Phew that was a downer!

I need a rest and am reading All Things Bright and Beautiful to give myself a boost.

Then I got plunged into Chernobyl on TV and was right back on the beach with Nevil Shute and suffering a slow death from radiation sickness. I can see why it’s the most successful TV series ever made. Although, The Night Of, and the Sopranos do take a lot of beating.

On the Beach is a nicely constructed story and it must have been a strong warning during the fifties—not that we’ll ever not be under the nuclear threat. There are enough lunatics in the world to make it entirely possible.

The whole story was of course unsatisfying which was Shute’s intention I suppose. The American commander never does allow himself to fall for the saucy Australian bad girl who drinks too much—but who could blame her. The American clings to the memory of his wife and family and is highly virtuous—and entirely believable. His family, like most of the rest of the world are dead and the radiation cloud sweeps into the southern hemisphere to complete the job of eliminating man from the earth—yes and women!

I need to see the movie again with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardener to see how faithful they were to Nevil’s book.

I cannot say it was exactly enjoyable, but I could not stop reading.