Nevil Shute

World War II pilot Peter Marshall leads the most successful bombing crew at his airbase, having survived an unusual number of extremely dangerous missions over Germany. However, when Peter falls hopelessly in love with an attractive WAAF officer—one who insists that wartime duties should take precedence over emotions—his concentration begins to suffer. Soon it looks as though his perfect run of successful missions may be at risk—along with the lives of Peter and his men—unless she can be persuaded to relent.

Pastoral

Janice Hopper

I think of Nevil Shute as an old-fashioned storyteller. His books aren't really very long. They have a lot of detail about characters' everyday lives. And many of his stories are set back in WW2 or just after. There's a leisurely kind of narration that is kinda different from a lot of today's books.

This is a story about a RAF pilot who falls in love with a WAAF Signal Officer who's stationed on the same base. He's certain almost right away that She is THE One; she's not quite so sure. She had other plans for her life. And right there is my biggest quibble with the book. (view spoiler)[ After he asks her to marry him, she tells him she's not in love with him, and they should stop seeing each other. His performance as a pilot falls WAY off. His crew gets lost returning from a bombing raid and barely survives. She BLAMES HERSELF for this, and lets him basically bully her into hanging out with him for a month before she decides ABSOLUTELY not to marry him. ::rolleyes::  (hide spoiler)] Okay, other times, other manners, sure, but still... 

There's a big dramatic event toward the end. I'll tell you honestly, I was so worried about what was happening, I had to put down my knitting and just listen for a while.

It's a good book. It's got romance, but it's subtle and gentle enough for my I-can't-really-abide-romance sensibilities. And there are a couple of small, subtle things that Shute does with other characters that tug your heartstrings too.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Frank Muller on Scribd. He is a very excellent narrator. I loved this book.

Pastoral

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