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jwordsmith 's review for:
Round the Bend
by Nevil Shute
I think this was my second re-read of this book, having first read someone else’s copy and then picked up a copy of my own (William Morrow &. Co., 1951 “printed in the United States of America by the Haddon Craftsmen, Scranton PA”— binding is splitting a bit on the inside and I’d love to get it fixed).
I love this book. The language is antiquated and the repeated use of the term “Asiatics” makes me cringe, but it is a time capsule because of that. It doesn’t come off at as patronizing or “white saviour-“y because Tom is both practical and flawed and the few other European characters do not come off well. (In all Nevil Shute books I get the impression he knew the people he was writing about and respected them).
It’s so refreshing to read something that captures the post-war world and yet is not Eurocentric.
And then, the story and the writing…it’s utterly absorbing without being fancy. You don’t know why reading about Cobham’s Air Circus or Beryl matter, but you get swept along with it, regardless. I remember being astonished when I reached the end of the book the first time through and realized what it was really about.
And it’s just as absorbing on a third read. I really admire his ability to spin a yarn, in matter of-fact language, capture characters and places' and keep me turning the pages when I should be turning off my light!
A joy.
I love this book. The language is antiquated and the repeated use of the term “Asiatics” makes me cringe, but it is a time capsule because of that. It doesn’t come off at as patronizing or “white saviour-“y because Tom is both practical and flawed and the few other European characters do not come off well. (In all Nevil Shute books I get the impression he knew the people he was writing about and respected them).
It’s so refreshing to read something that captures the post-war world and yet is not Eurocentric.
And then, the story and the writing…it’s utterly absorbing without being fancy. You don’t know why reading about Cobham’s Air Circus or Beryl matter, but you get swept along with it, regardless. I remember being astonished when I reached the end of the book the first time through and realized what it was really about.
And it’s just as absorbing on a third read. I really admire his ability to spin a yarn, in matter of-fact language, capture characters and places' and keep me turning the pages when I should be turning off my light!
A joy.