simplicity and lack of dimension to the main characters made it a bit of a chore for me to get through. There was just very little that kept me turning the pages, other than me being a completionist to a fault.
msjenne's review
3.0
In order to make them last longer, I've decided to only read Nevil Shute books that I find in used bookstores, rather than trying to track them all down thru interlibrary loan.
This one was from the SFPL Friends of the Library bookstore.
This one was from the SFPL Friends of the Library bookstore.
jenne's review
3.0
In order to make them last longer, I've decided to only read Nevil Shute books that I find in used bookstores, rather than trying to track them all down thru interlibrary loan.
This one was from the SFPL Friends of the Library bookstore.
This one was from the SFPL Friends of the Library bookstore.
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