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lean_bean's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fluschita's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
marleyrollins's review
5.0
A beautiful and heartbreaking meditation on hope, grief, and the very human desire to keep carrying on in the face of your own mortality.
Considering this is a book about the end of the world, you won’t find any looting, cannibalism, or lawlessness here. Society hasn’t collapsed- in fact it seems more polite and respectful than ever. People still follow the rules. They’re planting flowers in their gardens they’ll never see bloom. They’re preparing their farm for a new season they won’t be around for. It’s so beautiful, and very very sad. It reminds me of the proverb: ‘A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.’ This for me feels like the most realistic portrayal of the end of the world- not devolving into chaos, but instead doing everything they can to leave a beautiful home for the next living things, whatever or whoever they are.
All through the novel, I was also struck by the…Britishness of it all, despite being set in Australia. Characters rarely cry or mope- instead they display the classic stiff upper lip and muddle through, making the best of an awful situation. Although this feels very apt for a novel written not long after the Second World War and during the midst of the Red Scare, it also still feels timely now in the middle of a global pandemic and a war between Russia and the Ukraine. The world is a dark and scary place right now, but everyday we read stories of incredible people who still find it within them to do amazing things.
Books rarely get me in the feels, but seeing the main characters face their own death so happily and calmly really got me, and reminded me how brave and strong we can be. It really made me think- what would I do if I knew I didn’t have long left to live? How would I choose to live my life? What would I change? And I realised I probably wouldn’t be much different to the main characters- spending my last moments hopefully at home, surrounded by family, drinking a lovely cup of tea.
Considering this is a book about the end of the world, you won’t find any looting, cannibalism, or lawlessness here. Society hasn’t collapsed- in fact it seems more polite and respectful than ever. People still follow the rules. They’re planting flowers in their gardens they’ll never see bloom. They’re preparing their farm for a new season they won’t be around for. It’s so beautiful, and very very sad. It reminds me of the proverb: ‘A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.’ This for me feels like the most realistic portrayal of the end of the world- not devolving into chaos, but instead doing everything they can to leave a beautiful home for the next living things, whatever or whoever they are.
All through the novel, I was also struck by the…Britishness of it all, despite being set in Australia. Characters rarely cry or mope- instead they display the classic stiff upper lip and muddle through, making the best of an awful situation. Although this feels very apt for a novel written not long after the Second World War and during the midst of the Red Scare, it also still feels timely now in the middle of a global pandemic and a war between Russia and the Ukraine. The world is a dark and scary place right now, but everyday we read stories of incredible people who still find it within them to do amazing things.
Books rarely get me in the feels, but seeing the main characters face their own death so happily and calmly really got me, and reminded me how brave and strong we can be. It really made me think- what would I do if I knew I didn’t have long left to live? How would I choose to live my life? What would I change? And I realised I probably wouldn’t be much different to the main characters- spending my last moments hopefully at home, surrounded by family, drinking a lovely cup of tea.
jennyhejde's review against another edition
5.0
Åh gud. Är det här undergångsromanen to rule them all?
gwcoffey's review against another edition
5.0
Emily Dickinson said she knows something is poetry when “I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off.” I’m not sure what that meant to her, but I think I recognize the feel of it. The books I love the most do this to me. And honestly, these are usually not books driven by character and plot. There is some authentic quality to the books I love that goes beyond the story, to the point that even some books with almost no story at all thrill me.
All this to say, On the Beach is a very straightforward plot-driven book. It is the kind of book I would generally say was good, but didn’t take the top of my head off. And yet, ever since I read this two years ago I haven’t stopped thinking about it. So I decided to listen to the audiobook on a car drive with my wife.
It is a deeply affecting book. A love story that we know from page one is doomed. I suppose it has no power taken out of context, but this passage takes the top of my head off:
“Will you tell Sharon about me?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said. “Maybe she knows already.”
She stared down at the pebbles at her feet. “What will you tell her?”
“Lots of things,” he said quietly. “I’ll tell her that you turned what might have been a bad time for me into a good time. I’ll tell her that you did that although you knew, right from the start, that there was nothing in it of you. I’ll tell her it’s because of you I’ve come back to her like I used to be, and not a drunken bum. I’ll tell her that you’ve made it easy for me to stay faithful to her, and what it’s cost you.”
I’m getting chills right now reading it again. And I suppose it is also remarkable that this book destroys the whole world, and in that white-hot place Shute has created—that place we call climax—it is not the world, but Moira that we cry for.
greg_m's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kat_r's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
pallow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
bit slow at parts, but once you get to know the characters it’s surprisingly riveting given shute’s matter-of-fact writing style. found myself crying in an odd sort of way
epl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25