Pastoral

By: Nevil Shute

Narrated by: Frank Muller

She was from the hills of Yorkshire, country born and bred. He was a city boy. By the stream where they fished they were two young people falling in love. Overhead, the bombers roared, threatening to blow their idyllic world, so young, so fresh, to smithereens.

©1971 Frances Norway (P)1986 Recorded Books, LLC

Another great one!

As always, Shute's writing is both clever and good natured. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

A wonderful, dared story

A bright story that exhibits but doesn't really suffer from being dated. For the time this was written, Shute was quite a feminist. Even then, time has passed.

The action climax is rather intelligent and effective. It's a nice story, above average and made better by a sense of the times and a sense of flight in the bombers of WWII

another great Shute novel

The story doesn't sound like much, but like other Shute books, it's easy to get into, very well narrated, and ends leaving you feeling good. It kept me entertained the whole time. I'm looking for which Shute to get next.

wonderful story!

I throughly enjoyed this story. Very convincing picture of a developing romance against the backdrop of war and a bomber station, especially given that the war was still ongoing at the timing of this book's publication. Although most of the book was quite slow paced, there were definitely some exciting periods towards the end. I greatly enjoyed what appears to be a personal appearance of the author in his own book! Excellent narration, well suited to Shute's quiet, understated style. I'm so glad that another of my "top 5" Shute favourites has been added to Audible!

great love story

I listen to this book as I drove across Pennsylvania in a slippery snow storm. I enjoy Nevil Shutes writing. I have been to many y of the aerodrome and towns he mentions both in England and in Australia.

A Nevil Shute renaissance ...

From the length of Audible's catalog on Nevil Shute it appears that there is a full blown rediscovery of his mid 20th century list of works. Pastoral is a lovely book as is Round the Bend which inspired both Robert Pirsig and Richard Bach. These are British classics that tackle tough issues. It should come as no surprise that his work is beginning to pass the test-of-time. Just read, reflect and appreciate... No regrets.

Lovely Characters

Wonderful story with characters one would be happy to know in real life. Heartfelt and as always, extremely well written. Nevil Shute remains a favorite.

Good story & narration.

Another wonderful story from Neville Shute who never disappoints and narrated by Frank Muller, the best of the best.

When the Greatest Generation were young

What did you love best about Pastoral?

Pastoral puts the reader in to the daily life of a Royal Air Force Bomber Squadron during the early part of World War II.

In the RAF at this time the loss rate among bomber crews was very high, it was at best a coin toss if any given crew member would survive to the end of a tour.

The crews were all very, very young. Many were teenagers. The primary male character was 23, the primary female was 21. Younger readers will be astounded at the very conservative code of behavior these young men and women lived with.

The commander of the whole air base, the Wing Commander, is 32.Put these young active men and women together in the pressure cooker of Bomber Command in WWII and you're going to have young love.

That's what this book is about.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pastoral?

Just when I got kind of tired of teenage love sickness the pace of the book picks up as the crews fly dangerous bombing mission over Germany.

What about Frank Muller’s performance did you like?

As usual for a Recorded Books LLC production, the recording quality is perfect in all respects. Muller was one of the best narrators every to read a recorded book.

I only gave him four stars for this performance for two reasons:

1) There is a lot of dialog in this story. The main character is a 23 year old pilot. As great as he is, Muller has the voice of a man in his 50s. A younger narrator might have been more appropriate given the very young age of all the principal characters.

2) All though born in Europe, Muller moved to the United States at a the age of five. His accents are plausible, but still sound a bit like an American doing an English accent. I would have preferred that an Englishman read this book.

Who was the most memorable character of Pastoral and why?

The character who appears on the last page of the book.

Any additional comments?

A slow paced basic love story placed in extraordinary times. It's a time machine back to the time that the Greatest Generation were young.

Delightful

Having read "A Town Like Alice," I wanted to read more by Nevil Shute. He takes you back to World War II and paints a picture so real you know you're getting the real stuff. But none of the depressing Modernism; Shute has a love for a good plot with a satisfying conclusion. Along the way you'll go on bombing raids and have some adventures, as well as meet several interesting characters. And when the book ends, you feel that all is right with his world.