The Breaking Wave [Paperback]

The characters in Nevil Shute's novels always seem to share two qualities: decency and dignity. The novels are filled with pain and death; war is a frequent theme. Toward the end of The Breaking Wave, Shute writes: "Like some infernal monster, still venomous in death, a war can go on killing people for a long time after it's all over." Despite the tragic events they experience, Shute's characters are kind and helpful and caring. The moral of Shute's novels seems to be: death is inevitable; what matters is that you behave decently during your life, so that you can die with your dignity intact. That's certainly the lesson I took from The Breaking Wave.

It's difficult to write a synopsis of The Breaking Wave without including spoilers, so this will be brief. Alan and Bill Duncan are brothers. They grew up on a sheep farm in Australia. The farm is a big business and the family is rather wealthy. Alan and Bill are both in England during World War II. Alan is a fighter pilot in the RAF; his plane is shot down and his feet have to be amputated. Bill is the equivalent of a Navy Seal; he dies on a mission in preparation for D-Day. (Those aren't spoilers; the reader learns these facts early on.) As the novel begins, Alan is returning to the family farm, having finished his post-war law degree at Oxford. He discovers that his mother is distressed by the apparent suicide of the parlor maid. Alan digs around and discovers the maid's diaries. He spends all night reading them and soon realizes that he had met the woman during the war. What Alan learns about her and about his family changes his life.

The woman's story is incredibly sad. I'm glad I was alone when I read The Breaking Wave because my misty-eyed reaction to the last chapters would have destroyed my carefully cultivated image as a manly man. Yet it's also the story of an eventful life, albeit one that is derailed by tragedy. The woman meets her death with her dignity intact, and Shute's moving story makes clear why she made the choice to end her life. As always, Shute writes with a soft voice; there's nothing flashy about the quiet elegance of his prose; he lets the story unfold without getting in its way. And it's an amazing, powerful story, filled with insight about war and relationships and the human condition. The characters are as real and believable as your neighbors, and probably more likable.

Shute is best known for two wonderful novels -- A Town Like Alice and On the Beach -- but his lesser-known novels are every bit as good. The Breaking Wave is one of his best. Five stars.

I just finished re-reading "The Breaking Wave" ("Requiem for a Wren" in the UK) for the first time in 15 years of so. And it still has the same emotional pull that it did the first time. I really wish someone could make a decent adaptation of this story for the big screen. It is every bit as good a story as "Atonement" and "The English Patient".

One thing I noticed in this reading is how vivid a picture it draws of the preparations in the lead up to the Normandy Invasion. The tremendous amount of work done by all sorts of people. And how much of an effect it had on that generation.

"Nevil Shute" was the pen name for Nevil Shute Norway author of "The Breaking Wave". The novel was originally entitled "Requiem for a Wren" and was an Australian book release published about 1955. Nevil Shute was born in London in 1899 and died in Melbourne Australia in 1960. He had written approximately 25 various works with aviation a backdrop for many of the themes. The most common theme in Shute's novels is the dignity of work spanning all classes or the bridging of social barriers such as class, race or religion. "The Australian novels are individual hymns to that country, with subtle disparagement of the mores of the USA and overt antipathy towards the post World War II socialist government of Shute's native Britain" (Wikipedia, Nevil Shute).

The novel "The Breaking Wave" is written as a literary drama and love story told in the first person by the main protagonist. Conversations are interjected into the narration by the character that is speaking. The writing style is British circa 1955 and uses many colloquial expressions from that era as well as references to British military equipment and personnel leading up to the invasion of Normandy during World War II.

The Story is about a young woman, Janet Prentice during the time she was enlisted in the British military as ordnance maintenance personnel for the navy under a unit designated as the "Wrens". While serving in this position, she meets brothers Bill and Alan Duncan, the former a naval `Frog Man' and the latter an air force pilot. Janet and Bill's acquaintance leads to their intended engagement prior to Bill's death during a war mission. After Bill's death, Janet continues on as Leading Ordnance Wren and has occasion to shoot down a German aircraft that was overflying the area. It is later concluded that the aircraft was attempting to surrender its occupants and Janet suffers emotional defeat at having apparently unnecessarily killed the airmen. Adding to her misery she also is informed that at the same time her father was killed while serving as a civilian aircraft identifier. She is eventually discharged from service and returns to care for her mother. Alan Duncan a Rhodes scholar and decorated hero who lost both feet during a war mission is discharged and briefly returns home to Australia where the family manages a very large sheep ranch called Coombargana. Restless and disengaged, Alan returns to England and finishes his education as a lawyer. During this time Alan attempts to track down Janet Prentice and his efforts cover several years without success. Finally upon his return to Australia and the family ranch, Alan is confronted with the apparent suicide of the family `parlourmaid'. From the contents of the parlourmaid's personal affects, Alan reflects upon and retraces his efforts to find Janet Prentice.

I quite liked this novel. The plot and characters were interesting and engaging. On the negative side, the composition was at times difficult to navigate because of the military references or use of archaic words and long sentence structures. For instance, I had to look up the Oerlikon 20mm canon and Bofors 40mm anti aircraft gun in order to visualize how they looked though I had a pretty good idea anyway. Or this one "She soon learned, however, that if you put the counterpane on your bunk with the anchor upside down, the ship would sink"; counterpane being a bedspread if you didn't know; or this phrase: ..."when the balloon's gone up". When the balloon goes up is a phrase used to imply impending trouble. This relates to the use of observation balloons in the First World War. The sight of such a balloon going up nearly always resulted in a barrage of shells following soon after. The expression was re-enforced during WWII when the hoisting of barrage balloons was part of the preparations for an air raid.

Overall I recommend this book. Of my three ratings, ["forgettable" - "pleasurable-not memorable" - "memorable"], I would rate it pleasurable-not memorable.

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