It's been quite hot, the last couple of days. All of a sudden, this afternoon, the sky has clouded over. There's the sound of distant thunder. I'm transported to years back and to the times when one curled up cosily with a book.
At some point in those years, I had a great big goody-two shoes reading phase when I found and devoured as many Nevil Shute novels as I could find.
Most of them are quite enchanting stories. Gentle adventures that left you feeling somewhat uplifted. In today's world, the only time one can really cuddle up cosily would be when bedridden. In fact, Nevil Shute books are easily available as audiobooks too. The novels mostly nourish and solace the spirit.
With memories of the two 'world wars' fading, few remember writers of those times. Nevil Shute has written around the wars - novels before and some later.
Though I recall enjoying them immensely, at this point I have nothing stored that I can really offer you from memory, off hand, and, thus, for my own pleasure, I offer you a short trot through his books. You can find almost everything of his for free and you will find those linked to the titles. There are also Amazon Kindle covers which supply a preview. Sometimes, we have trailers of films made out of some of the Nevil Shute novels. All in all, this series of posts on Nevil Shute hopes to draw old and new readers to a greater appreciation of his craftsmanship. Another focus is to create a more discerning approach to reading, in general.
So what was the USP?
Next comes Marazan - "a convict rescues a downed pilot who helps him break up a drug ring."
I must have read this one. The protagonist is the same as in Stephen Morris.
There is little available about this work online. There was one telling remark which might colour the reading:
As Nevil Shute's books are based on the world wars - I shall not dignify them with any capital letters - there is bound to be a lot of black and white.
Be that as it may, sifting through reviews on Goodreads, I'm sure I would enjoy reading Marazan again.
In a previous post, we saw how moral concerns disturbed a reader. That was a stand with which many would empathise. In the case of authors such as Nevil Shute, it is not such an easy matter.
A younger self loved his novels, without reservations. More than fifty years later, the world is a somewhat different place. Given all that has been seen and learned in that time, one questions all kinds of heroes and villains. I hesitate to say more here for it is not my place to break dreams and nightmares.
I choose to continue to endorse Nevil Shute as a novelist simply because I do not remember his 'bad guys'. What remains is a quiet strength and a zen attention to detail.
In future posts, I hope to take you through invitations to most of his novels.
At some point in those years, I had a great big goody-two shoes reading phase when I found and devoured as many Nevil Shute novels as I could find.
Most of them are quite enchanting stories. Gentle adventures that left you feeling somewhat uplifted. In today's world, the only time one can really cuddle up cosily would be when bedridden. In fact, Nevil Shute books are easily available as audiobooks too. The novels mostly nourish and solace the spirit.
With memories of the two 'world wars' fading, few remember writers of those times. Nevil Shute has written around the wars - novels before and some later.
Though I recall enjoying them immensely, at this point I have nothing stored that I can really offer you from memory, off hand, and, thus, for my own pleasure, I offer you a short trot through his books. You can find almost everything of his for free and you will find those linked to the titles. There are also Amazon Kindle covers which supply a preview. Sometimes, we have trailers of films made out of some of the Nevil Shute novels. All in all, this series of posts on Nevil Shute hopes to draw old and new readers to a greater appreciation of his craftsmanship. Another focus is to create a more discerning approach to reading, in general.
So what was the USP?
Matter-of-fact actually, with a very light touch when it comes to human relations. In this he exemplifies stereotypical British reserve. There's a reticence in all his works, a holding back of strong feeling in favour of reasonableness.The post goes on to examine why Shute might no longer be in vogue:
Everyone in a Shute novel speaks sense, usually in complete sentences, with good grammar and moderate tones, no matter how intense the situation—only occasionally with a smattering of dialect for colloquial colour. And they are all so pragmatic. As a writer Shute is drawn to the complications of personal entanglements but saves himself from being consumed in their emotions by diverting his attention to the mechanics of those relationships or to any technical details that may be available in the story. One is often left wondering after a Shute novel what it must have felt like to be the characters in those situations—we know what happened and probably why it happened but we've never really experienced it. This may be what gives Shute's works their dated quality in an age when writing tends to be heatedly confessional.
a pair of stories printed posthumously as Stephen Morris.
These were found in manuscript form in Shute's papers after his death; they were the first complete stories he wrote.
They are a great picture of England as it was a century ago with much of the content relating to aeroplanes and sailing; two subjects which Shute knew very well.
Set right after WWI in England with the financial slump after the war. I enjoyed just the right touch of mathematics in the book about the beginnings of aeroplane design and flying, as well as some excellent human interest (both friendships and romance) and some lovely descriptions of the countryside and the coast. The second part of the book 'Pilotage' dealt with sailing and boats as well as flying, with most of the same characters as in the first half, and again a proper and interesting proportion of mathematics, but not too much. The ending was tense and very well executed.
Next comes Marazan - "a convict rescues a downed pilot who helps him break up a drug ring."
I must have read this one. The protagonist is the same as in Stephen Morris.
In his autobiography Slide Rule, Shute recalls writing the book twice over and rewriting large portions a third time. He wrote as a relaxation from his regular work of designing air ships.His first two unpublished novels (Stephen Morris and Pilotage) were typed on an old Blick portable typewriter: he said it may not be quite a coincidence that my first published novel Marazan was the first that I wrote on a brand new typewriter bought out of my earnings as an engineer.
calming and deeply engaging - Goodreads
unfortunate remarks that could be taken as reflecting racism
As Nevil Shute's books are based on the world wars - I shall not dignify them with any capital letters - there is bound to be a lot of black and white.
Be that as it may, sifting through reviews on Goodreads, I'm sure I would enjoy reading Marazan again.
In a previous post, we saw how moral concerns disturbed a reader. That was a stand with which many would empathise. In the case of authors such as Nevil Shute, it is not such an easy matter.
A younger self loved his novels, without reservations. More than fifty years later, the world is a somewhat different place. Given all that has been seen and learned in that time, one questions all kinds of heroes and villains. I hesitate to say more here for it is not my place to break dreams and nightmares.
I choose to continue to endorse Nevil Shute as a novelist simply because I do not remember his 'bad guys'. What remains is a quiet strength and a zen attention to detail.
In future posts, I hope to take you through invitations to most of his novels.
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