On The Beach
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4.0 • 34 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
After the war is over, a radioactive cloud begins to sweep southwards on the winds, gradually poisoning everything in its path. An American submarine captain is among the survivors left sheltering in Australia, preparing with the locals for the inevitable. Despite his memories of his wife, he becomes close to a young woman struggling to accept the harsh realities of their situation. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from the United States and the submarine must set sail through the bleak ocean to search for signs of life.
On the Beach is Nevil Shute's most powerful novel. Both gripping and intensely moving, its impact is unforgettable.
Customer Reviews
On the beach
A superb book. Starts quite gently and continues at much the same pace but the scenario makes the tension rise throughout the book.
The characters are fully realized, with depth to spare; it is all too easy to empathize with the horror of their plight.
Not an easy book to read at all and a haunting not at that.
I cannot recommend this story highly enough. Read in conjunction with the original film makes it a complete experience.
On The Beach
I waitied twenty years to read this book, ever since hearing it described as "the best 'end of world' novel ever written".
I eventually bought it last week, opened it up, and was dissapointed within an hour. It is a rather weak tale, with a slightly sad ending, but other than that it was nothing I found very moving or gripping.
Admittedly it was written a couple of years before I was born, when the world was a different place, but that doesn't automatically make it a classic.