On the Beach | Criticism

This literature criticism consists of approximately 1 page of analysis & critique of On the Beach.

On the Beach | Criticism

This literature criticism consists of approximately 1 page of analysis & critique of On the Beach.
This section contains 224 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)
Buy the Critical Essay by John T. Winterich

[The main premise of "On the Beach"] was made to order for Nevil Shute, who never tells the same story twice and who tells any story surpassingly well. The Shute formula is simple: Given such and such circumstances, what would people beset by those circumstances be most likely to do? That should be every novelist's formula, but a less assured practitioner frequently bends it to suit his own convenience. Not Nevil Shute. He holds to his design all the way, with relentless logic and a glowing sense of story supported by a mass of convincing detail (gas pumps as hitching posts, for instance) that establishes superb verisimilitude.

This quality dominates "On the Beach" even more than is usual in a Nevil Shute novel. For this could be the blueprint for all of us. His handful of Australians plan for the future (next year's farm crop, even next year's...

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This section contains 224 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)
Buy the Critical Essay by John T. Winterich
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Critical Essay by John T. Winterich from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.