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THE CHEQUER BOARD PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Some very light pencil marks on inner rear endpaper. Otherwise sound and unmarked. Seller Inventory More information about this seller Contact this seller 1. Published by Morrow About this Item: Morrow, Condition: Very Good. More information about this seller Contact this seller 2. Library Re- Bind. Blue cloth binding with gold print in green title box on spine. Swirl design insie a top and bottom blue strip with gold trim on front and rear covers. All the usual library marks, etc. Otherwise tight, sound and unmarked. More information about this seller Contact this seller 3. Condition: Very Good -. First Edition. More information about this seller Contact this seller 4. Very Good with no dust jacket; Edgewear. Discoloration at edges on front cover. Previous owner's name. Previous owner's address label inside. Spine weak and cracked. More information about this seller Contact this seller 5. More information about this seller Contact this seller 6. More information about this seller Contact this seller 7. More information about this seller Contact this seller 8. Soft cover. Dell Books No. D, first printing with terrific cover art, written by the author of numerous bestsellers, including On The Beach; "three tormented human hearts taught him the mening of love! More information about this seller Contact this seller 9. Published by NY Morrow About this Item: NY Morrow Condition: Used. Used books show some shelf wear. Used books may be sold with or without dust jacket. Please contact seller for specific condition queries. More information about this seller Contact this seller The book is in very good condition with no marks, tears or writing. The book is a first edition. The book is tight and clean with pages. From: Jay W. Dust Jacket Condition: Good-. Despite his shady past, it is indicated that Turner, through his attempts to help his fellow patients and his acceptance of his death, has moved closer to Nirvana. He also noted during the war the "popularity of American Negroes in England and the superior quality of the Burmese people", both of which are central to the book's story. Shute was concerned that sales of the book in the United States would be reduced because of the book's open-minded handling of racial issues; as it turned out, sales soared. Afterwards he wrote "Sincerity is the first attribute for making money in the business of writing novels. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The clear vision of this swift-moving, heart-warming story will give you a glimpse of what the brotherhood of man might mean. Retrieved 24 March Retrieved 25 March So far, I have focused on leaving the scene of life with dignity and on the various prejudices that drive us apart. I would like to finish my review on a more uplifting note, giving the women of the story their due for keeping the home fires burning and for their quiet, enduring strength of character. With his usual delicate touch when it comes to the most intimate exchanges between the sexes, Nevil Shute draws parallels between four womenn from different parts of the world and different social backgrounds, linking them through a common passion for American movies and for taking care of things that grow, like gardens and children. Watanabe swinging in an empty playground on a snowy night. They sat there on the lawn in the warm summer night, in the quiet grace of the moon, and the stars faint in the bright light. It was windless, still, and silent. Around them, in the dormitory suburb, the world slept. View 2 comments. Apr 27, Meghan rated it it was amazing Shelves: mybooks-to-read-before-death , favorites. This is a beautiful read with scenes in exotic locations. It tells of a man, John Turner, who has not long to live. His past is a little chequered, as are those of the other characters. Turner sets off to find these men and they each have a fascinating story to tell. Shute shows himself to be a man who cares about race relations, and well ahead of his time this was written in View all 8 comments. The more books by Nevil Shute that I read, the more I come to recognize that he is one of the best story-tellers ever. The Chequer Board , published originally in was no exception. Turner was injured during the war, while on a flight from Africa to England to be tr The more books by Nevil Shute that I read, the more I come to recognize that he is one of the best story-tellers ever. Turner was injured during the war, while on a flight from Africa to England to be tried for black marketeering. On the flight were other personnel, including a Negro American soldier on his way to be tried for attempted rape , a young English Commando on his way for court martial for murder and the English co-pilot. These four survive the attack by German fighters. After the war, Turner is now being treated for the effects caused by his injuries pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his brain. He is told that nothing can be done due to the location of the shrapnel and he has maybe a year to live. This starts Turner on a journey to find the other three men, all of whom kept him company while he recovered from his surgeries, and all of whom have moved on. There are other issues that are touched on; the treatment of African - Americans in the US military, how the English impacted those countries that they ruled over, etc, but it is the stories of each man that is so interesting and the emotional stories as well. Shute has such a knack for addressing these emotional touches, that you probably don't realize how much you have found yourself becoming involved in the sub-stories, until the end. I do find that this story, like so many others Shute stories I've read, always strike my heart and soul, lovely to read and to think about. View 1 comment. Jan 20, Patrick rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction. I have read quite a bit of Nevil Shute in the last few years, in part because the stories are very enjoyable, and in part because his characters have a romantic and very attractive quality about them. They are good people. This story more than any other makes me wish I could have met the man and understood how he became such an unusual and frankly progressive voice. Reading this book today, some might be put off by some language liberal use of the N word by white characters but it is an honest I have read quite a bit of Nevil Shute in the last few years, in part because the stories are very enjoyable, and in part because his characters have a romantic and very attractive quality about them. Reading this book today, some might be put off by some language liberal use of the N word by white characters but it is an honest portrayal of midth century language in small town UK. Others might find the story romantic to the point of sounding like a Pollyanna, until you recall that it was written in the late 's. His ideas about race and the ultimate unimportance of race when it comes to personal friendships were so far ahead of his time that I am curious to know how it was received then. According to one article , "In a letter written just before his death in , Mr. Shute admits he thought that his handling of the racial issues would ruin book sales in America". Apparently it did not, which in itself would be an interesting story. I highly recommend this book, and wish it were among the canon for Black History Month. Jan 07, Peter rated it really liked it. But it's only ever used to reveal prejudice and s racial attitudes in America. Don't be put off or you will miss a little-known gem. I'd frankly never heard of this book until I started my current trawl through the Shute canon but I am delighted to have found it. This is a set of morality tales on a Chaucerian scale. Based on 4 disparate servicemen who end up in the same ward Warning Based on 4 disparate servicemen who end up in the same ward of a Cornish hospital, Chequer Board 2 of the characters play draughts, or chequers, in an allegorical reference to the book's inter-racial themes tells their stories and that of several other minor characters during and after WW2. The action switches from isolated English villages through London suburbs to the Bay of Bengal and the jungles of Burma to point up a series of examples of why the least interesting thing about any of us is our skin colour or our tribal background. At times I felt this seemed a radical and untypical work for an author who came from a background of wealth and privilege Jun 17, Indrani Sen rated it really liked it Shelves: uk , burma. A lovely little book on how life deals with 4 down-on-luck young men who were together in a hospital. Brings your faith back on humanity and second chances. This is my first book by Nevil Shute. He has a very pleasing way of writing and the story moves forward smoothly. The characters are well drawn and they pull you in. This book is straight out of the silver linings club and I am glad I read this. Every time you find yourself down and out, you draw strength from your reserves, for you hope you will be alright even if you don't see it then. Captain Turner, now a civilian, has been diagnosed he has roughly a year to live due to an older war injury. He has come a long way since the injury in and can even accept he has enough to leave for his wife. To keep himself from being saddled down - he tries to find 3 p This book is straight out of the silver linings club and I am glad I read this. To keep himself from being saddled down - he tries to find 3 people who shared a room with him at the hospital - to whom life had shared the worse cards. He wants to know how they are and help them out in anyway possible. One of them is an RAF captain whose wife was cheating on him. Tracing him takes to Burma and this lion's share of the tale is a heart warming one of revising your biases. The story of the black soldier who had attempted suicide when he was accused of rape in the town of Trenarth. This is one of the beautiful stories of a British town accepting and siding American black soldiers against the racism they face in the army. The third patient was to be tried for murder of a civilian after a bar fight. And this story offers a brilliant legal argument. The positivity in a seemingly melancholic tale is like the warm sun during a cold winter morning. And the attitude of the characters and the basic goodness is endearing. Despite set in the war times - this is not a story of war. It seems that every book I read by this author is better than the ones before. That's probably not true since I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, including this gem. So far I have never been disappointed and plan to listen to all that are recorded as audiobooks. Perhaps, if I can ever find time to sit down and actually read a print book, I'll delve into even those that are not. I am always sorry when I finish a Nevil Shute novel even though I compulsively listen as often and as long as I can It seems that every book I read by this author is better than the ones before. I am always sorry when I finish a Nevil Shute novel even though I compulsively listen as often and as long as I can which causes me to leave these wonderful characters sooner than I would like. And yet, each tale ends as it must and at the proper time. This one did as well. What a treasured legacy this author has left, for me at least! Jun 21, Rebecca rated it it was amazing Shelves: historical-fiction. A brilliant read. Loved every bit of it. That and the blurb prompted me to BR this. I read it in paperback with a beautiful red cover which added to the pleasure. The storyline is simple. A man who is given only a few more months to live by his doctors goes in search of some comrades who had shared bad times with him. This is their story as well as his and each one had its charm. I thought that the Burmese woman had A brilliant read. My type of book. Shelves: , buddy-reads , classics. Gripping from the first page. The tale of a terminally ill retired army man, who then tries to connect back to 4 of his mates with no contact since their army time together. The bonding they shared, and their background stories of how they all fared in life is heartwarming. Strong cultural references of Rangoon now Burma The essence could be lost in modern day with superhumans on social media :. Jan 22, Michael rated it it was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and Nevil Shute has used a pleasing technique to create this novel. It begins in a brain surgeons consulting rooms in England and he is visited by an ex-Army officer. It turns out that he was one of four men who were together for a short period of time in a hospital ward in England, following the crash-landing of an aircraft which occurred during WW2. Each of the men has a story and our ex-Army officer becomes the main character as he seeks to track down the other I thoroughly enjoyed this story and Nevil Shute has used a pleasing technique to create this novel. Each of the men has a story and our ex-Army officer becomes the main character as he seeks to track down the other three and he has a very good reason to do so. One of the men now lives in Burma and our officer becomes rash enough to decide to fly there by flying-boat and see if he can locate him. Life in Burma is a completely new experience for him and it is well described. The man in Burma in his turn becomes the first person and we become involved with his life. Our ex-officer returns to the UK and we then have two further characters and their first-person stories. We also encounter the US armed forces living in a village in England as they build a new airport during the war. This exposes racial tensions, particularly amongst the Americans themselves. All links together in a very well-rounded story. This was the best of the set of stories by Nevil Shute that I read. Mar 27, Phil rated it liked it. Published four years previously, this novel in many aspects anticipates themes developed more fully in "Round the Bend": the necessity of change in traditional British class attitudes following the social upheavals of the Second World War, and the iniquities of and harm caused by racism and prejudices based on skin colour and nationality. It also explores the deepseated changes in people whose lives have been radically transformed by their personal experience of war. The principal character, Jack Published four years previously, this novel in many aspects anticipates themes developed more fully in "Round the Bend": the necessity of change in traditional British class attitudes following the social upheavals of the Second World War, and the iniquities of and harm caused by racism and prejudices based on skin colour and nationality. The principal character, Jack Turner, is, as in the later book, a man of undistinguished origins and little education, who has found himself promoted through the fortunes of war to a responsible British Army officer's rank, only to find himself on the wrong side of the law when a dishonest moneymaking scheme - the latest of several, we are given to believe - is discovered and he is disgraced and sent home from his overseas posting for trial. The plane carrying him is shot down, and he suffers a serious shrapnel injury which necessitates hospitalisation. On a guarded ward he becomes acquainted with three other men in varying types of trouble - the pilot of his plane, who has a disastrous marriage; a Marine injured in a street fight in which he killed his adversary; and a black American GI who has attempted suicide after being accused of the attempted rape of a white woman. The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute

A Town Like Alice. Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, is captured by the invading Japanese and forced on a brutal seven-month death march with dozens of other women and children. A few years after the war, Jean is back in England, the nightmare behind her. However, an unexpected inheritance inspires her to return to Malaya to give something back to the villagers who saved her life. But it turns out that they have a gift for her as well: the news that the young Australian soldier, Joe Harmon, who had risked his life to help the women, had miraculously survived. Reviews Review Policy. Published on. Flowing text. Best for. Each of the men has a story and our ex-Army officer becomes the main character as he seeks to track down the other three and he has a very good reason to do so. One of the men now lives in Burma and our officer becomes rash enough to decide to fly there by flying-boat and see if he can locate him. Life in Burma is a completely new experience for him and it is well described. The man in Burma in his turn becomes the first person and we become involved with his life. Our ex- officer returns to the UK and we then have two further characters and their first-person stories. We also encounter the US armed forces living in a village in England as they build a new airport during the war. This exposes racial tensions, particularly amongst the Americans themselves. All links together in a very well-rounded story. This was the best of the set of stories by Nevil Shute that I read. Mar 27, Phil rated it liked it. Published four years previously, this novel in many aspects anticipates themes developed more fully in "Round the Bend": the necessity of change in traditional British class attitudes following the social upheavals of the Second World War, and the iniquities of and harm caused by racism and prejudices based on skin colour and nationality. It also explores the deepseated changes in people whose lives have been radically transformed by their personal experience of war. The principal character, Jack Published four years previously, this novel in many aspects anticipates themes developed more fully in "Round the Bend": the necessity of change in traditional British class attitudes following the social upheavals of the Second World War, and the iniquities of and harm caused by racism and prejudices based on skin colour and nationality. The principal character, Jack Turner, is, as in the later book, a man of undistinguished origins and little education, who has found himself promoted through the fortunes of war to a responsible British Army officer's rank, only to find himself on the wrong side of the law when a dishonest moneymaking scheme - the latest of several, we are given to believe - is discovered and he is disgraced and sent home from his overseas posting for trial. The plane carrying him is shot down, and he suffers a serious shrapnel injury which necessitates hospitalisation. On a guarded ward he becomes acquainted with three other men in varying types of trouble - the pilot of his plane, who has a disastrous marriage; a Marine injured in a street fight in which he killed his adversary; and a black American GI who has attempted suicide after being accused of the attempted rape of a white woman. Three years later, after the end of the War and once more at liberty, he learns that his inoperable injury is causing progressive and fatal neurological damage, and conceives the notion of seeking out his hospital companions to find out what has happened to them before he dies. The rest of the book deals, therefore, with the particular consequences of each man's personal circumstances both during and after the War. The pilot, Philip Morgan, betrayed by his cynical and selfish wife during his absence on service, has found himself in Burma where, shot down again, he befriends a group of local partisans fighting the Japanese invaders, while remaining deeply suspicious of their former British imperial rulers. He finds himself greatly in sympathy with their culture and religion, and falls in love with a young woman there. After the war and his repatriation he makes his way back and enters wholeheartedly into the life of this new home, overcoming in himself the ingrained colonial and ethnic prejudices of his background, and finding the stability and moral values of Burmese society far more congenial than that from which he has come. This is where Turner finds him, and it serves as an education to him as well. Although Turner himself is not portrayed as a man of much imagination or ambition, he has learnt a tolerance and openmindedness, perhaps as a result of his impending death, which enable him to sympathise with everyone with whom he comes into contact. A local Buddhist holy man proclaims him a genuinely good man, although the reader knows that Turner would have absolutely no idea why he should deserve that estimation. The story of Dave Lesurier, the black GI, is without doubt the most distressing, and also the most difficult for a modern reader to take in. He is frequently referred to, even by those sympathetic to him, as 'the nigger', which, although it would have been a fairly common and thoughtless way for a white to describe a black person at the time, Shute almost certainly uses in a way which acknowledges its callous, objectifying, demeaning nature. The crime of which Lesurier is accused consists in nothing more than trying somewhat clumsily to kiss an inexperienced young woman with whom he has become infatuated, an incident deliberately and maliciously exaggerated and spun into something it was not by white Military Police officers determined to maintain segregation of black and white soldiers even in a civilian setting in the UK. The contrast between the racial attitudes prevalent among his fellow-countrymen, and the lack of these in a Cornish village which had probably never encountered black people before, forms the background to this story. The good-natured stubbornness of the local pub landlord, who refuses to agree to the 'colour bar' demanded by the US military authorities, and bans white soldiers from his premises instead, on the grounds that they behave badly in the presence of their black colleagues, is a touch of comic lightness in a serious situation. The third man sought by Turner, Duggie Brent, does not get as much attention from Shute as the others, but his case is one that is nevertheless presented as relevant to what must have been the experience of many servicemen both during and immediately after the war. As a commando, he has been trained to kill unreflectingly in unarmed combat, a technique which makes him an efficient soldier but, in a non-combat situation, greatly blurs the line between intention and recklessness which distinguishes murder from manslaughter. This, then, is, as always with Shute, a thoughtful and humane novel of flawed people and hard experience. Concentrating as it does on individual, localised experience, it shows their specific, practical responses to their conditions - not always clear-sighted, sometimes mistaken, but always believable. Nevil Shute had a great gift for making optimism convincing. Jan 14, Bettie marked it as onhold Shelves: e-book , tbr-busting , winter , published , lit-richer , underratings , ipad , lit-richer-jan Description: John Turner, a young man with a checkered past, has been told he has just one year to live. As Turner discovers where these men have landed on the checkerboa Description: John Turner, a young man with a checkered past, has been told he has just one year to live. View all 4 comments. Absolutely brilliant tale of a man with little time left going to see if his companions in a sordid wartime episode need any help and getting surprised by what he finds Mr Shute has spun a rivetting, heart-warming tale of attitudes, overcoming fears of morbidity, second chances and attempts at redemption for even a less than stellar character, which brings to fore some unforgettable glimpses of war and its effects - while his handling of race relations considering the book was written in Absolutely brilliant tale of a man with little time left going to see if his companions in a sordid wartime episode need any help and getting surprised by what he finds Mr Shute has spun a rivetting, heart-warming tale of attitudes, overcoming fears of morbidity, second chances and attempts at redemption for even a less than stellar character, which brings to fore some unforgettable glimpses of war and its effects - while his handling of race relations considering the book was written in were most enlightened Very readable and memorable A man dying from a head wound received in the war decides to spend his last months tracking down the three men who were in hospital with him after he received it. That's the starting point, but this is a novel about race, relationships, and the wider world outside England. A very important book for , when it was first published; just as much so in the Sixties of the edition I read, and indeed today. Jun 30, Fredrick Danysh rated it it was amazing. Learning that he only has a year to live, John Turner sets out on a quest to find three men that he met in a hospital during the war. Along the way he learns of compassion, tolerance, and second chances. May 10, Tom rated it it was amazing. A series of stories that are linked by one main character as he tries to find out what happened to the men who were in hospital with him awaiting various criminal charges during WW2. An extremely well put together book. Reading the story about Dave Lesurier can be very difficult but I think this is one of Shute's strengths. For a book written in it is extremely progressive and shines a light on the racism prevalent in US Southern attitudes at the time and the redemption of the main characte A series of stories that are linked by one main character as he tries to find out what happened to the men who were in hospital with him awaiting various criminal charges during WW2. For a book written in it is extremely progressive and shines a light on the racism prevalent in US Southern attitudes at the time and the redemption of the main characters. Quite a bit of racist language but I think it highlights the issues that Shute was wanting the reader to focus on. A thoughtful and engrossing novel.. Aug 14, Beau Stucki rated it really liked it. Another of Shute's thoughtful explorations of decency under the pressure of prejudice, violence, sickness, lust Feb 18, Heath Alberts rated it really liked it. Exploring the ties that bind between men and women of all cultures and stations, Shute finds a way to tackle heavy sociopolitical topics in in a way that had to be somewhat revolutionary in the literary sense. Interracial marriage, racial equality, social justice, religion, death, life, and fairness are all explored in an endearing manner that makes this read yet another in his long cadre of poignant works. Jul 17, Linda rated it really liked it Shelves: oldies. The doctor said it was inoperable, and that he probably had only a few months to live. With the time he had left, he decided to track down three other soldiers who had been in the hospital with him to see how their lives had turned out — each had been in some kind of trouble when Turner first knew them. One of the men was a black American. The other two were English although one had gone to Burma to live. Their stories changed many preconceived notions for Turner. But the final message, that we are all alike in the end, comes through loud and clear, so that is good. Shute is a master at weaving stories of his characters and holding the reader's interest as the story moves along. Sep 30, Lara rated it it was amazing Shelves: historical-fiction. This is It looks at racism, and when I say "looks at", I mean that it plonks you down in front of it and says "This is what it looks like. This is what a racist looks like. And this is how they change. Very slowly, in some cases very painfully, but change can happen. Jan 05, Lloyd rated it really liked it. Shute is best known for On The Beach, a book many people hate because it begins with the understanding that all of the characters you're getting to know and understand are doomed to death quite soon. I've never seen that one as as bleak, because I never picked up that sentiment in his writing - I always saw the lives his characters lived to be lessons about getting the most meaning out of the days we have left. Because, as Jackie Turner says in this book, "It's all the same in a hundred years Shute wasn't afraid to write plainly about the personal process of dying, and you know what else he wasn't afraid of writing about, in ? How messed up American race relations were. There aren't many more Shute stories for me to read before I run out, but I'll probably start re-reading them all over again once that happens. They are simple stories, but they remind me to be human. Another great human story. The stories have enough action and technology to engage me, but the characters are far and away the best part of the stories. An author I read as a teenager, I thought I'd read most of his books but have gradually come across more of them over the years, and a quick glance at a list shows me there are several more I haven't read. I certainly found them dated when I first read them, but entertaining, I expected to find this even more dated now, but I'm not sure I did really. When I first read Shute I was young enough to wonder if the use of words like "mucking" and "mugger" rather than more explicit swear words was gene An author I read as a teenager, I thought I'd read most of his books but have gradually come across more of them over the years, and a quick glance at a list shows me there are several more I haven't read. For a bit I worried that the central character, who similar to those in the other books, seemed to be a very British sort of nice guy were going to be revealed as horrible racists, and if so why was my library still stocking this book. I'm pleased to say that nothing like that came to pass, the book is very much against racism, which should probably have been clear from the title and that it's still in circulation. There's a thread of the story about an influx of black American soldiers who endear themselves to a Cornish village much better than their white counterparts do; and another about a mixed marriage in post-war Burma. There certainly are dated elements in those threads and elsewhere in the book though. Minor spoiler so I'll hide it in tags: view spoiler [there's a sexual assault that's obviously supposed to be ok because he only forced a kiss on the girl, and the main point is that a white man wouldn't have got the same treatment for it, and I agree with that, but it was still a bit hard to read how light it was felt to be. I like how the main character is no angel and I have a weird nostalgia for the bizarre framing device I've seen Shute use before where the main characters are introduced by another character who then plays next to no role in the story. It seems that Jackie Turner is having medical problems. From time to time he passes out, cold. It's related to a medical problem he picked up in the war some ten years previously when he got shrapnel embedded in his brain. He had spent quite some time recovering from the wound in hospital in Cornwall. But his ward was actually a prison ward. Jackie had made some sketchy deals while in the military. Another of his mates, Duggie Brent, had murdered a man in a fight over a woman. A third, Flag Officer Morgan was just there because there was no place else for him. He didn't need to be imprisoned. The fourth was an American, Dave Lesurier, who was African American and was charged by his southern, white officers with rape, because he was "walking out" with a white, British woman, Grace Trefussis. Well, anyway, to help with his recovery, the other people in Jackie's ward were tasked with reading and talking to him. Over time, he developed quite a fondness for them all. So, when Jackie is told that he likely has only a year to live, he decides to go on an investigating tour to see what happened to his mates from the prison hospital. It's quite an interesting tale. Morgan had been shot down in Burma and eventually took up residence there and married a Burmese woman. Duggie Brent eventually became a butcher in Cornwall. Dave Lesurier stayed on in Cornwall and eventually married Grace Trefussis, the woman he was accused of having raped. There was quite some meditation on racism in this book. It seems that there was a group of African-American troops in Cornwall who got along just fine with the local population until a bunch of white American troops were deployed to the region. Then problems arose. Then too, people in Britain couldn't imagine that Morgan had voluntarily taken up with a Burmese woman, and figured he was a brain-damaged beach comber. Jackie Turner has been told he has one year to live. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. Home 1 Books 2. Read an excerpt of this book! Add to Wishlist. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. Explore Now. Buy As Gift. Overview John Turner, a young man with a checkered past, has been told he has just one year to live. He decides to use his remaining time in search of three very different men he met in the hospital during the war, each of them in trouble of some kind: a pilot whose wife had betrayed him, a young corporal charged with killing a civilian in a brawl, and a black G. As Turner discovers where these men have landed on the checkerboard of life, he learns about compassion, tolerance, and second chances, and overcomes his fear of death. Product Details About the Author. About the Author. Nevil Shute Norway was born in in Ealing, London. Following his childhood passion, he entered the fledgling aircraft industry as an aeronautical engineer working to develop airships and, later, airplanes. Checkerboard - Wikipedia

As Turner discovers where these men have landed on the checkerboard of life, he learns about compassion, tolerance, and second chances, and overcomes his fear of death. Get A Copy. Paperback , pages. Published January 1st by House of Stratus first published More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Chequer Board , please sign up. I have just bought this at a charity shop, printed in Can someone tell me what the original dust jacket might have looked like knowing the date of printing? See 1 question about The Chequer Board…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Chequer Board. Omar Khayyam - Rubayat What would you do if you were told all of a sudden that you have only one year left to live? For many years I thought that Akira Kurosawa has given the best answer with his movie "Ikiru". Turns out he has a challenger, at least by my reckoning, in this slim novel published five years before the Japan 'Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays. Turns out he has a challenger, at least by my reckoning, in this slim novel published five years before the Japanese movie's premiere []. Framed between two visits to a neurosurgeon, this is the story of James 'Jacky' Turner, and of how he spent the last year of his life. It is also a powerful condemnation of racism and prejudice, of separating people in black or white, good or bad, based on their skin colour, religion or social standing. It all starts with World War Two, the cataclysmic event that did more than pitch armies against each other - a war that made people question and reject the old rigid social order that paved the way to the conflict, a war that made people search for answers in different places and different ideologies. In the particular case of Jacky Turner, the war put him in hospital with a grievous head wound when the plane that was bringing him from Africa to England is shot down over the Channel. He shares the ward with three other wounded men: They were a bloody miserable lot - the miserablest lot of men I ever saw. But they were good to me. I reckon that I might have passed out that time, spite of all the doctors and the nurses, if it hadn't for them chaps sitting with me, talking. God knows they had enough troubles of their own, but they got time for me in spite of everything. One of them was a nigger from America. The last one to go out. He was the only one I ever see clearly - Dave Lesurier, his name was. Then there was Duggie Brent - he was a corporal in the paratroops. And then there was the pilot of the aeroplane, the second pilot I should say - Flying Officer Morgan. We was all in a mess one way or another excepting him, and yet in some ways he was in a worse mess than the lot of us. Years after the war, Jackie's wound starts to give him trouble, and when the doctor gives him the bad news, Jackie's first thought is for his cantankerous wife, and his second for the men that treated him well in his hour of need. He's lost track of them and now he wonders if he could not somehow repay their kindness with help from his modest life savings. Later in the novel, a Buddhist priest will express the reason I cared so much about this simple man who is a bit of a crook, who loves beer and telling dirty anecdotes in the pub, plays a weekly game of football pool and tends to doze in the afternoon in his small back garden with a newspaper over his face: He is a good man, and will climb up to the Six Blissful Seats. He has known sin and trouble and it has not made him bitter; he has known sorrow and it has not made him sad. In these last months that have been granted to him he is trying to do good, not to avoid damnation, for he has no such beliefs, but for sheer love of good. The quote also serves to explain why Nevil Shute sits at the top of my favorite authors list, and will likely remain there for the indefinite future. His heroes might be fictional, but they are people I would be proud to emulate and to call my friends - compassionate, instinctively doing the right thing, reliable, modest. Shute also writes some of the saddest yet most convincing love stories I have ever read. He believes that we show our truest nature not in our moments of happiness, but in the hour of strife. Grace Trefusis, one of the four women that will redeem the sins of their men in the novel, underlines this basic tenet of the writer's credo: I don't think trouble hurts people so much. I think it kind of brings out what's best in them, don't you? Through the quest of Jackie Turner to atone for his past indifference, we will learn the stories of each of the other three men that shared his hospital room in the war, and of how they dealt with the troubles they had at the time. Morgan, the surviving pilot of the plane and the only one of them not under arrest, was unhapily married to a beautiful actress of loose morals and expensive habits. Jackie tracks him down to what was still called Burma in According to his bitter mother, Morgan is a lost soul who lives in poverty with a 'darkie' a local girl. The story arc, entertaining and informative on the subject of the Burma campaign towards the end of the war, serves even better as an expose of the prejudice the arrogant British upper class held towards their foreign subjects. It also touches on another theme dear to the author - inter-religious tolerance and respect for alternative beliefs. The interest in Oriental mysticism and reincarnation predates the Flower-Power fad by about two decades: We have five elementary commandments; if you break them you will be reborn into a lower scale of life. You must not kill any living creature at all, you must not lie, you must not steal, you must not commit adultery, you must not touch any intoxicating drink. Those are the minimum commandments, the ones that everybody must observe if he wants to avoid being reborn as an animal. If you want to go forward you must do much more than that. An even deeper shade of discrimination is revealed in the story of Dave Lesurier, a black American soldier who was in hospital after an attempt to cut his own throat. I will try to be as vague as possible about the reasons for his despair, but it has to do with a young and shy English girl and with a white supremacist commander in his Unit. Nevil Shute points out in no uncertain terms the differences in atitude between the local villagers and the American officers from the Deep South. He is also careful not to condemn the whole allied country because of the actions of those bad apples. A less clear-cut case is reserved for the last man in the ward, Duggie Brent, a paratrooper accused of murder, a crime that he actually commited, just like Jackie Turner was guilty of the charges of stealing from the Army supplies. The defense of Duggie rest on a controversial for me thesis that the war is responsible for exacerbating and encouraging normal young men to become unquestioning and instinctive killers. Before his temper snapped in a barroom fight, Duggie had been through several specialized training courses as an elite commando. Thinking of the incredibly large number of soldiers who return from the present day wars with PTSD and of the number of suicides among them, Nevil Shute's line of defense doesn't seem as far fetched as initially considered. So far, I have focused on leaving the scene of life with dignity and on the various prejudices that drive us apart. I would like to finish my review on a more uplifting note, giving the women of the story their due for keeping the home fires burning and for their quiet, enduring strength of character. With his usual delicate touch when it comes to the most intimate exchanges between the sexes, Nevil Shute draws parallels between four womenn from different parts of the world and different social backgrounds, linking them through a common passion for American movies and for taking care of things that grow, like gardens and children. Watanabe swinging in an empty playground on a snowy night. They sat there on the lawn in the warm summer night, in the quiet grace of the moon, and the stars faint in the bright light. It was windless, still, and silent. Around them, in the dormitory suburb, the world slept. View 2 comments. Apr 27, Meghan rated it it was amazing Shelves: mybooks-to-read-before-death , favorites. This is a beautiful read with scenes in exotic locations. It tells of a man, John Turner, who has not long to live. His past is a little chequered, as are those of the other characters. Turner sets off to find these men and they each have a fascinating story to tell. Shute shows himself to be a man who cares about race relations, and well ahead of his time this was written in View all 8 comments. The more books by Nevil Shute that I read, the more I come to recognize that he is one of the best story-tellers ever. The Chequer Board , published originally in was no exception. Turner was injured during the war, while on a flight from Africa to England to be tr The more books by Nevil Shute that I read, the more I come to recognize that he is one of the best story-tellers ever. Turner was injured during the war, while on a flight from Africa to England to be tried for black marketeering. On the flight were other personnel, including a Negro American soldier on his way to be tried for attempted rape , a young English Commando on his way for court martial for murder and the English co-pilot. These four survive the attack by German fighters. After the war, Turner is now being treated for the effects caused by his injuries pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his brain. He is told that nothing can be done due to the location of the shrapnel and he has maybe a year to live. This starts Turner on a journey to find the other three men, all of whom kept him company while he recovered from his surgeries, and all of whom have moved on. There are other issues that are touched on; the treatment of African - Americans in the US military, how the English impacted those countries that they ruled over, etc, but it is the stories of each man that is so interesting and the emotional stories as well. Shute has such a knack for addressing these emotional touches, that you probably don't realize how much you have found yourself becoming involved in the sub-stories, until the end. I do find that this story, like so many others Shute stories I've read, always strike my heart and soul, lovely to read and to think about. View 1 comment. Jan 20, Patrick rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction. I have read quite a bit of Nevil Shute in the last few years, in part because the stories are very enjoyable, and in part because his characters have a romantic and very attractive quality about them. They are good people. This story more than any other makes me wish I could have met the man and understood how he became such an unusual and frankly progressive voice. Reading this book today, some might be put off by some language liberal use of the N word by white characters but it is an honest I have read quite a bit of Nevil Shute in the last few years, in part because the stories are very enjoyable, and in part because his characters have a romantic and very attractive quality about them. Reading this book today, some might be put off by some language liberal use of the N word by white characters but it is an honest portrayal of midth century language in small town UK. Others might find the story romantic to the point of sounding like a Pollyanna, until you recall that it was written in the late 's. His ideas about race and the ultimate unimportance of race when it comes to personal friendships were so far ahead of his time that I am curious to know how it was received then. According to one article , "In a letter written just before his death in , Mr. Shute admits he thought that his handling of the racial issues would ruin book sales in America". Apparently it did not, which in itself would be an interesting story. I highly recommend this book, and wish it were among the canon for Black History Month. Jan 07, Peter rated it really liked it. But it's only ever used to reveal prejudice and s racial attitudes in America. Don't be put off or you will miss a little-known gem. I'd frankly never heard of this book until I started my current trawl through the Shute canon but I am delighted to have found it. This is a set of morality tales on a Chaucerian scale. Based on 4 disparate servicemen who end up in the same ward Warning Based on 4 disparate servicemen who end up in the same ward of a Cornish hospital, Chequer Board 2 of the characters play draughts, or chequers, in an allegorical reference to the book's inter-racial themes tells their stories and that of several other minor characters during and after WW2. The action switches from isolated English villages through London suburbs to the Bay of Bengal and the jungles of Burma to point up a series of examples of why the least interesting thing about any of us is our skin colour or our tribal background. At times I felt this seemed a radical and untypical work for an author who came from a background of wealth and privilege Jun 17, Indrani Sen rated it really liked it Shelves: uk , burma. A lovely little book on how life deals with 4 down-on-luck young men who were together in a hospital. Brings your faith back on humanity and second chances. This is my first book by Nevil Shute. He has a very pleasing way of writing and the story moves forward smoothly. The characters are well drawn and they pull you in. This book is straight out of the silver linings club and I am glad I read this. Every time you find yourself down and out, you draw strength from your reserves, for you hope you will be alright even if you don't see it then. Captain Turner, now a civilian, has been diagnosed he has roughly a year to live due to an older war injury. He has come a long way since the injury in and can even accept he has enough to leave for his wife. To keep himself from being saddled down - he tries to find 3 p This book is straight out of the silver linings club and I am glad I read this. To keep himself from being saddled down - he tries to find 3 people who shared a room with him at the hospital - to whom life had shared the worse cards. He wants to know how they are and help them out in anyway possible. One of them is an RAF captain whose wife was cheating on him. Tracing him takes to Burma and this lion's share of the tale is a heart warming one of revising your biases. The story of the black soldier who had attempted suicide when he was accused of rape in the town of Trenarth. This is one of the beautiful stories of a British town accepting and siding American black soldiers against the racism they face in the army. The third patient was to be tried for murder of a civilian after a bar fight. And this story offers a brilliant legal argument. The positivity in a seemingly melancholic tale is like the warm sun during a cold winter morning. And the attitude of the characters and the basic goodness is endearing. Despite set in the war times - this is not a story of war. It seems that every book I read by this author is better than the ones before. That's probably not true since I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, including this gem. So far I have never been disappointed and plan to listen to all that are recorded as audiobooks. Perhaps, if I can ever find time to sit down and actually read a print book, I'll delve into even those that are not. I am always sorry when I finish a Nevil Shute novel even though I compulsively listen as often and as long as I can It seems that every book I read by this author is better than the ones before. I am always sorry when I finish a Nevil Shute novel even though I compulsively listen as often and as long as I can which causes me to leave these wonderful characters sooner than I would like. And yet, each tale ends as it must and at the proper time. This one did as well. What a treasured legacy this author has left, for me at least! Jun 21, Rebecca rated it it was amazing Shelves: historical-fiction. A brilliant read. Loved every bit of it. That and the blurb prompted me to BR this. I read it in paperback with a beautiful red cover which added to the pleasure. The storyline is simple. A man who is given only a few more months to live by his doctors goes in search of some comrades who had shared bad times with him. This is their story as well as his and each one had its charm. I thought that the Burmese woman had A brilliant read. My type of book. Shelves: , buddy-reads , classics. Gripping from the first page. The tale of a terminally ill retired army man, who then tries to connect back to 4 of his mates with no contact since their army time together. The bonding they shared, and their background stories of how they all fared in life is heartwarming. Strong cultural references of Rangoon now Burma The essence could be lost in modern day with superhumans on social media :. Jan 22, Michael rated it it was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and Nevil Shute has used a pleasing technique to create this novel. It begins in a brain surgeons consulting rooms in England and he is visited by an ex-Army officer. It turns out that he was one of four men who were together for a short period of time in a hospital ward in England, following the crash-landing of an aircraft which occurred during WW2. Each of the men has a story and our ex-Army officer becomes the main character as he seeks to track down the other I thoroughly enjoyed this story and Nevil Shute has used a pleasing technique to create this novel. Each of the men has a story and our ex-Army officer becomes the main character as he seeks to track down the other three and he has a very good reason to do so. One of the men now lives in Burma and our officer becomes rash enough to decide to fly there by flying-boat and see if he can locate him. Life in Burma is a completely new experience for him and it is well described. The man in Burma in his turn becomes the first person and we become involved with his life. Our ex-officer returns to the UK and we then have two further characters and their first-person stories. We also encounter the US armed forces living in a village in England as they build a new airport during the war. As the story unfolds, we learn that charges against Lesurier were dropped after an Army investigation and that he later returned to the English town near which he was stationed during the war. He marries the girl he was courting and becomes a draughtsman. Brent is acquitted of murder but served six months for manslaughter after a brilliantly defended court-martial. He is later found living close to Lesurier and working as a meat vendor. Morgan relocates to Burma and becomes a successful businessman, married into a strong local community. Turner is contented by the thought that each man, who had helped with his recovery after the plane crash, had succeeded in making a good life in his own way. The novel ends with what will be his last visit to his medical specialist. Underlying the novel is the Buddhist belief in reincarnation and redemption. Despite his shady past, it is indicated that Turner, through his attempts to help his fellow patients and his acceptance of his death, has moved closer to Nirvana. He also noted during the war the "popularity of American Negroes in England and the superior quality of the Burmese people", both of which are central to the book's story. Shute was concerned that sales of the book in the United States would be reduced because of the book's open-minded handling of racial issues; as it turned out, sales soared. Afterwards he wrote "Sincerity is the first attribute for making money in the business of writing novels. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute, First Edition - AbeBooks

On the Beach. Nevil Shute. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off. As the deadly rain moves ever closer, the world as we know it winds toward an inevitable end A Town Like Alice. Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, is captured by the invading Japanese and forced on a brutal seven-month death march with dozens of other women and children. A few years after the war, Jean is back in England, the nightmare behind her. However, an unexpected inheritance inspires her to return to Malaya to give something back to the villagers who saved her life. But it turns out that they have a gift for her as well: the news that the young Australian soldier, Joe Harmon, who had risked his life to help the women, had miraculously survived. Reviews Review Policy. Published on. Flowing text. Best for. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Chequer Board. Omar Khayyam - Rubayat What would you do if you were told all of a sudden that you have only one year left to live? For many years I thought that Akira Kurosawa has given the best answer with his movie "Ikiru". Turns out he has a challenger, at least by my reckoning, in this slim novel published five years before the Japan 'Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays. Turns out he has a challenger, at least by my reckoning, in this slim novel published five years before the Japanese movie's premiere []. Framed between two visits to a neurosurgeon, this is the story of James 'Jacky' Turner, and of how he spent the last year of his life. It is also a powerful condemnation of racism and prejudice, of separating people in black or white, good or bad, based on their skin colour, religion or social standing. It all starts with World War Two, the cataclysmic event that did more than pitch armies against each other - a war that made people question and reject the old rigid social order that paved the way to the conflict, a war that made people search for answers in different places and different ideologies. In the particular case of Jacky Turner, the war put him in hospital with a grievous head wound when the plane that was bringing him from Africa to England is shot down over the Channel. He shares the ward with three other wounded men: They were a bloody miserable lot - the miserablest lot of men I ever saw. But they were good to me. I reckon that I might have passed out that time, spite of all the doctors and the nurses, if it hadn't for them chaps sitting with me, talking. God knows they had enough troubles of their own, but they got time for me in spite of everything. One of them was a nigger from America. The last one to go out. He was the only one I ever see clearly - Dave Lesurier, his name was. Then there was Duggie Brent - he was a corporal in the paratroops. And then there was the pilot of the aeroplane, the second pilot I should say - Flying Officer Morgan. We was all in a mess one way or another excepting him, and yet in some ways he was in a worse mess than the lot of us. Years after the war, Jackie's wound starts to give him trouble, and when the doctor gives him the bad news, Jackie's first thought is for his cantankerous wife, and his second for the men that treated him well in his hour of need. He's lost track of them and now he wonders if he could not somehow repay their kindness with help from his modest life savings. Later in the novel, a Buddhist priest will express the reason I cared so much about this simple man who is a bit of a crook, who loves beer and telling dirty anecdotes in the pub, plays a weekly game of football pool and tends to doze in the afternoon in his small back garden with a newspaper over his face: He is a good man, and will climb up to the Six Blissful Seats. He has known sin and trouble and it has not made him bitter; he has known sorrow and it has not made him sad. In these last months that have been granted to him he is trying to do good, not to avoid damnation, for he has no such beliefs, but for sheer love of good. The quote also serves to explain why Nevil Shute sits at the top of my favorite authors list, and will likely remain there for the indefinite future. His heroes might be fictional, but they are people I would be proud to emulate and to call my friends - compassionate, instinctively doing the right thing, reliable, modest. Shute also writes some of the saddest yet most convincing love stories I have ever read. He believes that we show our truest nature not in our moments of happiness, but in the hour of strife. Grace Trefusis, one of the four women that will redeem the sins of their men in the novel, underlines this basic tenet of the writer's credo: I don't think trouble hurts people so much. I think it kind of brings out what's best in them, don't you? Through the quest of Jackie Turner to atone for his past indifference, we will learn the stories of each of the other three men that shared his hospital room in the war, and of how they dealt with the troubles they had at the time. Morgan, the surviving pilot of the plane and the only one of them not under arrest, was unhapily married to a beautiful actress of loose morals and expensive habits. Jackie tracks him down to what was still called Burma in According to his bitter mother, Morgan is a lost soul who lives in poverty with a 'darkie' a local girl. The story arc, entertaining and informative on the subject of the Burma campaign towards the end of the war, serves even better as an expose of the prejudice the arrogant British upper class held towards their foreign subjects. It also touches on another theme dear to the author - inter-religious tolerance and respect for alternative beliefs. The interest in Oriental mysticism and reincarnation predates the Flower-Power fad by about two decades: We have five elementary commandments; if you break them you will be reborn into a lower scale of life. You must not kill any living creature at all, you must not lie, you must not steal, you must not commit adultery, you must not touch any intoxicating drink. Those are the minimum commandments, the ones that everybody must observe if he wants to avoid being reborn as an animal. If you want to go forward you must do much more than that. An even deeper shade of discrimination is revealed in the story of Dave Lesurier, a black American soldier who was in hospital after an attempt to cut his own throat. I will try to be as vague as possible about the reasons for his despair, but it has to do with a young and shy English girl and with a white supremacist commander in his Unit. Nevil Shute points out in no uncertain terms the differences in atitude between the local villagers and the American officers from the Deep South. He is also careful not to condemn the whole allied country because of the actions of those bad apples. A less clear-cut case is reserved for the last man in the ward, Duggie Brent, a paratrooper accused of murder, a crime that he actually commited, just like Jackie Turner was guilty of the charges of stealing from the Army supplies. The defense of Duggie rest on a controversial for me thesis that the war is responsible for exacerbating and encouraging normal young men to become unquestioning and instinctive killers. Before his temper snapped in a barroom fight, Duggie had been through several specialized training courses as an elite commando. Thinking of the incredibly large number of soldiers who return from the present day wars with PTSD and of the number of suicides among them, Nevil Shute's line of defense doesn't seem as far fetched as initially considered. So far, I have focused on leaving the scene of life with dignity and on the various prejudices that drive us apart. I would like to finish my review on a more uplifting note, giving the women of the story their due for keeping the home fires burning and for their quiet, enduring strength of character. With his usual delicate touch when it comes to the most intimate exchanges between the sexes, Nevil Shute draws parallels between four womenn from different parts of the world and different social backgrounds, linking them through a common passion for American movies and for taking care of things that grow, like gardens and children. Watanabe swinging in an empty playground on a snowy night. They sat there on the lawn in the warm summer night, in the quiet grace of the moon, and the stars faint in the bright light. It was windless, still, and silent. Around them, in the dormitory suburb, the world slept. View 2 comments. Apr 27, Meghan rated it it was amazing Shelves: mybooks-to-read-before-death , favorites. This is a beautiful read with scenes in exotic locations. It tells of a man, John Turner, who has not long to live. His past is a little chequered, as are those of the other characters. Turner sets off to find these men and they each have a fascinating story to tell. Shute shows himself to be a man who cares about race relations, and well ahead of his time this was written in View all 8 comments. The more books by Nevil Shute that I read, the more I come to recognize that he is one of the best story-tellers ever. The Chequer Board , published originally in was no exception. Turner was injured during the war, while on a flight from Africa to England to be tr The more books by Nevil Shute that I read, the more I come to recognize that he is one of the best story-tellers ever. Turner was injured during the war, while on a flight from Africa to England to be tried for black marketeering. On the flight were other personnel, including a Negro American soldier on his way to be tried for attempted rape , a young English Commando on his way for court martial for murder and the English co-pilot. These four survive the attack by German fighters. After the war, Turner is now being treated for the effects caused by his injuries pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his brain. He is told that nothing can be done due to the location of the shrapnel and he has maybe a year to live. This starts Turner on a journey to find the other three men, all of whom kept him company while he recovered from his surgeries, and all of whom have moved on. There are other issues that are touched on; the treatment of African - Americans in the US military, how the English impacted those countries that they ruled over, etc, but it is the stories of each man that is so interesting and the emotional stories as well. Shute has such a knack for addressing these emotional touches, that you probably don't realize how much you have found yourself becoming involved in the sub-stories, until the end. I do find that this story, like so many others Shute stories I've read, always strike my heart and soul, lovely to read and to think about. View 1 comment. Jan 20, Patrick rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction. I have read quite a bit of Nevil Shute in the last few years, in part because the stories are very enjoyable, and in part because his characters have a romantic and very attractive quality about them. They are good people. This story more than any other makes me wish I could have met the man and understood how he became such an unusual and frankly progressive voice. Reading this book today, some might be put off by some language liberal use of the N word by white characters but it is an honest I have read quite a bit of Nevil Shute in the last few years, in part because the stories are very enjoyable, and in part because his characters have a romantic and very attractive quality about them. Reading this book today, some might be put off by some language liberal use of the N word by white characters but it is an honest portrayal of midth century language in small town UK. Others might find the story romantic to the point of sounding like a Pollyanna, until you recall that it was written in the late 's. His ideas about race and the ultimate unimportance of race when it comes to personal friendships were so far ahead of his time that I am curious to know how it was received then. According to one article , "In a letter written just before his death in , Mr. Shute admits he thought that his handling of the racial issues would ruin book sales in America". Apparently it did not, which in itself would be an interesting story. I highly recommend this book, and wish it were among the canon for Black History Month. Jan 07, Peter rated it really liked it. But it's only ever used to reveal prejudice and s racial attitudes in America. Don't be put off or you will miss a little-known gem. I'd frankly never heard of this book until I started my current trawl through the Shute canon but I am delighted to have found it. This is a set of morality tales on a Chaucerian scale. Based on 4 disparate servicemen who end up in the same ward Warning Based on 4 disparate servicemen who end up in the same ward of a Cornish hospital, Chequer Board 2 of the characters play draughts, or chequers, in an allegorical reference to the book's inter-racial themes tells their stories and that of several other minor characters during and after WW2. The action switches from isolated English villages through London suburbs to the Bay of Bengal and the jungles of Burma to point up a series of examples of why the least interesting thing about any of us is our skin colour or our tribal background. At times I felt this seemed a radical and untypical work for an author who came from a background of wealth and privilege Jun 17, Indrani Sen rated it really liked it Shelves: uk , burma. A lovely little book on how life deals with 4 down-on-luck young men who were together in a hospital. Brings your faith back on humanity and second chances. This is my first book by Nevil Shute. He has a very pleasing way of writing and the story moves forward smoothly. The characters are well drawn and they pull you in. This book is straight out of the silver linings club and I am glad I read this. Every time you find yourself down and out, you draw strength from your reserves, for you hope you will be alright even if you don't see it then. Captain Turner, now a civilian, has been diagnosed he has roughly a year to live due to an older war injury. He has come a long way since the injury in and can even accept he has enough to leave for his wife. To keep himself from being saddled down - he tries to find 3 p This book is straight out of the silver linings club and I am glad I read this. To keep himself from being saddled down - he tries to find 3 people who shared a room with him at the hospital - to whom life had shared the worse cards. He wants to know how they are and help them out in anyway possible. One of them is an RAF captain whose wife was cheating on him. Tracing him takes to Burma and this lion's share of the tale is a heart warming one of revising your biases. The story of the black soldier who had attempted suicide when he was accused of rape in the town of Trenarth. This is one of the beautiful stories of a British town accepting and siding American black soldiers against the racism they face in the army. The third patient was to be tried for murder of a civilian after a bar fight. And this story offers a brilliant legal argument. The positivity in a seemingly melancholic tale is like the warm sun during a cold winter morning. And the attitude of the characters and the basic goodness is endearing. Despite set in the war times - this is not a story of war. It seems that every book I read by this author is better than the ones before. That's probably not true since I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, including this gem. So far I have never been disappointed and plan to listen to all that are recorded as audiobooks. Perhaps, if I can ever find time to sit down and actually read a print book, I'll delve into even those that are not. I am always sorry when I finish a Nevil Shute novel even though I compulsively listen as often and as long as I can It seems that every book I read by this author is better than the ones before. I am always sorry when I finish a Nevil Shute novel even though I compulsively listen as often and as long as I can which causes me to leave these wonderful characters sooner than I would like. And yet, each tale ends as it must and at the proper time. This one did as well. What a treasured legacy this author has left, for me at least! Jun 21, Rebecca rated it it was amazing Shelves: historical-fiction. A brilliant read. Loved every bit of it. That and the blurb prompted me to BR this. I read it in paperback with a beautiful red cover which added to the pleasure. The storyline is simple. A man who is given only a few more months to live by his doctors goes in search of some comrades who had shared bad times with him. This is their story as well as his and each one had its charm. I thought that the Burmese woman had A brilliant read. My type of book. Shelves: , buddy-reads , classics. Gripping from the first page. The tale of a terminally ill retired army man, who then tries to connect back to 4 of his mates with no contact since their army time together. The bonding they shared, and their background stories of how they all fared in life is heartwarming. Strong cultural references of Rangoon now Burma The essence could be lost in modern day with superhumans on social media :. Jan 22, Michael rated it it was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and Nevil Shute has used a pleasing technique to create this novel. It begins in a brain surgeons consulting rooms in England and he is visited by an ex-Army officer. It turns out that he was one of four men who were together for a short period of time in a hospital ward in England, following the crash-landing of an aircraft which occurred during WW2. Each of the men has a story and our ex-Army officer becomes the main character as he seeks to track down the other I thoroughly enjoyed this story and Nevil Shute has used a pleasing technique to create this novel. Each of the men has a story and our ex-Army officer becomes the main character as he seeks to track down the other three and he has a very good reason to do so. One of the men now lives in Burma and our officer becomes rash enough to decide to fly there by flying-boat and see if he can locate him. Life in Burma is a completely new experience for him and it is well described. The man in Burma in his turn becomes the first person and we become involved with his life. Our ex-officer returns to the UK and we then have two further characters and their first-person stories. We also encounter the US armed forces living in a village in England as they build a new airport during the war. This exposes racial tensions, particularly amongst the Americans themselves. All links together in a very well-rounded story. This was the best of the set of stories by Nevil Shute that I read. Mar 27, Phil rated it liked it. Published four years previously, this novel in many aspects anticipates themes developed more fully in "Round the Bend": the necessity of change in traditional British class attitudes following the social upheavals of the Second World War, and the iniquities of and harm caused by racism and prejudices based on skin colour and nationality. It also explores the deepseated changes in people whose lives have been radically transformed by their personal experience of war. The principal character, Jack Published four years previously, this novel in many aspects anticipates themes developed more fully in "Round the Bend": the necessity of change in traditional British class attitudes following the social upheavals of the Second World War, and the iniquities of and harm caused by racism and prejudices based on skin colour and nationality. The principal character, Jack Turner, is, as in the later book, a man of undistinguished origins and little education, who has found himself promoted through the fortunes of war to a responsible British Army officer's rank, only to find himself on the wrong side of the law when a dishonest moneymaking scheme - the latest of several, we are given to believe - is discovered and he is disgraced and sent home from his overseas posting for trial. The plane carrying him is shot down, and he suffers a serious shrapnel injury which necessitates hospitalisation. On a guarded ward he becomes acquainted with three other men in varying types of trouble - the pilot of his plane, who has a disastrous marriage; a Marine injured in a street fight in which he killed his adversary; and a black American GI who has attempted suicide after being accused of the attempted rape of a white woman. Three years later, after the end of the War and once more at liberty, he learns that his inoperable injury is causing progressive and fatal neurological damage, and conceives the notion of seeking out his hospital companions to find out what has happened to them before he dies. The rest of the book deals, therefore, with the particular consequences of each man's personal circumstances both during and after the War. The pilot, Philip Morgan, betrayed by his cynical and selfish wife during his absence on service, has found himself in Burma where, shot down again, he befriends a group of local partisans fighting the Japanese invaders, while remaining deeply suspicious of their former British imperial rulers. https://static.s123-cdn-static.com/uploads/4640100/normal_601ed43253ff4.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9589521/UploadedFiles/909DD785-691E-939C-76E2-6DFBDCE064D4.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/dff1088a-a8a0-4eb2-9e10-6ce181ae7a32/gogols-selbstidentitat-im-roman-die-toten-seelen-634.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9589821/UploadedFiles/FA8401CB-4A83-14D7-9B9A-D412616BD75F.pdf https://static.s123-cdn-static.com/uploads/4641318/normal_601fec38130cb.pdf https://static.s123-cdn-static.com/uploads/4639706/normal_601fc7ef54697.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9592477/UploadedFiles/1535483C-15CD-1ADB-C5CA-0116045075B1.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9593276/UploadedFiles/EBEB35C2-E2F2-A1C3-6974-E0D8178834EC.pdf