On the Beach

I re-read this 1957 novel every few years. It's compelling for the quality of its writing, the courage of its characters, and the terrifying possibilities of the plot. Nevil Shute writes in what I call a minor key. If you've read it, you know what I mean. If you haven't, well, read the book and you'll understand.

As dark and depressing as this Cold War cautionary tale is, the author’s use of creeping ecological doom in the aftermath of a world-shattering war was profound to me. The story is told from several points of view by characters who have different motivations. I found their choices to be just as understandable as they were heartbreaking. This isn’t a “happily ever after” story. Even so, I found myself appreciating the whole story, from start to end.

Nevil Shute was one of the last of the colonial writers, which can grate on the reader in this day of post colonialism. But I won’t let my prejudices get in the way of a good read. I’m big and bad enough to make my own reading choices. On the Beach is a great end of the world story. On the Beach depicts people within their own communities dealing with global events. And it is absolutely superlative in the way people (for the most part) retain their humanity in the toughest of times, which makes the story such a counterpoint… show more.

This book is limited in scope to a narrow cast of characters and focuses on just one part of the world, but it is terrifying and ultimately preaches a strong sermon against nuclear war. It has unusually well-developed characters for this type of book, and you care about them, which makes the ending even more horrific.

Another oldie, copyright 1957. These days, preoccupied with diseases or terrorists, we tend to forget that nuclear war is still possible. It hasn't happened yet so we've relegated it to a back shelf. On the Beach remarkably combined the gentlest writing with a portrait of humankind's final days. It left millions of readers weeping. It galvanized the real world.

Nevil Shute’s novels were written several decades ago, in a simple, highly readable style. They stand the test of time with his common themes of the dignity of work, spanning all classes. Written in a simple highly readable style, he bridges the social barriers of class, race, and religion.

On the Beach is set after World War III most of the world’s population has been obliterated. A small town of residents in southern Australia awaits with dreaded anticipation as a radiation cloud drifts their way. A faint Morse code message comes from the United States and a Navy officer sets… show more.

While the total nuclear apocalypse presented here seems old-fashioned now, I still found this a powerful thought experiment: how will people respond when faced with inevitable, unavoidable destruction, when it creeps slowly and they can see it coming? Which of course, is the set of disasters we're facing now, unlike that sudden nuclear apocalypse those of us of a certain generation grew up with. This is a tough read, not at all hopeful as most of my other recommendations are, so I hesitated even putting it on this list. But it's reassuring to think that this scenario isn't the one… show more.