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On the Beach

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On the Beach

By: Nevil Shute
Narrated by: James Smillie
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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. Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Scary Tear-jerking Submarine War

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Most relevant  
The book was published in 1957 when there was a very real threat of nuclear war: this explains in large part why it seems so innocent and world-weary. If you accept this and do not try to put it into a modern context, then the blandness of the story is understandable and (more to the point) it becomes well worth listening to because Shute is, above all, a masterly storyteller.

The characters are well-drawn if a little caricatured in their stiff upper lip simplicity. Nonetheless, it is impossible not to feel for them and to feel a sense of real sadness as the inevitability of the ending approaches.

It is well and sensitively read and, even if this sort of book is not to everybody's taste, it is well worth listening to.

Can we have more Shute, please?

A book of its time

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Took me a little while to get into but once I did it was very good.

Good and different

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The trouble with this book is that it's old. Even though we're now in the true atomic age, it's a relic from the past, and in today's society it has no hook or frame of relevance.

You'd think that the fear of nuclear war would make it more relevant, but character behaviour is so different to modern society it's practically alien.

So - that's the bad stuff. If you can remember anything prior to the Cold War, or have a historical interest in a good book this is a read you should get.

If you replace every other word in the book with "resigned" and then every word that's left with "inevitability" you get the idea. Everybody knows they're doomed, and you know it too - but the way characters accept their fate and deal with it is fascinating. The race at the end is proper gung-ho adventure in its own right, and the sub's last trip is highly charged for both the crew and reader.

People should read or listen to this book, but need to get into the late 1950's mindset before they do so.

an excellent book, marred only by its own age

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Very enjoyable watched both movies and listened to for the first time the book. Very sobering thoughts about the end of the human race and how we would react if it was us

Great movie great book

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it's clear the book was written in the late 50s before the hight of the cold war just before the Cuban missile crisis.
it paints a grim and foreboding picture of the aftermath of nuclear war.
The characters are well written and easy to empathize with if a little stereotypical of the time.
Listening to the book during the current pandemic and having wandered through the usually busy city streets (I'm a key worker) there are quite eerie similarities.
All in all very good and enjoyable

Classic post apocalyptic book from a simpler time

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I’ve read the book so many time since I was a lad and now after 45 years heard a great narrator bring the book to life. 10/10

Great but terrifying book. Think it was one reason leaders never pressed the nuclear button

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One of the most distressing novels I’ve read truly brilliant and of its time no infer it’s a classic

Terrifying

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I look forward to listening to this book again. I found it highly thought provoking and powerful. It is a must to listen to.

An incredible story and performance.

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We love this story, we have listened to a dramatized abridged version before and loved it so when we saw this we bought it straight away. It hasn't let us down, it was great to hear the whole story and the narrator did a brilliant job. We have also seen one of the films based on this book which we loved also. Both my husband and I are huge fans of this story. If you've never read or listened to a book from this author before its a great start to his work. I think for us it will always be our favorite book of his, the story is truly touching and its something you'll never forget.



Highly recommended. Great Narrator and a much enjoyed listen. I'm not sure there is much else to say, give it a try and we doubt you'll be disappointed.

Truly touching listen

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this is the most depressing book I have ever read,!!! bad timing with Covid 19.

Don't read this book at this time

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