A couple of nights ago I finished my latest Nevil Shute novel, an unusually formatted story that allowed for a full expression of Shute's remarkable talents. The Breaking Wave (published in England as Requiem for a Wren) is a love story, a war story, a family saga, a mystery, and an exploration of life in distant outlands of Australia -- all in one. Furthermore, it is crafted as carefully as any of Shute's other novels I've read, with the same attent
ion to character and emotional depth.Claire and I really like this guy.
Among the settings of The Breaking Wave is the WWII Allied invasion of France, an event in which Nevil Shute himself participated. He described his experience while working for the British Ministry of Information in an essay, Journey Into Normandy. You can read that piece right here.
Also, you can check out here the first Book Den entry which dealt with Shute (it was early in the blog's life), and you can pursue your Shute explorations by visiting the Nevil Shute Foundation's pages.
