Warren Loveridge

After taking years to get around to reading Nevil Shute I'm left with mixed feelings. This is far from a flawless book. There's enough in here to make a modern feminist freak out and foam at the mouth, for example. And then there's the curious business of Dr Scott's apparent omniscience. Numerous chapters are narrated by him in the first person, and that's fine because he was there. But then we'd move to a different scene, often thousands of miles away from Dr Scott, and the narrative would switch to the third person, except for the odd comment from Dr Scott, weirdly just dropped in there. I couldn't figure it out.

Nevil Shute's writing is workmanlike. He is no great prose stylist in the vein of, say, Graham Greene. There is no great exploration of the human condition going on here. But he writes an intelligent, engaging story. I'd give it 3.5 stars but, and I'm sure I've said this before in a Goodreads review, I think it's fairer round it up to 4 rather than down to 3.

Typical Dennis Wheatley. Outdated and corny. Wooden prose, clunky dialogue. Bunch of toffs getting themselves in the poo. A rather abrupt denouement. But meanwhile Wheatley has taken you on a whirlwind ride, and it's been a heap of fun. Nothing like a Wheatley for a bit of undemanding fun when you need a break from “Ulysses” or “À la Recherche du temps Perdu”.

If ever I'm asked what my favourite book is, I now have an unequivocal answer. I cannot recall any greater pleasure from reading. This is a six-star masterpiece. I'm incapable of doing it justice in a review. Of course it's not for everybody. One must have patience, one must be prepared to stop and savour this book along the way, pause for thought, digest it, consider it. Joseph and His Brothers challenges the reader, but not in the way that, say, Ulysses does. Joseph and His Brothers is beautiful and erudite. It is a joy. Take the time. Read it.