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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good buy for Shute fans, or anyone wanting to read this author., Jan 10 2010
If you have read Neville Shute in the past, meaning you are probably over 50 (maybe 60), you are likely thinking of purchasing this book to replace one you have worn out, or to own your own because the library has sent its copy to the sale table or the dump. If so, this edition of Shute (there are other books in the series) is of good quality and good price.
If you are new to reading Neville Shute, this book (and others in this edition) is recommended as an inexpensive way (probably the ony way in the 21st c.) of getting to know this author from the mid-20th century. Shute is (was) a master of characterization, and an expert at using the English language. His plots are usually straight-forward, not convoluted, easy to follow, with few surprises, yet never boring! His characters are human, with human virtues and failings, and inevitably people with whom you can identify. His plots often deal with aspects of the human condition that are universal, although often in contexts that are anything but. (And, if you think I am avoiding discussing the actual plot of this novel, you are right - I hope you will read it for yourself!)
One caveat for readers new to Neville Shute. He was writing in a very different time from our present, to a very different readership from our contemporaries. Bluntly, some of Shute's writing is sexist and racist, since that was the spirit of the time - women had their place in society (yet many of Shute's female characters break out of that place), and races other than whites were considered inferiour (and again, yet many of Shute's non-white character break out of that mould as well). HOwever, be warned; some of Shute's world-view will be disturbing. But,if you are willing to read him with an understanding that he was a product of his time and place and nation, you will be well-rewarded by reading him.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Nevil Shute; one of his best!, May 21 2003
By A Customer
The story of Alan Duncan begins with his return to Coombargana, a sheep farming station in the Western District of Australia. On the day before his return, the trusted parlour maid on the station, of whom his parents were very fond, died in her room unexpectedly, causing an awkward homecomingBeginning with the pursuit of a law degree at Oxford University, the years of Alan's absence from family and homeland taught him very much, very quickly. Not surprising, he is drawn into World War-II action as a fighter pilot, risking all he has in life, just like his younger brother Bill. Also like his brother, he is attracted to the same English girl, Janet Prentice, a WREN on active duty, assigned to maintenance of ordinance used in preparation of the D-Day invasion. The terrible war has left each one with terrible losses, of which the consequences carry the reader through Alan's quest to find Janet in the years that follow its ending in 1945. In London, Viola Dawson, Janet's friend, is Alan's greatest source of information to lead him through his search. Where will he ultimately find her in this world that both separates and binds together those on opposite sides of the globe? A terriffic story, beautifully written; also published under the title "The Breaking Wave."
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5.0 out of 5 stars
requiem for a wren, Feb 8 2010
In Requiem for a Wren Nivil shute brings his characters to life in such a way that you feel like you have known them for all of your life. He adds just enough of a love plot into his writing to allow you to feel some of the love between the charachers, and yet none of the kind of sleezy love plots that are forund in some of the newer writers penwork. I would recomend this book to anyone who wants a quiet satisfying look into the life of a young woman in wartime and the resultants that the war caused her.
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by Nevil Shute
by Nevil Shute
by Nevil Shute
by Nevil Shute
by Nevil Shute
