Book Review on On the Beach by Nevil Shute Essay

Book Review on On the Beach by Nevil Shute - Essay Example Meanwhile, global winds slowly carry the deadly radioactive waste towards the Continent which is why he is to find many dead along the way. Human and animal life are dying as a result of sickness produced by radiation, a kind of cholera which begins with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, increasingly violent spasms, and, finally, death from exhaustion. As everyone is dying either through radioactive poisoning or cyanide pills, Australia, like the other southern nations, distributes cyanide pills to those who want them to die an easier death. This is the story of the last people on earth as written by Nevil Shute. Nevil Shute's beach stands for the ocean of time, where the last waves are swishing and breaking in the sand on those shores. The beach is that of Melbourne, Australia, the southernmost city of the world, where the people live out their last days of their existence. "On the Beach" is a dreamlike journey into the darkness of the Nuclear Age which is our time. The basic premise of the novel is that nuclear war, if it comes, will have only one outcome. While not every corner of the earth will be charred and destroyed badly, everyone will suffer. This is a reminder of that fact. Who is to blame The complete depopulation of the northern hemisphere is based on mistakes and misunderstandings, according to the novel.