Amazon Editorial Review

Nevil Shute’s most powerful novel—a bestseller for decades after its 1957 publication—is an unforgettable vision of a post-apocalyptic world.

After a nuclear World War III has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path. Among them is an American submarine captain struggling to resist the knowledge that his wife and children in the United States must be dead. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from somewhere near Seattle, and Captain Towers must lead his submarine crew on a bleak tour of the ruined world in a desperate search for signs of life. Both terrifying and intensely moving, On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare.

My father and I both listened and enjoyed it immensely

mailed to Azuki who took this out of the CD VBB

Book has arrived, thank you.

I was reading 1Q84, and this book was mentioned in there a couple of times, so I figure it's perfect time to listen to this.

A very moving book. It's sad reading how the people try to live normally, with their deaths like a dangling sword above their heads. There are many scenes that touch me deeply: the man trying to teach his wife how to kill their baby should the need come, the mother writing a note for her son to leave her alone, the man abandonning ship to swim to his hometown despite knowing that nobody is alive there... the humanity of it all.

It also keeps me wondering how I would react in this situation. I definitely will just quit my job and try to enjoy myself: spend time with my husband, go paddling, read some books (will be hard to pick which one!) But then the society needs to go on, so who's willing to stay and do the mundane work? Will the mailman delivers what could be the last words of love? Will restaurants still serve food to people who want one good last meal? Will food still be delivered to supermarkets to feed people while we are alive? Will supermarkets charge money or they will just let people take anything off the shelves? Will people run the bank? But what can they spend the money on? Will anybody care about the stock market?

Putting it into the box for the next reader.

Pulled this out of my audiobookbox when it came back to me....

will listen to soon....

Okay this one spooked me too much towards the end and I couldn't make it through the last disc.....

it was pretty good in general though....

releaseing soon......

Am putting into booklady331's box.... Hope this finds a good home!

Took from booklady331's book box.

I never saw the movie based on this book, but I heard about it. I thought, though, that the story was about the last two people on earth after a nuclear war. Instead, it's about a city - Melbourne - and surrounding areas, about several people there – after a nuclear war that has destroyed most of the rest of life on earth.

Peter and Mary live in the country outside Melbourne, with their little baby girl Jennifer (I believe I got the names right). Moira is their friend, a young woman alone. Captain Towers is an American submarine captain who has attached his ship to the Australian military, because there is no American military any more. He has - had - a wife and children back home in Mystic, Connecticut.

Peter is with the Australian military, and is assigned to join Captain Towers as a liaison when the sub is taken out for some exploration. It is an assignment Peter welcomes, as he wants to be doing something. Before the sub takes off on its first test trip, Peter invites Towers to his house for dinner. He also invites Moira. The two hit it off. Moira is at loose ends, generally. She wants to have a good time, lives at her family home on a large estate so has no worries about supporting herself, and she prefers not to think about the end of the world.

We see how the different people react to the knowledge that the end is coming. Some look for a way out, clinging to a renegade scientist’s prediction that the radiation will slow down and not reach Melbourne after all. Some want to keep working, doing all they can to maintain a normal life. Some seem to not know how much has changed – Towers refers to his family as if it is still alive. Some can’t really comprehend it, while others comprehend it too well.

Moira’s father worries about his cattle, while another character worries about her dog. Non-human animals resist radiation longer than humans, so they will be left to fend for themselves.

More than anything else, I felt this story made me think about what I would do. I think I would find it a comfort in a sense that we were all going out together. But I’m not sure of that, of course. I would hate to see my children and grandchildren especially having to die, possibly even outliving them by a day or so. I suspect I’d be one clinging to the hope that it wouldn’t reach me. But how would I go about living, day to day? Would people behave as rationally as they do here? Certainly there are acts of insanity but not to the degree that I can imagine. I think it’s a good exercise, in a way, to think about this.

I wasn’t particularly fond of any of the characters. They weren’t drawn in a way that made me feel more for them. If anything, I felt more for the animals.

Sent to another bookcrosser as a part of an audio virtual book box exchange.

Everything up in smoke,

that drifts with the same intent
of a lit cigarette.

This book has been chosen for Round 22 (?) of iwillrejoice's Audiobook VBB! :D

I wasn't sure what to expect from this and originally I wasn't sure why I was all that interested. It's not really the type that appeals to me.

But I found myself being drawn in and then hooked into it. Not that I like apocalyptic story lines at all, but the characters and the reader were very good and I felt compelled to know what would happen next. Sad stuff, when you really consider it but really well done.

Got it! Thanks, HI77!