Pastoral

 

by Nevil Shute (read by Roger Davis)

 

 

 

  

 

 

Young men and women go to war

A few random thoughts about a book  I have read a number of times over the past few years from an author whose work I enjoy enough to read over and over again.

First thought.The book is not historical fiction. It was published in 1944; it is set in the same time period as it was published.  To all those who are looking for World War II stories, I highly recommend those written by Nevil Shute because they were written either during the war or shortly thereafter.  Consider Landfall, Pied Piper, The Chequer Board, Requiem for  a Wren, and Most Secret (which I have yet to read). Shute writes about people during the war and particular about people getting the job done. 

Second thought. The book is about World War II but the title is Pastoral,  a term I encountered as a lit major many, many years ago-- and which has nothing to do with war. Why this title?

Britannica.com

Pastoral literature, class of literature that presents the society of shepherds as free from the complexity and corruption of city life. Many of the idylls written in its name are far remote from the realities of any life, rustic or urban.

wikipedia.com

In literature, the adjective 'pastoral' refers to rural subjects and aspects of life in the countryside among shepherds, cowherds and other farm workers that are often romanticized and depicted in a highly unrealistic manner.

I am intrigued by the juxtaposition of the title of the book --  and all that it implies, countryside, romantic, idyllic, carefree --  and the  World War II setting and plot.  It is ironic.  Even an idyllic setting and country pursuits cannot hide the fact that there is a war going on and that men are dying or being seriously injured.  Nonetheless, the story is about a bomber pilot and a WREN  and their rocky road to love and hopefully marriage in the midst of the war.

Third thought: What I like most about Shute's work is that he is not a cookie-cutter author. Even within his WWII stories, every book is different. The settings are different. The characters are different. The resolution is different.

Four stars