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Beyond the Black Stump
Stanton Laird comes to the Australian outback to search for oil. There he meets and falls in love with Mollie. However cultural differences between Stanton and Mollie's world force the two lovers to make difficult decisions.
297 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1956
About the author
Nevil Shute
91 books1,088 followersNevil Shute Norway was a popular British novelist and a successful aeronautical engineer.
He used Nevil Shute as his pen name, and his full name in his engineering career, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.
He lived in Australia for the ten years before his death.
He used Nevil Shute as his pen name, and his full name in his engineering career, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.
He lived in Australia for the ten years before his death.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
December 29, 2019
Nevil Shute’s stories have a particular style. There is something wonderfully clean and simple about them. They are straightforward. They are not messy, not confusing, not complicated. Details specific to the setting are always added, and they make the story ring true. There is humor, if you take the time to think about what is said. Most importantly, the characters, not just one but a whole bunch of them, are good, kind, decent people. Such characters are refreshing! They are drawn as ordinary people, people you can easily relate to. I am by no means saying they are perfect. Although the characters do not live as you do, you can still relate to them, and one’s eyes are opened to another existence different from your own. This is what Shute gives you in just about all his books, and it is what you get here too.
The characters in this story are denizens of the Australian outback. The Regans live on a homestead of their own making. They are graziers. They have become wealthy, but you would never guess this from their demeanor or hard hardscrabble lifestyle. A typical, ordinary family? No, not by a long shot. Their background and where they live have shaped them. The homestead is nine hundred miles from a paved road, three hundred miles from one small village consisting of only a shop or two and three hundred miles from a gas station. We are talking wide open spaces, areas that are perceived as limitless. This is life on a frontier. Life is lonely, rugged and harsh but also one where progress and development are there for the taking to those willing to invest time and effort. The empty places, solitary existence and lack of both commodities and life’s conveniences, all of which may be stifling to some, are to others a place where dreams are waiting to be fulfilled.
On a homestead neighboring the Regans, the twenty-two-year-old David Cope is struggling to survive. He, compared to the Regans, is relatively new to the area. His land has less water. He’s English. The Regans are of Irish and Scottish descent. The Regans fought with the IRA, David’s father with the Black and Tan.
History and religion and race, alongside never-ending toil, are the elements of the story. Race--because the aborigines are an essential source of labor. Are the aborigines to be seen as fellow comrades or merely a work force? Are they to be pushed away or brought in close? In the daily routine there lies a balance that determines when one first considers one’s own survival and when one puts this aside and helps others. These are two of the diverse topics the book covers.
Onto the scene comes an American company looking for oil. Enter Stanton Laird. David Cope, Mollie Regan and Stanton Laird—here is put before you a love triangle.
These plot elements give little hint of why the book is so very good. It is my favorite by the author. The book’s strength lies in its portrayal of what makes a good marriage when husband and wife are of different cultures, when different races are involved and when ordinary social standards are disregarded. We observe living, thriving relationships out of the norm. There is much more to this story than a simple love triangle. The difficulties that must be tackled when people of different cultures and background marry is for me the central theme of the book. Second comes the excitement of making something from nothing.
The ending is absolutely perfect, and if I may say, modern. Women have a head on their shoulders. I like the message delivered—a person must be straightforward and honest. Secrets cannot and should not be kept hidden.
The audiobook has an excellent narrator. He is Laurence Kennedy. He does a fantastic job of intoning Australian, English, Irish and American accents. Fluidly he switches for one to the other. The narration I have given five stars. It is exemplary. It is read at a perfect speed and is simple to follow.
The book was first published in 1956. Its topics remain relevant still today. It is a classic worth reading.
*************************
*Beyond The Black Stump 4 stars
*The Far Country 4 stars
*Pied Piper 3 stars
*Trustee from the Toolroom 3 stars
*Requiem for a Wren 2 stars
*Pastoral 1 star
*The Rainbow and the Rose TBR
*A Town Like Alice TBR
*Ruined City TBR
The characters in this story are denizens of the Australian outback. The Regans live on a homestead of their own making. They are graziers. They have become wealthy, but you would never guess this from their demeanor or hard hardscrabble lifestyle. A typical, ordinary family? No, not by a long shot. Their background and where they live have shaped them. The homestead is nine hundred miles from a paved road, three hundred miles from one small village consisting of only a shop or two and three hundred miles from a gas station. We are talking wide open spaces, areas that are perceived as limitless. This is life on a frontier. Life is lonely, rugged and harsh but also one where progress and development are there for the taking to those willing to invest time and effort. The empty places, solitary existence and lack of both commodities and life’s conveniences, all of which may be stifling to some, are to others a place where dreams are waiting to be fulfilled.
On a homestead neighboring the Regans, the twenty-two-year-old David Cope is struggling to survive. He, compared to the Regans, is relatively new to the area. His land has less water. He’s English. The Regans are of Irish and Scottish descent. The Regans fought with the IRA, David’s father with the Black and Tan.
History and religion and race, alongside never-ending toil, are the elements of the story. Race--because the aborigines are an essential source of labor. Are the aborigines to be seen as fellow comrades or merely a work force? Are they to be pushed away or brought in close? In the daily routine there lies a balance that determines when one first considers one’s own survival and when one puts this aside and helps others. These are two of the diverse topics the book covers.
Onto the scene comes an American company looking for oil. Enter Stanton Laird. David Cope, Mollie Regan and Stanton Laird—here is put before you a love triangle.
These plot elements give little hint of why the book is so very good. It is my favorite by the author. The book’s strength lies in its portrayal of what makes a good marriage when husband and wife are of different cultures, when different races are involved and when ordinary social standards are disregarded. We observe living, thriving relationships out of the norm. There is much more to this story than a simple love triangle. The difficulties that must be tackled when people of different cultures and background marry is for me the central theme of the book. Second comes the excitement of making something from nothing.
The ending is absolutely perfect, and if I may say, modern. Women have a head on their shoulders. I like the message delivered—a person must be straightforward and honest. Secrets cannot and should not be kept hidden.
The audiobook has an excellent narrator. He is Laurence Kennedy. He does a fantastic job of intoning Australian, English, Irish and American accents. Fluidly he switches for one to the other. The narration I have given five stars. It is exemplary. It is read at a perfect speed and is simple to follow.
The book was first published in 1956. Its topics remain relevant still today. It is a classic worth reading.
*************************
*Beyond The Black Stump 4 stars
*The Far Country 4 stars
*Pied Piper 3 stars
*Trustee from the Toolroom 3 stars
*Requiem for a Wren 2 stars
*Pastoral 1 star
*The Rainbow and the Rose TBR
*A Town Like Alice TBR
*Ruined City TBR
October 10, 2021
[9/10]
“The kindest people this side of the black stump.”
“The black stump?”
“It’s what they say around here. It just means – anywhere.”
Nevil Shute has always been interested in kindness, the sort that comes naturally in times of need from the least expected directions. His empathy, his compassion, his gentle understated depiction of emotions and integrity have pushed Nevil Shute further to the top of my favourite authors with every novel of his that I tried. The fact that he was a mechanical engineer, enthusiastic about aeronautics and sailing also helped.
I should admit also that some of his stories sit heavier on the soul than others, like those he wrote later in his literary career, after Shute’s disillusion with the social turmoil following the second world war convinced him to search a self-imposed exile to Australia. After the wholesale carnage of war and the cynical, self-serving generations that followed, Shute felt probably like an outdated relic from the past. His prose has always been characterized by a note of sadness, but now one can detect bitterness, regret and a pervasive depression at the general direction humankind is heading. “Beyond the Black Stump” is the book Nevil Shute wrote right before his most famous post-apocalyptic vision of nuclear war in “One the Beach”, a story that is also placed in Australia, as the last refuge of kindness and civilized behaviour.
>>><<<>>><<<
Stanton Laird is an oil engineer, something that I am more than familiar with after decades of my own in the field. As a self-made young man with plenty of talent and ambition but modest financial resources, Stanton works for one of the big corporations in prospecting and opening new fields for production. After a long stint in the desert of the Arabian peninsula, Stanton is granted a long delayed vacation with his family in mountainous Oregon before his next assignment. Between the Amazonian jungle and Western Australia, Stanton opts for the place where the natives at least speak English and heads once again for the middle of nowhere with his team of hard-hats and his seismological probes.
Western Australia is not a place for the faint-hearted. Long distances between settlements, stifling heat and frequent periods of draught coupled with lack of any reliable sources of drinking water make sure that only a few hardy families tried to settle there. Even as the government allowed some sheep stations to reach up to one million acres, most of the country remains empty and dry scrubland surrounded by bleak mountains. The complete lack of roads makes contact with the cities on the coast problematic, communications restricted with radio for emergencies.
Stanton’s perimeter is within the borders of the huge Regan station, one of the most prosperous in the area. The novel explores the clash of cultures between the comforts the Americans brought with their heavy trucks and the isolated, minimalistic, alcohol infused lifestyle of the Regans. A tentative but earnest courting begins between the young engineer and the daughter of the family. Their budding loves story is fraught with pitfalls of misunderstanding and culture shock as Stanton gets to know the realities of living in the middle of nowhere and to meet Molly Regan’s relatives, a bunch of rough-cut, violent and alcoholic reprobates that may be the ‘kindest people this side of the black stump” , but take some getting used to. The founders of the station are a couple of brothers, wanted fugitives from the British authorities after fighting in the IRA during the Troubles. Between raising sheep and drinking neat rum, they pass Molly’s mother, a former bartender, between them without bothering to notify the authorities, raise a bunch of half-brothers and sisters for Molly with the aboriginal women working on the station and give shelter to an apostate priest who keeps their accounts and teaches the kids in a shed on the station.
“Do we seem like a lot of savages to you, Stan?”
He turned to her. “I guess people are the same all over.”
>>><<<>>><<<
The novel was published in the 1950s and some stereotypical representation of racial relations is almost inevitable, even in one of my favourite authors, a sort of casual blindness and dismissal of the aboriginal plight. With this notable exception, the eye of the writer is as always keen to the psychological profile of the frontier mentality and to the way the heart might hope for love, but the young lovers must build their nest in a place that is rife with hidden resentments and deep-seated prejudices.
To most readers the pacing of the present story will be painstakingly slow, and the lead characters bland. For me, the novel was saved by the vivid portrait of life on a station in the dry wastes of Australia, a strong resemblance to the best parts of the famous “Thornbirds” bestseller. Shute’s careful build-up of Stanton and Molly’s personalities and of their respective backgrounds really pays off in the final chapters, as the young couple moves from Australia to Oregon to meet the boy’s family and to compare notes on the two visions of the ’black stump’ or Frontier mentality. An apparent early infatuation of Nevil Shute with the technological progress of the American economy, illustrated with the numerous gadgets and household appliances that make life easier, is now counter-balanced with the small town puritanical, gossip-ridden, malevolent distrust of anything different, either in skin colour or in moral standards.
Nevil Shute still treats his characters with kindness and understanding, even when they sort of turn into bigots, but in his period of his life he has little use for optimism or happy endings. His answer to the problems raised in the novel is to give up on the so-called ‘blessings’ of civilization and to head to the last remaining unspoiled places, starting from scratch with people for whom kindness and integrity come naturally.
“The kindest people this side of the black stump.”
“The black stump?”
“It’s what they say around here. It just means – anywhere.”
Nevil Shute has always been interested in kindness, the sort that comes naturally in times of need from the least expected directions. His empathy, his compassion, his gentle understated depiction of emotions and integrity have pushed Nevil Shute further to the top of my favourite authors with every novel of his that I tried. The fact that he was a mechanical engineer, enthusiastic about aeronautics and sailing also helped.
I should admit also that some of his stories sit heavier on the soul than others, like those he wrote later in his literary career, after Shute’s disillusion with the social turmoil following the second world war convinced him to search a self-imposed exile to Australia. After the wholesale carnage of war and the cynical, self-serving generations that followed, Shute felt probably like an outdated relic from the past. His prose has always been characterized by a note of sadness, but now one can detect bitterness, regret and a pervasive depression at the general direction humankind is heading. “Beyond the Black Stump” is the book Nevil Shute wrote right before his most famous post-apocalyptic vision of nuclear war in “One the Beach”, a story that is also placed in Australia, as the last refuge of kindness and civilized behaviour.
>>><<<>>><<<
Stanton Laird is an oil engineer, something that I am more than familiar with after decades of my own in the field. As a self-made young man with plenty of talent and ambition but modest financial resources, Stanton works for one of the big corporations in prospecting and opening new fields for production. After a long stint in the desert of the Arabian peninsula, Stanton is granted a long delayed vacation with his family in mountainous Oregon before his next assignment. Between the Amazonian jungle and Western Australia, Stanton opts for the place where the natives at least speak English and heads once again for the middle of nowhere with his team of hard-hats and his seismological probes.
Western Australia is not a place for the faint-hearted. Long distances between settlements, stifling heat and frequent periods of draught coupled with lack of any reliable sources of drinking water make sure that only a few hardy families tried to settle there. Even as the government allowed some sheep stations to reach up to one million acres, most of the country remains empty and dry scrubland surrounded by bleak mountains. The complete lack of roads makes contact with the cities on the coast problematic, communications restricted with radio for emergencies.
Stanton’s perimeter is within the borders of the huge Regan station, one of the most prosperous in the area. The novel explores the clash of cultures between the comforts the Americans brought with their heavy trucks and the isolated, minimalistic, alcohol infused lifestyle of the Regans. A tentative but earnest courting begins between the young engineer and the daughter of the family. Their budding loves story is fraught with pitfalls of misunderstanding and culture shock as Stanton gets to know the realities of living in the middle of nowhere and to meet Molly Regan’s relatives, a bunch of rough-cut, violent and alcoholic reprobates that may be the ‘kindest people this side of the black stump” , but take some getting used to. The founders of the station are a couple of brothers, wanted fugitives from the British authorities after fighting in the IRA during the Troubles. Between raising sheep and drinking neat rum, they pass Molly’s mother, a former bartender, between them without bothering to notify the authorities, raise a bunch of half-brothers and sisters for Molly with the aboriginal women working on the station and give shelter to an apostate priest who keeps their accounts and teaches the kids in a shed on the station.
“Do we seem like a lot of savages to you, Stan?”
He turned to her. “I guess people are the same all over.”
>>><<<>>><<<
The novel was published in the 1950s and some stereotypical representation of racial relations is almost inevitable, even in one of my favourite authors, a sort of casual blindness and dismissal of the aboriginal plight. With this notable exception, the eye of the writer is as always keen to the psychological profile of the frontier mentality and to the way the heart might hope for love, but the young lovers must build their nest in a place that is rife with hidden resentments and deep-seated prejudices.
To most readers the pacing of the present story will be painstakingly slow, and the lead characters bland. For me, the novel was saved by the vivid portrait of life on a station in the dry wastes of Australia, a strong resemblance to the best parts of the famous “Thornbirds” bestseller. Shute’s careful build-up of Stanton and Molly’s personalities and of their respective backgrounds really pays off in the final chapters, as the young couple moves from Australia to Oregon to meet the boy’s family and to compare notes on the two visions of the ’black stump’ or Frontier mentality. An apparent early infatuation of Nevil Shute with the technological progress of the American economy, illustrated with the numerous gadgets and household appliances that make life easier, is now counter-balanced with the small town puritanical, gossip-ridden, malevolent distrust of anything different, either in skin colour or in moral standards.
Nevil Shute still treats his characters with kindness and understanding, even when they sort of turn into bigots, but in his period of his life he has little use for optimism or happy endings. His answer to the problems raised in the novel is to give up on the so-called ‘blessings’ of civilization and to head to the last remaining unspoiled places, starting from scratch with people for whom kindness and integrity come naturally.
January 4, 2016
I don't usually summarise a book in a review. That's already been done by people better than me. What I will say is there is just something about this author that keeps me searching for more books by him. He isn't flashy. There isn't a lot of action. These aren't that type of book. These books were written long a go and take place in often remote places, yet they are relatable. He creates these characters that are real and you get invested in them. A Town Like Alice and On The Beach were two others that are worth checking out, too. I don't know why he isn't listed more on to read lists. I think people are missing out.
November 8, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2021
DNF at 50%>.
This one is not for me.
This one is not for me.
June 10, 2020
Shute does not disappoint
A nice story cleverly told with the complexities of human behavior and prejudice bringing the tale to a satisfying close.
A nice story cleverly told with the complexities of human behavior and prejudice bringing the tale to a satisfying close.
July 28, 2010
This is a great book with strong characters that are allowed the time and pace to develop properly. It takes place in both America and Australia and tracks the story of an Oregonian (Stanton) and an Australian (Mollie) as they come together and try their hand at love. It is not a sappy love story though - rather it deals with the trials, misunderstandings and controversy that are inherent in close relationships between people who physically come from worlds apart.
May 14, 2023
I've been reading Agatha Christie lately. To be precise, I've been reading Mary Westmacott which is the name Agatha Christie used to write a different sort of story than her usual mysteries. Mary Westmacott wrote stories that make you feel a bit naked and exposed because you recognize yourself (or perhaps others ) in the characters. All the time that you think that you're hiding your secret successfully and then Mary Westmacott comes along and says, 'Ha! I see you.' Or she lays bare that character flaw that you weren't even aware that you had and then you read her book and you see yourself leaping off the page. How did Mary Westmacott know?
And what does that have to do with Nevil Shute and 'Beyond the Black Stump'? Well, as I was reading (actually listening) to this story I kept thinking that it was a different sort of story than what Nevil Shute usually writes. (was he channeling Mary Westmacott?) Yes, we have his usual engineering component and yes, we have a love story. But he seems to go a bit deeper into human nature, society, and different cultures. He raises questions about how we interact with each other and in doing so, causes the reader to question also. And perhaps we see ourselves because of this questioning. I thought it was brilliantly done.
As usual, Nevil Shute was able to transport me to each of the locations where this story takes place. How does he do that? I'm missing being in Australia.
As I mentioned I listened to this and appreciated Davina Porter's ability to convey a man's voice, a woman's voice, a young woman's voice, an Irish accent, a Scottish accent, an English accent, an Australian accent, and an American accent. I thought she did an amazing performance.
I highly recommend this book and I recommend the audio version with Davina Porter.
And what does that have to do with Nevil Shute and 'Beyond the Black Stump'? Well, as I was reading (actually listening) to this story I kept thinking that it was a different sort of story than what Nevil Shute usually writes. (was he channeling Mary Westmacott?) Yes, we have his usual engineering component and yes, we have a love story. But he seems to go a bit deeper into human nature, society, and different cultures. He raises questions about how we interact with each other and in doing so, causes the reader to question also. And perhaps we see ourselves because of this questioning. I thought it was brilliantly done.
As usual, Nevil Shute was able to transport me to each of the locations where this story takes place. How does he do that? I'm missing being in Australia.
As I mentioned I listened to this and appreciated Davina Porter's ability to convey a man's voice, a woman's voice, a young woman's voice, an Irish accent, a Scottish accent, an English accent, an Australian accent, and an American accent. I thought she did an amazing performance.
I highly recommend this book and I recommend the audio version with Davina Porter.
September 14, 2014
I read all of Shute's books when I was a teenager, however this one was missing from the set. Now I found it online ($45 phew) in order to complete the set that my parents are going to pass on to me now some 35 years along.
It was a real surprise to read this final novel and thoroughly enjoy it. I was concerned that this many years on I may no longer have found the style or content relevant. But the memory of the authors other works was not disappointed. The story itself is at face value one of the most simple but as someone once said when are our stories and songs not about love and life.
Shute's deceptively simple storytelling gives a beautiful and clear picture of the world he is portraying. The characters are believable and likeable I also think they could quite easily be representative of any number of people in today's world. The landscape of course is timeless and the lessons/sentiments age old.
All in all an unsophisticated and enjoyable read.
It was a real surprise to read this final novel and thoroughly enjoy it. I was concerned that this many years on I may no longer have found the style or content relevant. But the memory of the authors other works was not disappointed. The story itself is at face value one of the most simple but as someone once said when are our stories and songs not about love and life.
Shute's deceptively simple storytelling gives a beautiful and clear picture of the world he is portraying. The characters are believable and likeable I also think they could quite easily be representative of any number of people in today's world. The landscape of course is timeless and the lessons/sentiments age old.
All in all an unsophisticated and enjoyable read.
December 25, 2020
It seems as though Nevil Shute wanted to write a story to encapsulate the idea that Australia is now (1950s) the new frontier, as against the American Midwest, which was the new frontier in need of taming around the 1850s. We do see it by the end of the story, however (spoiler alert!!), one feels somewhat hollow at the end. I don't know about you, but I felt as though Stanton and Mollie's love story was too shallow, their connection too flimsy, their foundation too sparse to really feel much for either of them. We get it: their background is too different for their relationship to work. I say that if their love was strong and well-founded, they would have made it work. In short, one is left seeing their relationship collapse without any feeling of sadness. It makes the whole story feel empty.
I'm a big fan of Shute's but I didn't much like this story.
I'm a big fan of Shute's but I didn't much like this story.
December 27, 2022
5* A Town Like Alice
2* On the Beach
4* Pied Piper
4* Landfall
4.5* Most secret
4* Marazan
3* Requiem for a Wren
4* No Highway
4* The Chequer Board
4* Beyond the Black Stump
TR The Far Country
TR Round the bend
TR Lonely Road
TR The Rainbow and the Rose
TR Trustee from the Toolroom
2* On the Beach
4* Pied Piper
4* Landfall
4.5* Most secret
4* Marazan
3* Requiem for a Wren
4* No Highway
4* The Chequer Board
4* Beyond the Black Stump
TR The Far Country
TR Round the bend
TR Lonely Road
TR The Rainbow and the Rose
TR Trustee from the Toolroom
October 21, 2021
This is probably my least favourite book by one of my favourite authors. It concerns a romance between an American geologist and an Australian "bush baby," a young woman who grew up in the outback and accompanies her new fiancé to a small town in Oregon where she realizes that America isn't all it is cracked up to be and decides to go home. Some novels stand the test of time better than others, and I understand the cultural climate that Shute was living and working in, but the racism and sexism were so prevalent that they tarnished what might have been a great yarn rather than just a good one. I never really felt any kinship with the main characters, especially the male protagonist. The secondary characters were much more colourful and interesting.
April 18, 2009
The way the author explored the notion of how different cultures judge outsiders made for a terrific read and some pretty humorous situations. The ways the author was able to illustrate the difference between progress and development was intriguing too. The story of the taming of the kangaroo mouse must have started out true somewhere! The picture of that creature and it's master is too detailed to be made up! Somwhere, at some time there must have been a man who really did mince up bugs and cheese and teach a kangaroo mouse to ride around on his shoulder!
January 16, 2021
Probably my least favourite Shute, and I wonder if I will read it again (unlike most of the others, which always have something new or to be reminded of). Written at a time when he found it difficult to finish a story, this never rises above the trivial level. His attitude to the American way of life is also strange, given that he knew the country and was positive towards it -- here we see exposed a small-town narrow-mindedness to the point of bigotry. Of course the US is a large country and that is also part of the picture, but strange nevertheless.
May 20, 2017
3.5 Oilman Stan Laird comes to the Australian outback from small town Oregon to assess the areas potential for oil. He meets and falls in love with a ranchers illegitimate daughter and asks her to marry him, can they overcome their cultural differences enough to make a happy life together?
December 15, 2018
Just couldn’t get into this story or connect with the characters.
February 6, 2023
Someone left their entire collection of Nevil Shute paperbacks at my local used bookstore and based on my mom's love for A Town Called Alice and his other famous title, On the Beach, I've been making my way through the stack.
WARNING SPOILERS!
What can I say? It bears some similarity to A Town Called Alice--this one has the major activities take place in the Outback but has much less drama than Alice. I read online that he wrote this one to contrast the cultures of America and of Australia. And that he does. The book chugs along--it definitely has a plot, a young engineer from a small town in middle 20th century Oregon ends up in the Outback working for an oil company looking for oil and meets some eccentric hard living and drinking Aussies. The small town "civilized" and puritan Oregonians are contrasted with the wild pioneering, anything goes still living the pioneer life in the Outback. The young engineer has a secret in his past--which is why he doesn't drink and he falls for the local girl who had been seeing an English immigrant who was making a go of a large piece of land. She lives on the ranch with her former barmaid mother, her father, and her Uncle who used to be married to her mother until she ended up with her father. She has several siblings some of which are half-native Australian.
Big alert here about the racism in this book. And for looking at a cultural and historical look at racism in former British empires--this is where you find it and some differences between America and Australia. None come off better here in their treatment of others. I spent the first 2/3 of the book noticing the subtle and some small comments by characters and descriptions by the author that were cringe-worthy. I kept telling myself--"this is a historical artifact"..." this is "a cultural artifact of a different time." The Australian natives are treated as second-class citizens even when they are members of the family. I don't even recall any of them having a speaking line here, only actions of doing whatever the white Australians tell them to do.
But then when the young Australian woman travels to Oregon and the locals find not that not only is she illegitimate, but she has "half-caste" siblings...well, then the small-town ugly racism of America is on full display. The heroine has to remind the hero that less than a hundred years ago, Oregon was wilder and the town citizens may have some Native ancestors which by then some are quite proud of, so what is the difference? Yes, but my god, one can only hope this insight led her to some soul-searching on her own family's treatment of others off the written page because it certainly wasn't in the book.
Okay--I'm rewriting my own ending for the book then. She rejects the engineer, returns to Australia, marries the Englishman, and then starts talking and getting to know her own siblings and embarks on a journey to fix past wrongs. There is then a sequel of sorts to this book with a focus on The Countess and her family and their experience ala Wide Sargasso Sea. The Countess was the Housekeeper, and I'm assuming the mother of all the children that weren't the barmaids and I bet that would make an interesting story and I'm sure she would have a few things to say.
Current Ranking of Nevil Shute's books I've read:
1. A Town Called Alice
2. Beyond the Black Stump
WARNING SPOILERS!
What can I say? It bears some similarity to A Town Called Alice--this one has the major activities take place in the Outback but has much less drama than Alice. I read online that he wrote this one to contrast the cultures of America and of Australia. And that he does. The book chugs along--it definitely has a plot, a young engineer from a small town in middle 20th century Oregon ends up in the Outback working for an oil company looking for oil and meets some eccentric hard living and drinking Aussies. The small town "civilized" and puritan Oregonians are contrasted with the wild pioneering, anything goes still living the pioneer life in the Outback. The young engineer has a secret in his past--which is why he doesn't drink and he falls for the local girl who had been seeing an English immigrant who was making a go of a large piece of land. She lives on the ranch with her former barmaid mother, her father, and her Uncle who used to be married to her mother until she ended up with her father. She has several siblings some of which are half-native Australian.
Big alert here about the racism in this book. And for looking at a cultural and historical look at racism in former British empires--this is where you find it and some differences between America and Australia. None come off better here in their treatment of others. I spent the first 2/3 of the book noticing the subtle and some small comments by characters and descriptions by the author that were cringe-worthy. I kept telling myself--"this is a historical artifact"..." this is "a cultural artifact of a different time." The Australian natives are treated as second-class citizens even when they are members of the family. I don't even recall any of them having a speaking line here, only actions of doing whatever the white Australians tell them to do.
But then when the young Australian woman travels to Oregon and the locals find not that not only is she illegitimate, but she has "half-caste" siblings...well, then the small-town ugly racism of America is on full display. The heroine has to remind the hero that less than a hundred years ago, Oregon was wilder and the town citizens may have some Native ancestors which by then some are quite proud of, so what is the difference? Yes, but my god, one can only hope this insight led her to some soul-searching on her own family's treatment of others off the written page because it certainly wasn't in the book.
Okay--I'm rewriting my own ending for the book then. She rejects the engineer, returns to Australia, marries the Englishman, and then starts talking and getting to know her own siblings and embarks on a journey to fix past wrongs. There is then a sequel of sorts to this book with a focus on The Countess and her family and their experience ala Wide Sargasso Sea. The Countess was the Housekeeper, and I'm assuming the mother of all the children that weren't the barmaids and I bet that would make an interesting story and I'm sure she would have a few things to say.
Current Ranking of Nevil Shute's books I've read:
1. A Town Called Alice
2. Beyond the Black Stump
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2024
Although I enjoyed this book, it hasn't enthralled me like some of Mr. Shute's other novels, like On The Beach. In Beyond the Black Stump, the author focuses on a woman in the far reaches of the Australian outback where a group of American oil prospectors have come to drill. She dreams of getting away from "The Black Stump" of the outback to explore the world, feeding on stories told by the visitors and by locals who have returned.
The book starts out slow but gains momentum later in the story. Some of the attitudes and ideas are dated, but they give insights into another time.
The book starts out slow but gains momentum later in the story. Some of the attitudes and ideas are dated, but they give insights into another time.
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August 28, 2022Great book, this is my second reading of this book and it still makes me feel good. It has an ending which is not happy but could be if looking at it in another way. As always Nevil Shute is of the great tradition of marvellous storytellers. I highly recommend this book.
May 14, 2023
Nevil Shute never disappoints. Love this book.
October 20, 2021
Immensely readable, ‘Beyond the black stump’ is a wolf in sheep’s wool – a paen against all that divides us, hidden in the easy-read pages of a stunning best-seller. The plot is that of a western – stranger comes in, steals the prettiest girl on the ranch. It’s very well done – as it must be in a really good best seller. But then behind the plot is the real intent of the book – the dissection of all that separates us, the discovery of the steadfast love that binds us.
The narrative is fun, goes down like a good rum and water - just what is needed on a rainy winter weekend or a long flight in pre-covid days. The detail is perfect. I’m a geologist – I worked in this part of the Pilbara, Australia in the early 1980s. It was just like that. Well, maybe there was never any oil in these ancient Archaean iron hills, but they didn’t know that in the 1950s. The descriptions are spot on – I remember a naked geologist being chased round and round the reservoir of a water bore by a car-load of very cheerful and highly amused drunk indigenous Australians waving rifles. Eastern Oregon too – I was there in the early 1970s, and it too was just as Shute describes. Lunatic.
But the language is accurate – shocking, brutal, sharply racist. It’s accurate – I was in these places – that’s exactly how they spoke. I’m African myself, by the way – mixed race but mostly white: so I heard these people talk. This is about race separation - apartheid. Race intervenes on every page. It’s about religious sectarianism. They don’t have much religion – they’re non-functional Catholic but the Scottish barmaid mother is Presbyterian. The hero is Presbyterian too as is his noxious aunt, who has forgotten what the bible teaches. There’s drink and death in the narrative too - It’s about all that separates us.
Yet the real theme of the book is the love that unites us all. The central figure is far in the background, a minor character, Countess Markiewicz. She’s shapeless, very ugly, very black, indigenous Australian. She’s named after the Irish revolutionary, sentenced to death but spared because she was female, who became a Cabinet Minister. Her job is washing ��� endless washing. She’s steadfast love – the binding that holds the whole Lunatic chaos together. She keeps the Lunatics clean; it’s her sons who do the heavy lifting. The Countess is the one who understands what is going on; she’s the one who guides true love to the heroine.
There is hope underlying all the characters – life can be rebuilt. Their Lunatic chaos is woven together by love – it’s not chaos at all. The Irish killers do find a new life, as does the drunk Judge. In Oregon, the heroine develops a distaste for Western movies – she’s with the native Americans. She meets the scarred-for-life survivor of a car crash, a woman who does stand strong among the never-ending washing of diapers. Perhaps the nastiest character in the whole book is the town gossip, racist Aunt Claudia, but she’s the one who has sorrow for all the poor boys whom the Irish heroes killed, and even she may find redemption – if someone puts a beer can on her windowsill.
The resolution of the book is clear, honest and filled with hope. That’s when the reader realises this isn’t just a best-seller. It’s real literature. Steadfast love.
The narrative is fun, goes down like a good rum and water - just what is needed on a rainy winter weekend or a long flight in pre-covid days. The detail is perfect. I’m a geologist – I worked in this part of the Pilbara, Australia in the early 1980s. It was just like that. Well, maybe there was never any oil in these ancient Archaean iron hills, but they didn’t know that in the 1950s. The descriptions are spot on – I remember a naked geologist being chased round and round the reservoir of a water bore by a car-load of very cheerful and highly amused drunk indigenous Australians waving rifles. Eastern Oregon too – I was there in the early 1970s, and it too was just as Shute describes. Lunatic.
But the language is accurate – shocking, brutal, sharply racist. It’s accurate – I was in these places – that’s exactly how they spoke. I’m African myself, by the way – mixed race but mostly white: so I heard these people talk. This is about race separation - apartheid. Race intervenes on every page. It’s about religious sectarianism. They don’t have much religion – they’re non-functional Catholic but the Scottish barmaid mother is Presbyterian. The hero is Presbyterian too as is his noxious aunt, who has forgotten what the bible teaches. There’s drink and death in the narrative too - It’s about all that separates us.
Yet the real theme of the book is the love that unites us all. The central figure is far in the background, a minor character, Countess Markiewicz. She’s shapeless, very ugly, very black, indigenous Australian. She’s named after the Irish revolutionary, sentenced to death but spared because she was female, who became a Cabinet Minister. Her job is washing ��� endless washing. She’s steadfast love – the binding that holds the whole Lunatic chaos together. She keeps the Lunatics clean; it’s her sons who do the heavy lifting. The Countess is the one who understands what is going on; she’s the one who guides true love to the heroine.
There is hope underlying all the characters – life can be rebuilt. Their Lunatic chaos is woven together by love – it’s not chaos at all. The Irish killers do find a new life, as does the drunk Judge. In Oregon, the heroine develops a distaste for Western movies – she’s with the native Americans. She meets the scarred-for-life survivor of a car crash, a woman who does stand strong among the never-ending washing of diapers. Perhaps the nastiest character in the whole book is the town gossip, racist Aunt Claudia, but she’s the one who has sorrow for all the poor boys whom the Irish heroes killed, and even she may find redemption – if someone puts a beer can on her windowsill.
The resolution of the book is clear, honest and filled with hope. That’s when the reader realises this isn’t just a best-seller. It’s real literature. Steadfast love.
November 26, 2015
Not one of Shute's better known works, but of particular interest to me, as he compares two places I know well-- outback Australia and Eastern Oregon.
Its very much an anachronism as a book, not least because as he describes a drive out along the Columbia River, he's able to describe it without the last dams.
But beyond travelogue, the book is a window into the mind of a Brit in the mid-1950s, contemplating American power. This book is worth reading for ideas that are now gone; Shute was an engineer, and is looking at American industrial dominance, cars, planes, oil.
So the point of the book is to contrast the soul-less, almost Teutonic Americans with the warmer and more soulful Australians (Shute himself was a Brit, emigrated to Australia, and very much flying the Southern Cross flag here). The picture of the US is now quaint, and Shute's attempt to characterize Australia's treatment of Aboriginals as generous compared with America's racial issues is embarrassingly awkward.
Another interesting bit of social history is his censoriousness towards Americans social/sexual values. Somewhat reminiscent of the Brit/Aussie refrain about GIs ("overpaid, oversexed and over here"), Shute finds fault with American relationships. Its a curious criticism, but its a big part of the book.
So you can't read "Beyond the Black Stump" and sympathize with what Shute intended, but you can read it to see what a smart man who'd seen a lot of the world thought about in 1955. Seen from 2015, the errors of judgement and emphasis are obvious-- the value of the book lies not in the accuracy of his judgments, but as a record of the kinds of opinions people held at the time, for which this is a very good record.
One can also see the characterizations in "Black Stump" as the Roundhead/Cavalier divide, a longstanding cultural theme in Britain. Shute suggests the historic Anglican skepticism of Puritanism, that its sanctimonious, unloving, cruel and un-Christian. Shute's Americans are far too serious about the casual, and far too casual about the serious, with dire consequences for all.
Its well written, though his women are more "a man's idea of heroic women" than full characters.
All in all, a quick and interesting read, not a perfect book but a very nice slice in time, good travelogue, good social history.
Its very much an anachronism as a book, not least because as he describes a drive out along the Columbia River, he's able to describe it without the last dams.
But beyond travelogue, the book is a window into the mind of a Brit in the mid-1950s, contemplating American power. This book is worth reading for ideas that are now gone; Shute was an engineer, and is looking at American industrial dominance, cars, planes, oil.
So the point of the book is to contrast the soul-less, almost Teutonic Americans with the warmer and more soulful Australians (Shute himself was a Brit, emigrated to Australia, and very much flying the Southern Cross flag here). The picture of the US is now quaint, and Shute's attempt to characterize Australia's treatment of Aboriginals as generous compared with America's racial issues is embarrassingly awkward.
Another interesting bit of social history is his censoriousness towards Americans social/sexual values. Somewhat reminiscent of the Brit/Aussie refrain about GIs ("overpaid, oversexed and over here"), Shute finds fault with American relationships. Its a curious criticism, but its a big part of the book.
So you can't read "Beyond the Black Stump" and sympathize with what Shute intended, but you can read it to see what a smart man who'd seen a lot of the world thought about in 1955. Seen from 2015, the errors of judgement and emphasis are obvious-- the value of the book lies not in the accuracy of his judgments, but as a record of the kinds of opinions people held at the time, for which this is a very good record.
One can also see the characterizations in "Black Stump" as the Roundhead/Cavalier divide, a longstanding cultural theme in Britain. Shute suggests the historic Anglican skepticism of Puritanism, that its sanctimonious, unloving, cruel and un-Christian. Shute's Americans are far too serious about the casual, and far too casual about the serious, with dire consequences for all.
Its well written, though his women are more "a man's idea of heroic women" than full characters.
All in all, a quick and interesting read, not a perfect book but a very nice slice in time, good travelogue, good social history.
May 13, 2018
Audible version read by Laurence Kennedy. Very good. Jim and I listened to it and both enjoyed it overall. Good story line.
I'm a huge Nevil Shute fan so I was able to overlook various flaws. The book was written in 1956. Do keep this in mind. In many of Shute's books I think he likes to explore the relationships between people of different races but in this book oh it's hard to stomach his references to the people of color. The references to sexuality which are sometimes entertaining such as "should an unmarried man and woman traveling together stay not just in separate rooms but in separate hotels?"
In Shute's books I think it's safe to say there is always at least one very strong, resourceful, sensible woman who can get herself through the greatest challenges without being rescued. There are some strong women in this book.
I enjoyed what came down to comparisons of life in the US vs. life in the outback and the US frontier vs. the outback frontier. The story was good and aside from the disturbing references to racial issues, I really enjoyed this book. Not my favorite Shute book but a good one.
I'm a huge Nevil Shute fan so I was able to overlook various flaws. The book was written in 1956. Do keep this in mind. In many of Shute's books I think he likes to explore the relationships between people of different races but in this book oh it's hard to stomach his references to the people of color. The references to sexuality which are sometimes entertaining such as "should an unmarried man and woman traveling together stay not just in separate rooms but in separate hotels?"
In Shute's books I think it's safe to say there is always at least one very strong, resourceful, sensible woman who can get herself through the greatest challenges without being rescued. There are some strong women in this book.
I enjoyed what came down to comparisons of life in the US vs. life in the outback and the US frontier vs. the outback frontier. The story was good and aside from the disturbing references to racial issues, I really enjoyed this book. Not my favorite Shute book but a good one.
February 12, 2009
Nevil Shute does a wonderful job of exploring Australia from a British point of view and examines the post WWII lifestyles of both America and Australia with a unique perspective that always interests me. This story focuses on a young man raised in a small town in Oregon and his time spent on the Australian frontier. The comparison/contrast between what America now (or at least mid 20th century) considers "wild country" and the vast "lunatic" frontier of Australia is interesting. He does a beautiful job of examining not only the physical aspects of Australia, but the cultural differences between people that, initially, look so very similar. His examination of these differences is done carefully and respectfully and ends up making you think, "Yeah, I can see why they would think that way." A very enjoyable read though I enjoyed A Town Like Alice and The Far Country more.
August 19, 2015
A young, but experienced, American petroleum engineer is sent to a remote site in Western Australia to run seismic tests for a possible oil well. He is befriended by a rough-hewn sheep farming family and its eligible young daughter. So far, the book follows Mr. Shute's familiar plot track. Along the way, though, Mr. Shute is scattering hints that the final resolution may be different this time, and so it is.
The novel is one of a group that calls on Mr. Shute's Australian experiences for setting and characterizations, both of which are up to his usual standard in this book. The remarkable and fascinating addition in BTBS is Mr. Shute's clear-eyed contrasting of the life styles and morals of middle America of the 1950s with the frontier life of Australia. The contrast doesn't reflect well on America. Interesting, and prescient in many ways.
The novel is one of a group that calls on Mr. Shute's Australian experiences for setting and characterizations, both of which are up to his usual standard in this book. The remarkable and fascinating addition in BTBS is Mr. Shute's clear-eyed contrasting of the life styles and morals of middle America of the 1950s with the frontier life of Australia. The contrast doesn't reflect well on America. Interesting, and prescient in many ways.
July 2, 2023
My mission to read all Shute’s work continues. This one benefited from being set in my home state in Australia.
American Stanton Laird travels to the Australian Outback in search of oil and discovers love instead.
This is essentially a romance which is never Shute’s strong suit. He’s forever having characters say they’re in love without having actually shown them falling in love at all. This book suffers from that, too. Twice.
But this is still a great read. Not for the romance, but for all the usual Shute themes… the clash of cultures, race, religion, prejudice, hard work. It also focuses slightly less on his core obsession (aeroplanes).
As always, some of the language and ideas appall a 21st Cebtury audience, but never the less, he’s out there smashing taboos in the face.
Still a solid read.
American Stanton Laird travels to the Australian Outback in search of oil and discovers love instead.
This is essentially a romance which is never Shute’s strong suit. He’s forever having characters say they’re in love without having actually shown them falling in love at all. This book suffers from that, too. Twice.
But this is still a great read. Not for the romance, but for all the usual Shute themes… the clash of cultures, race, religion, prejudice, hard work. It also focuses slightly less on his core obsession (aeroplanes).
As always, some of the language and ideas appall a 21st Cebtury audience, but never the less, he’s out there smashing taboos in the face.
Still a solid read.
December 3, 2008
I love stories about the taming of Australia. Beyond the Black Stump satisfies this craving, describing life in frontier sheep grazing portions of the country as seen from the eyes of an American geologist traveling there to explore for oil. The culture differences between his life and that of the people he meets is interesting and at times incredibly funny, although also sobering and sad as well. Shute does a good job telling the story and the book easily kept my interest throughout.
If you liked this book, you will also enjoy A Town Like Alice, another story about frontier life in Australia also by Shute.
If you liked this book, you will also enjoy A Town Like Alice, another story about frontier life in Australia also by Shute.
September 11, 2020
Great story little aviation :)
Longtime reader and admirer of Mr Shute/Norway’s gentle surprisingly insightful and always engaging stories, this one took me awhile to figure out, but, like all his stories, soon had me swept in and sad when the story ended and all I can do is imagine how his people sorted things out and continued their kind adventures. Even his rough and rascally folks like those here have an inescapable and endearing humanity that resonates true.
Longtime reader and admirer of Mr Shute/Norway’s gentle surprisingly insightful and always engaging stories, this one took me awhile to figure out, but, like all his stories, soon had me swept in and sad when the story ended and all I can do is imagine how his people sorted things out and continued their kind adventures. Even his rough and rascally folks like those here have an inescapable and endearing humanity that resonates true.
February 23, 2010
A hard book for me to figure out. Intellectually, I knew the scenes connected meaningfully, but emotionally, it was a string of scenes that I could never really get interested in. Only one character seemed to experience any growth, and she was not the protagonist, leaving me to wonder what the point of basing a story around him was.
March 21, 2017
One of Shute's finest I'd say. As usual his character painting is simple but clear, their interactions complex but resolved. The clash of the characters' values and their life's aims is the backbone of the book and offers sincere food for thought. A touching and memorable story.
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