I do love a good old fashioned novel, full of straightforward but excellent storytelling and a nice mixture of action and romance. The kind of stories, in short, that Nevil Shute made a career of writing and of writing well. It had been ages since I last read anything by him but when I picked up Pastoral earlier this year I was reminded of just how entertaining his books are.
Published in 1944, Pastoral is set at an air force base in Oxfordshire during the Second World War. Though centered around the romance between Flight Lieutenant Peter Marshall and WAAF Section Officer Gervase Robertson, what the book does particularly well is give a sense of how bomber crews and those supporting them at command experienced the war.
After only a few encounters, Peter is certain that he wants to marry Gervase. She is lovely, good at her work, and, most importantly, knows about fishing. I think that is an excellent recommendation for any man or woman. But, rather than biding his time until he knows Gervase feels the same way about him, Peter impulsively proposes. Not surprisingly, Gervase refuses him. She is only nineteen and, though Peter is not much older, doesn’t feel the same sense of certainty or urgency that he does.
Peter, who has been flying bombers for 15 months and has been on 51 raids, has seen too many of his friends shot down or not return home after raids. He, with his 15 months of experience, is considered one of the old timers and certainly one of the very lucky few. But it isn’t the fear of being shot down that throws him off his game: it is the rejection he receives from Gervase. As the Wing Commander says, “The great adventure on this station isn’t bombing Germany…They don’t think anything of that. Falling in love is the big business here.” The usually calm and steady Peter becomes brusque with his crew and careless with his work. When grounded, this is not a major problem. In the air, it has disastrous results.
I adored the tense scenes both in Peter’s bomber and in the operations room back in Oxfordshire but, most of all, I loved the scenes with the senior officers gossiping about and despairing over their underlings’ behaviour:
The wing commander sat up suddenly. “If she’s going to marry him, I wish to hell she’d get on with it,” he said irritably. “I’m fed up with her. If young women would just stop and think before they shoot the boyfriend down, we’d have a lot more pilots.”
The old squadron leader nodded. “Girls have to be very wise these days,” he said.
“So do commanding officers,” said Dobbie. “I’m going to get a job as Aunt Ethel in Betty’s Weekly when the war’s over.”
You know things won’t end horrifically after reading exchanges like that. Of course they don’t and it is all quite excellent.
The Captive Reader 
Enjoyed review – the dialogue above just sounds so “British!” Must admit am bit of a Nevil Shute-phobe! Residue of school and Eng Lit where Town Like Alice was a set text – have avoided his books ever since! Maybe time to reconsider!!!!
Oh no! I still think A Town Like Alice is his very best work so if you didn’t like that, he might not be for you. Still, it’s worth trying!
Adding it to my tbr list 🙂
Great!
I love Nevil Shute’s books – except for Requiem for a Wren, for some reason. I am always a little uncomfortable with this one, because I feel like too much pressure is put on Gervase, but I still enjoy it. I love the ENSA concert, and the quiet little man that no one realized was the comedian gathering local material until it was too late.
I’ve never managed to finishing Requiem for a Wren but I am determined to do so one day!
This sounds good. I have this somewhere, though I haven’t read it yet. Closer to the top of the queue is “Pied Piper”, which I’m hoping to get to fairly soon. I keep bumping it for other stuff, but this might be thge nudge I need to delve into Shute again.
I was rather afraid of him for years, after reading “On the Beach” at an tender age. That one still gives me a serious shudder; it left a very deep impression. I’ve read other of his novels since then, and realized that they’re not all quite so emotionally brutal, thank goodness!
Pied Piper is right at the top of my list, too.
I cried my way through most of On the Beach. As I was reading it during my commute to and from my summer job during high school, this generally earned me lots of strange looks on the bus.
You’ve captivated me, Claire (as only a captive reader can). On my list this one goes.
Wonderful, Penny!
Great recommendation and a writer I have never read. I will now add it to my list.
I think you might really like Shute, Sunday. I hope you do!
Ooo, 1944 is a “hole” I need to fill on the COB list – will have to write this one down. Thanks for the recommendation!
You’re very welcome, Susan!
I always thought Gervase was a boy’s name. For a moment, I was startled at Shute’s modern thinking before realizing my mistake :D. I usually enjoy Shute, so I must pick up this one sometime.
It’s not a good girl’s name, is it? Not sure what Shute was thinking there…
Adding to my library list! This is the first I have heard of this author. I love cozy vintage novel.
Shute is wonderful! Vintage has been reprinting his books for the last few years and I can only hope that helps bring him back into fashion.
This comes well recommended then! I’ve just pulled my copy from the shelf…it’s a Canadian first edition that was bought for a library. The last due date stamp is May 8, 1947. If you haven’t read Pied Piper, Claire, I think you would really enjoy it!
Pied Piper is next on my list, Darlene. I can’t wait to read it!
I always love it when another blogger writes about Nevil Shute. I think I only have about three of his novels left to read. I think my favorite is In the Wet, or maybe Ordeal (What Happened to the Corbetts). You will love Pied Piper.