On the Beach
Author: Nevil Shute
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic
Year: 1957
Rating: 5 of 10
This book is a post-apocalyptic tale about waiting for nuclear fallout from a war that was so devastating and quick that no one really knows what happened or why. While the story is bleak it isn’t negative. In fact, the main thing that struck me about this book is the human attempt to stay positive and hopeful even when faced with impending doom, even to the point of deluding oneself. While not much really happens in the book the characters type of engagement with each other suggests that while everyone has really lost hope, they do their best to keep it alive as a communal thing. Knowing something to be untrue but believing it anyway because it’s easier. In this way the book really speaks to the human condition and I think that is one of the responsibilities of a good novel. However, I’m still on the fence as to whether not I really enjoyed this book. Sad and beautiful at times, it does a great job of expressing the fear in the 1950s surrounding the possibility of nuclear attack.
Purchase: Buy!