On the Beach
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
On the Beach
Buy for $22.02
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Smillie
-
By:
-
Nevil Shute
About this listen
Australia is one of the last places where life still exists after nuclear war starts in the Northern Hemisphere. A year on, an invisible cloak of radiation has spread almost completely around the world.
Darwin is a ghost town, and radiation levels at Ayres Rock are increasing. An American nuclear-powered submarine has found its way to Australia, where its captain has placed the boat under the command of the Australian Navy. Commander Dwight Towers and his Australian liaison officer are sent to the coast of North America to discover whether a stray radio signal originating from near Seattle is a sign of life.
©2009 The Trustees of the Estate of the late Nevil Shute Norway (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Town Like Alice
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Robin Bailey
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,374
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,630
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,640
Jean Paget is just twenty years old and working in Malaya when the Japanese invasion begins. When she is captured she joins a group of other European women and children whom the Japanese force to march for miles through the jungle. While on the march, the group run into some Australian prisoners, one of whom, Joe Harman, helps them steal some food, and is horrifically punished by the Japanese as a result.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An all time favorite I have read many times...
- By Peyton on 03-16-10
By: Nevil Shute
-
Alas, Babylon
- By: Pat Frank
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,494
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11,603
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11,583
This true modern masterpiece is built around the two fateful words that make up the title and herald the end - “Alas, Babylon.” When a nuclear holocaust ravages the United States, a thousand years of civilization are stripped away overnight, and tens of millions of people are killed instantly. But for one small town in Florida, miraculously spared, the struggle is just beginning, as men and women of all backgrounds join together to confront the darkness....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One apocalypse--hold the zombies
- By Lesley on 01-07-14
By: Pat Frank
-
Trustee from the Toolroom
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,139
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,915
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,911
Keith Stewart, a retiring and ingenious engineer, could not have been happier in his little house in the shabby London suburb of Ealing. There he invented the mini-motor, the six-volt generator, and the tiny Congreve clock. Then a chain of events sweeps him into deep waters and leads him to his happiest discovery yet.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hologram of a Decent Man
- By Jim In Texas! on 05-28-12
By: Nevil Shute
-
The Breaking Wave
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Allan had been away from Coombaragana, flying in the Royal Air Force. Now he has returned, wounded and disillusioned, to his ancestral home. Days before, Jessie Proctor had taken her own life. Why? Allan looked at the young face in the photograph in Jessie’s passport and froze. He knew who she really was.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Touching Tale
- By Jim In Texas! on 05-05-12
By: Nevil Shute
-
Beyond the Black Stump
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 141
When Stanton Laird, American geologist, goes prospecting for the Topeka Exploration Company in the savage Australian outback, he finds something a good deal more precious than oil.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Davina Porter is a wonderful narrator
- By Brian PDX on 07-26-14
By: Nevil Shute
-
Pastoral
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 177
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
She was from the hills of Yorkshire, country born and bred. He was a city boy. By the stream where they fished they were two young people falling in love. Overhead, the bombers roared, threatening to blow their idyllic world, so young, so fresh, to smithereens.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical romance set in WWII England.
- By Stan on 06-19-12
By: Nevil Shute
-
A Town Like Alice
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Robin Bailey
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,374
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,630
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,640
Jean Paget is just twenty years old and working in Malaya when the Japanese invasion begins. When she is captured she joins a group of other European women and children whom the Japanese force to march for miles through the jungle. While on the march, the group run into some Australian prisoners, one of whom, Joe Harman, helps them steal some food, and is horrifically punished by the Japanese as a result.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An all time favorite I have read many times...
- By Peyton on 03-16-10
By: Nevil Shute
-
Alas, Babylon
- By: Pat Frank
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,494
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11,603
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11,583
This true modern masterpiece is built around the two fateful words that make up the title and herald the end - “Alas, Babylon.” When a nuclear holocaust ravages the United States, a thousand years of civilization are stripped away overnight, and tens of millions of people are killed instantly. But for one small town in Florida, miraculously spared, the struggle is just beginning, as men and women of all backgrounds join together to confront the darkness....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One apocalypse--hold the zombies
- By Lesley on 01-07-14
By: Pat Frank
-
Trustee from the Toolroom
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,139
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,915
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,911
Keith Stewart, a retiring and ingenious engineer, could not have been happier in his little house in the shabby London suburb of Ealing. There he invented the mini-motor, the six-volt generator, and the tiny Congreve clock. Then a chain of events sweeps him into deep waters and leads him to his happiest discovery yet.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hologram of a Decent Man
- By Jim In Texas! on 05-28-12
By: Nevil Shute
-
The Breaking Wave
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Allan had been away from Coombaragana, flying in the Royal Air Force. Now he has returned, wounded and disillusioned, to his ancestral home. Days before, Jessie Proctor had taken her own life. Why? Allan looked at the young face in the photograph in Jessie’s passport and froze. He knew who she really was.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Touching Tale
- By Jim In Texas! on 05-05-12
By: Nevil Shute
-
Beyond the Black Stump
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 141
When Stanton Laird, American geologist, goes prospecting for the Topeka Exploration Company in the savage Australian outback, he finds something a good deal more precious than oil.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Davina Porter is a wonderful narrator
- By Brian PDX on 07-26-14
By: Nevil Shute
-
Pastoral
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 177
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
She was from the hills of Yorkshire, country born and bred. He was a city boy. By the stream where they fished they were two young people falling in love. Overhead, the bombers roared, threatening to blow their idyllic world, so young, so fresh, to smithereens.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical romance set in WWII England.
- By Stan on 06-19-12
By: Nevil Shute
-
Lucifer's Hammer
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 24 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 7,575
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,775
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5,787
The gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization. But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival--a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good story from front to back
- By DJM on 07-30-09
By: Larry Niven, and others
-
Earth Abides
- By: George R. Stewart
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 451
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 409
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 410
The cabin had always been a special retreat for Isherwood Williams, a haven from the demands of society. But one day while hiking, Ish was bitten by a rattlesnake, and the solitude he had so desired took on dire new significance. Ish headed home when he finally felt himself again—and noticed the strangeness almost immediately. No cars passed him on the road; the gas station not far from his cabin looked abandoned; and he was shocked to see the body of a man on the roadside near a small town. Without a radio or phone, Ish had no idea of humanity’s abrupt demise.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
The accolades are undeserved
- By 2duckornot2duck on 04-26-21
-
The Road
- By: Cormac McCarthy
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23,022
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17,975
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17,987
America is a barren landscape of smoldering ashes, devoid of life except for those people still struggling to scratch out some type of existence. Amidst this destruction, a father and his young son walk, always toward the coast, but with no real understanding that circumstances will improve once they arrive. Still, they persevere, and their relationship comes to represent goodness in a world of utter devastation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
ARE YOU CARRYING THE FIRE?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-14-16
By: Cormac McCarthy
-
One Second After
- By: William R. Forstchen
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29,843
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25,716
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25,718
Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based upon a real weapon - the Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) - which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A Civil War Re-enactor Saves a Community?
- By Cidney on 07-05-12
-
The Dog Stars
- By: Peter Heller
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,383
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,894
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,884
Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists beyond the airport.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely Stellar!
- By Mel on 08-10-12
By: Peter Heller
-
A Canticle for Leibowitz
- By: Walter M. Miller Jr.
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,796
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5,131
Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of 20th-century literature—a chilling and still-provocative look at a postapocalyptic future.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Introibo Ad Altare
- By richard on 03-20-13
-
Fail-Safe
- By: Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler
- Narrated by: Kevin Kraft
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 162
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 161
Something has gone wrong. A group of American bombers armed with nuclear weapons is streaking past the fail-safe point, beyond recall, and no one knows why. Their destination - Moscow. In a bomb shelter beneath the White House, the calm young president turns to his Russian translator and says, "I think we are ready to talk to Premier Kruschchev." Not far away, in the War Room at the Pentagon, the secretary of defense and his aides watch with growing anxiety...
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This 1962 novel is one of the best suspense...
- By Wayne on 03-28-17
By: Eugene Burdick, and others
-
Hornet Flight
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,095
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,145
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,143
It's June 1941, and the low point of the war. England throws wave after wave of RAF bombers across the Channel, but somehow the Luftwaffe is able to shoot them down at will. The skies, indeed, the war itself seem to belong to Hitler.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Outstanding Spy Novel
- By C. McCoy on 03-13-05
By: Ken Follett
-
Coming Home
- By: Rosamunde Pilcher
- Narrated by: Helen Johns
- Length: 40 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,334
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,124
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,110
Set against the backdrop of an elegant Cornwall mansion before World War II and a vast continent-spanning canvas during the turbulent war years, this captivating story tells of an extraordinary young woman's coming of age, coming to grips with love and sadness, and in every sense of the term, coming home.... In 1935, Judith Dunbar is left behind at a British boarding school when her mother and baby sister go off to join her father in Singapore.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Marvelous story line, Excellent narration
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-18
-
Into the Storm
- Destroyermen, Book 1
- By: Taylor Anderson
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,353
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,360
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,358
Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker---a Great-War vintage "four-stacker" destroyer---finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits. In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover---and emerges somewhere else.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It just never grabbed me.
- By Lore on 05-01-12
By: Taylor Anderson
-
Partials
- Partials, Book 1
- By: Dan Wells
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,090
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,800
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,805
The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials - engineered organic beings identical to humans - has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Action! Romance! Science!
- By Tabitha on 07-21-12
By: Dan Wells
-
Plague of the Dead
- The Morningstar Strain, Book 1
- By: Z. A. Recht
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,057
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 2,431
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,433
The end begins with a viral outbreak unlike anything mankind has ever encountered before. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, a dramatic increase in violent behavior, and a one-hundred percent mortality rate. Death. But it doesn't end there. The victims return from death to walk the earth. When a massive military operation fails to contain the plague of the living dead it escalates into a global pandemic.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
YOU MIGHT WANT TO PUT DOWN THAT CUP OF COFFEE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-08-16
By: Z. A. Recht
What listeners say about On the Beach
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer
- 12-31-10
Depression Hurts
This book could send you right over the edge... WOW. What a hopeless story. Umm, I just couldn't understand why these people, given like a whole year to prepare, couldn't use all of the resources they had to build an underground shelter to house as many people as possible. They had plenty of time to come up with a decent system of underground living area that could have given them a fighting chance to survive as many years as possible trying to wait out the nuclear winter.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- apocalyptic fiction
- 09-06-12
Nuclear War Classic
On the Beach, written by Nevil Shute and published in 1957 is a somber post apocalyptic novel that follows survivors in Australia after a nuclear war and subsequent radioactive fallout has contaminated most of the world. Much of the story revolves around an American nuclear submarine, the last of the US Navy, docked in Melbourne and under the command of Captain Dwight Towers. The post apocalyptic world has been contaminated with high levels of radiation stemming from the use of cobalt bombs by the Russian and Chinese military forces. This story is character driven, focusing on the struggle for people to maintain some sense of purpose in spite of their doom. It was slightly disappointing that most of the people in On the Beach basically give up and passively accept death. Why didn’t they attempt to create a shelter in which some people could survive until the levels of radioactivity decreased? (scientists mention several times that the radioactive cobalt has a 5-10 year half-life) Released at the height of the Cold War, On the Beach has elements of a warning or cautionary tale and is clearly written with some political intentions in mind. While On the Beach is a well written novel that explores some important ideas worthy of consideration, it is slow-paced and uneventful at times. If you are looking for excitement and entertainment you may want to look at some other reading options.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kurtiss Jacobs
- 08-26-19
Last humans on Earrh
If you’re into this genre, this is one of the must-reads. Not as classic as Earth Abides, but worth your time.
Performance: Narrator was too slow. I set for 1.25 speed, which helped. It’s Australian accent and language, so I couldn’t go 1.5x.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Darryl
- 08-15-16
Classic apocalyptic
This is simply a classic and well written. Not as brutal as The Road, but still powerful as the people can do nothing but wait and find ways to fill their remaining days with distraction. I've read this and now listened to it a couple more times and it has aged well. One of the early apocalyptic novels, and one of the best. No zombies, no ridiculous shoot em up stuff, just realism.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Jason
- 12-28-10
What could have been.
An almost true story about the aftermath of the very brief WWIII (due to the inclusion of nukes). Considering how one man prevented this from happening during the Cuban Missile Crisis, this story is quite realistic. It lets you look into the psychology of people who have the luxury/curse of knowing the date of their death because of the upcoming nuclear fallout. It gives them fear while also letting them truly live. It's an interesting concept to observe as you wonder just how you would live if you knew when you were going to die. Nevil Shute pulls no punches as this is a very sad story overall.
Be warned however that unless you find the subject matter fascinating you may not greatly enjoy this. It can be a little depressing and there isn't much excitement in the story. It is more about observing how ordinary people in Australia live knowing they will soon be dead because of a war they did not want.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- D. Tucker
- 04-03-14
Facing the end with poise
If you could sum up On the Beach in three words, what would they be?
Satisfying. Tragic. Resilient.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Peter Holmes. He seems to entertain no illusions about the future of the world, but doesn't seem to be despondent like Moira, or optimistic to the point of delusion like Dwight or Mary. His argument with his wife over the pills, the fruition of his frustration over her choice to be blissfully ignorant is compelling. He is a realist, but not without a sense of hope.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Nothing. All inflections and accents done sublimely.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When the source of the radio transmissions was found, it was a particularly bleak moment, but it was the feeling I needed at that time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael M. Livermore
- 07-25-24
Loves the narrator.
Obviously it is a bleak topic, but it was well written and I enjoyed it. The narrator, when speaking for Towers, sounded much like Gregory Peck who of course played him in the movie. I would listen to it again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- bionichands
- 03-21-12
well read classic novel of post nuclear apocalypse
I've had this book on my list to read for quite a long time. I was glad to finally find it on audible, and it didn't disappoint. If you're a fan of Hemingway's war novels, I'd say this would be a safe bet for you. Its a little sad and depressing given the bleak subject matter, but still a good and ultimately rewarding read.
My favorite part of the audiobook was the narrator who does a fantastic job. In particular, I loved his voice for Capt. Towers. Sounds like a weird mix of Christopher Walken and Dean Martin! I quite enjoyed it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Soccerman71
- 07-22-15
Dying With Dignity
Where does On the Beach rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
On the Beach is definitely the best apocalyptic audiobook I've listened to. It's a classic for a reason and Nevil Shute handled his subject matter masterfully.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
How to answer this one. Not really 'edge of my seat' as I knew going into it what the outcome would be. I would say that the plot definitely kept me 100% engaged with the characters the entire time.
What does James Smillie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
James Smillie did a brilliant job of bringing this classic to audio form. For me, one of the biggest compliments I can pay a reader is that they don't get in the way of the source material...and he definitely passes this test. I also believe that he does a great job of really bringing life into the different characters.
If you could rename On the Beach, what would you call it?
Just like my title, "Dying with Dignity." That said, I wouldn't want to rename the novel. On the Beach is a naval phrase for "out of commission", and I believe that covers things perfectly.
Any additional comments?
I went into this expecting all doom and gloom and, don't get me wrong, that is definitely always there. However, this isn't some sort of nihilistic view of the end of the world.
I grew to love the characters and the dignity with which they faced their certain outcome. Shute paints a picture of the end of the world really bringing out the best of the human race instead of a more Cormac McCarthy viewpoint (with all respect to both authors).
The thought of unavoidable death in the means of a radioactive cloud that is ruthlessly making its way south is horrific, but the characters Shute has created are heroes in my mind in the manner of how they individually deal with this fact.
This novel isn't for everyone and I would definitely stay away from this (as well as most apocalyptic novels) if you tend towards depression due to the last 3 chapters alone. However, if the subject matter interests you and if you are a fan of novels such as "Alas, Babylon", then I couldn't recommend this novel more. Again, it's a classic for a reason.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Matt Lagrotte
- 04-18-12
Pretty Good Story
If you could sum up On the Beach in three words, what would they be?
Sad, Real, Brandy
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Maybe more details during the sub missions.
Which scene was your favorite?
I didn't really have a favorite.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No. it just made me very sad.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful