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No title (1957)

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4,8801772,274 (3.87)388
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Science Fiction. HTML:"The most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off."
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
They are the last generation, the innocent victims of an accidental war, living out their last days, making do with what they have, hoping for a miracle. As the deadly rain moves ever closer, the world as we know it winds toward an inevitable end....… (more)
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On the Beach by Nevil Shute (1957)

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    lisanicholas: Another post-apocalyptic story, Miller's Canticle takes place centuries after nuclear war destroys the world's civilizations, and a new civilization has arisen from the ruins.
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  7. 11
    On the Beach [2000 film] by Russell Mulcahy (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: Free interpretation with lots of new material. Vast improvement on the novel. More dramatic plot, more interesting characters, more bleakness in the end. As intense, powerful and gripping as Mr Shute's mediocre original never is.
  8. 00
    Kalki by Gore Vidal (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: Another end-of-the-world story. Less plausible but more terrifying. Far better written and far more entertaining than Mr Shute's mediocre and massively boring novel.
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» See also 388 mentions

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English (166)  Danish (3)  French (2)  Esperanto (1)  Spanish (1)  Italian (1)  Hebrew (1)  All languages (175)
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Showing 1-5 of 166 (next | show all)
Superbly understated - beautifully drawn characters. I absolutely love this author! ( )
  silva_44 | Apr 12, 2024 |
Nevil Shute was an Englishman who left Britain for Australia. He was an aeronautical engineer who turned to novel writing, novels with settings in the air world. So, when he came to write an apocalyptic novel, it was quite authorative from a technical point of view. The life of an Australian community as it awaits the arrival of what will probably be totally fatal clouds of nuclear fallout is quite well done. ( )
  DinadansFriend | Jan 27, 2024 |
Good story but somewhat depressing, because it's about the end of humanity in Australia after an all-out nuclear war in the North. Just waiting for the radiation to come! A nuclear sub is based there. ( )
  kslade | Jan 3, 2024 |
Neat, but very masculine. Portrayals of women quaint shallow and annoying. Peter's wife bugs. Interesting to think about what people would do if they knew when they would go. Really no rioting? ( )
  emmby | Oct 4, 2023 |
A classic, but very depressing. ( )
  zot79 | Aug 20, 2023 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Nevil Shute—primary authorall editionscalculated
Powers, Richard M.Cover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Prebble, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Canonical title
Original title
On the Beach
Alternative titles
Original publication date
1957
People/Characters
Dwight Towers
Moira Davidson
Peter Holmes
Mary Holmes
John Osborne
Important places
Australia
Falmouth, Tasmania, Australia
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
U.S.S. Scorpion (submarine)
Tasmania, Australia
Important events
World War III
Related movies
On the Beach (1959 | IMDb)
On the Beach (2000 | IMDb)
Epigraph
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river...

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
--T.S. Eliot
Dedication
First words
Lieutenant Commander Peter Holmes of the Royal Australian Navy woke soon after dawn.
Quotations
"I couldn't bear to - to just stop doing things and do nothing. You might as well die now and get it over." ... "I'd like to do things right, up to the end."
As time passed, the radioactivity would pass also ... these streets and houses would be habitable again ... The human race was to be wiped out and the world made clean again for wiser occupants."
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
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Original language
English
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Canonical LCC
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▾Book descriptions
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Science Fiction. HTML:"The most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off."
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
They are the last generation, the innocent victims of an accidental war, living out their last days, making do with what they have, hoping for a miracle. As the deadly rain moves ever closer, the world as we know it winds toward an inevitable end....
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Book description
A very serious book, intending to give warning - how easily such total international destruction could happen, and how catastrophic the consequences. Portrays the last living humans, in Australia, awaiting their certain approaching end.
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WorldCat

Genres

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

823.912Literature › English & Old English literatures › English fiction › Modern Period › 1901-1999 › 1901-1945

LC Classification

PR6027.O54Language and Literature › English › English Literature › 1900-1960

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Average: (3.87)
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1.5 6
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