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The Rainbow and the Rose
When seasoned pilot Johnny Pascoe tries to rescue a sick girl from the Tasmanian outback, his plane crashes and leaves him stranded and dangerously injured. Ronnie Clarke, who was trained by Pascoe, attempts to fly a doctor in to help, but rough weather makes his mission more difficult than he imagined. As he waits overnight at Pascoe’s house for a chance to try again the next day, Clarke revisits the past of this unusual man—and reveals the shocking and tragic secrets that have influenced his life.
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
52 people are currently reading
433 people want to read
About the author
Nevil Shute
103 books1,330 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 99 reviews
August 17, 2021
This was an ok read. I never felt particularly engaged and had to push myself to finish the book. There are two stories here. The main story and a second story told through a dream. This device did not work for me and was confusing because dreams do not tell stories of any kind and definitely not stories about another person in a linear fashion. The blurb says all any potential reader needs to know about the plots. There is more technical info about flying than I have seen in any of Nevil Shute's books.
I cannot recommend this story to anyone but diehard Nevil Shute fans. Though this story did not capture me it did capture other readers/reviewers so please have a look at some more positive reviews and take mine with a grain of salt.
I cannot recommend this story to anyone but diehard Nevil Shute fans. Though this story did not capture me it did capture other readers/reviewers so please have a look at some more positive reviews and take mine with a grain of salt.
June 10, 2016
The author said it all for me.
"I had reached the happy ending of the story, and I was quietly, serenely happy. In the soft, velvety darkness I lay utterly at peace for I had finished with all heartaches, with all pains and worries; nothing could touch me now. I had finished the book but I could take it up and read it over and over again, and I would do so, secure in the knowledge of the happiness in the last chapter... Everything was all right now."
"I had reached the happy ending of the story, and I was quietly, serenely happy. In the soft, velvety darkness I lay utterly at peace for I had finished with all heartaches, with all pains and worries; nothing could touch me now. I had finished the book but I could take it up and read it over and over again, and I would do so, secure in the knowledge of the happiness in the last chapter... Everything was all right now."
October 12, 2016
Is this my favorite Nevil Shute? No. But I love his books so much it is hard for me to give them anything less than 5 stars.
September 4, 2011
this book confirmed, as if I needed one more reason, the high position of Nevil Shute in my list of favorite authors.
This is the story of a life spent flying, from the flimsy bi-planes of WWI to the transoceanic routes of the 50's, the story of a man who takes quiet pride in his skill and carries on his shoulders the heavy burden of some doomed love affairs without turning bitter. He is a solitary man, yet the friends he makes along the way will put everythinh away and come to help him in his hour of need. We find out about John Pascoe indirectly through the flashbacks / dreams of one of his former pupils.
The rainbow might be Hope and the rose the Love that makes a life worth living.
The writing is understated, concise and convincing - highly emotional without falling into the melodrama some of the story parts would suggest.
This is the story of a life spent flying, from the flimsy bi-planes of WWI to the transoceanic routes of the 50's, the story of a man who takes quiet pride in his skill and carries on his shoulders the heavy burden of some doomed love affairs without turning bitter. He is a solitary man, yet the friends he makes along the way will put everythinh away and come to help him in his hour of need. We find out about John Pascoe indirectly through the flashbacks / dreams of one of his former pupils.
The rainbow might be Hope and the rose the Love that makes a life worth living.
The writing is understated, concise and convincing - highly emotional without falling into the melodrama some of the story parts would suggest.
December 31, 2019
In The Rainbow and the Rose Nevil Shute gives readers one story framed in another. One pilot attempts to save the life of another who has crashed in trying to rescue a child with appendicitis. This is in northern Tasmania in the 1950s. As one might guess, the weather is terrible both when the first pilot crashes and when the second pilot tries to fly in a doctor to save the lives of not only the child but now the pilot too. The pilot has suffered a fractured skull and thigh bone. His condition is critical, the child’s condition has improved.
Let’s give the two pilots names—Ronnie Clarke, forty-six years of age, flies into save Johnnie Pascoe. Pascoe is sixty. It was Pascoe who taught Ronnie to fly. Waiting for a window of time when he can fly in an out, Ronnie has nowhere to stay except in Pascoe’s home. Borrowing Pascoe’s pajamas and bed, Ronnie tries to get a wink of sleep before he must take off early the following morning to save his friend. Around him are all of Pascoe’s things—photos plastered up on the wall, his books, his cigarettes, all that now makes up Pascoe’s world. Ronnie is enveloped in Pascoe’s things, his smell, his memories, his life and whole way of being. Taking a pill to get the needed sleep, he dreams of Pascoe. In the dreams we slip into the other story—the story of Pascoe’s life. It is Pascoe’s life that is in fact the central story. The crash and Ronnie’s rescue mission are the frame. It is never confusing when Shute slips from one story to the other.
Pascoe having been both a military and commercial pilot, there is much here about the art of flying. The jargon employed is full of aeronautical terms. Pascoe teaches a woman to fly. While he is teaching her, you feel you too are learning to fly. These sections were for me the best parts of the book. Here, the prose shines, which it does not do in other parts of the book. We learn of Pascoe’s two love affairs and the subsequentially complicated family and love relationships.
While the central characters are good, kind, honest, decent people, as Shute’s characters usually are, don’t presume that messy situations fail to arise. Suicide, adultery, pedophilia, incarceration of the mentally ill and possibly even incest are focal points of Pascoe’s life story. Nothing by Shute is drawn graphically. All is drawn with discernment.
The writing is fine, but nothing to marvel at. Kind of ordinary. Pascoe, as a commercial pilot, traveled the world and visited many countries. They are described superficially, as a tourist might see them, and yes, as a pilot might view them, residing in many different places for a day or two. So even if how places are described makes sense, they fail to create interest.
I like this book, but it didn't engage me to the extent a really good book will do. There is here a story to be told, but I do not feel a connection to it. That is what is missing for me.
Robert Kermode narrates the audiobook well. It is easy to follow. There is nothing special to remark upon. The narration I have given three stars.
******************
*Beyond The Black Stump 4 stars
*The Far Country 4 stars
*Pied Piper 3 stars
*The Rainbow and the Rose 3 stars
*Trustee from the Toolroom 3 stars
*Requiem for a Wren 2 stars
*Pastoral 1 star
*A Town Like Alice TBR
*Ruined City TBR
*An Old Captivity TBR
Let’s give the two pilots names—Ronnie Clarke, forty-six years of age, flies into save Johnnie Pascoe. Pascoe is sixty. It was Pascoe who taught Ronnie to fly. Waiting for a window of time when he can fly in an out, Ronnie has nowhere to stay except in Pascoe’s home. Borrowing Pascoe’s pajamas and bed, Ronnie tries to get a wink of sleep before he must take off early the following morning to save his friend. Around him are all of Pascoe’s things—photos plastered up on the wall, his books, his cigarettes, all that now makes up Pascoe’s world. Ronnie is enveloped in Pascoe’s things, his smell, his memories, his life and whole way of being. Taking a pill to get the needed sleep, he dreams of Pascoe. In the dreams we slip into the other story—the story of Pascoe’s life. It is Pascoe’s life that is in fact the central story. The crash and Ronnie’s rescue mission are the frame. It is never confusing when Shute slips from one story to the other.
Pascoe having been both a military and commercial pilot, there is much here about the art of flying. The jargon employed is full of aeronautical terms. Pascoe teaches a woman to fly. While he is teaching her, you feel you too are learning to fly. These sections were for me the best parts of the book. Here, the prose shines, which it does not do in other parts of the book. We learn of Pascoe’s two love affairs and the subsequentially complicated family and love relationships.
While the central characters are good, kind, honest, decent people, as Shute’s characters usually are, don’t presume that messy situations fail to arise. Suicide, adultery, pedophilia, incarceration of the mentally ill and possibly even incest are focal points of Pascoe’s life story. Nothing by Shute is drawn graphically. All is drawn with discernment.
The writing is fine, but nothing to marvel at. Kind of ordinary. Pascoe, as a commercial pilot, traveled the world and visited many countries. They are described superficially, as a tourist might see them, and yes, as a pilot might view them, residing in many different places for a day or two. So even if how places are described makes sense, they fail to create interest.
I like this book, but it didn't engage me to the extent a really good book will do. There is here a story to be told, but I do not feel a connection to it. That is what is missing for me.
Robert Kermode narrates the audiobook well. It is easy to follow. There is nothing special to remark upon. The narration I have given three stars.
******************
*Beyond The Black Stump 4 stars
*The Far Country 4 stars
*Pied Piper 3 stars
*The Rainbow and the Rose 3 stars
*Trustee from the Toolroom 3 stars
*Requiem for a Wren 2 stars
*Pastoral 1 star
*A Town Like Alice TBR
*Ruined City TBR
*An Old Captivity TBR
August 18, 2015
Probably the most openly romantic of Shute's novels. It bears all the usual Shute characteristics: Lots of stuff about aviation; quaint 1940's mores regarding sex (even though it was written in the mid 50's); and that trick, unique to Shute of suddenly shifting viewpoints from one time & place to another far removed, even to changing narrator in mid-sentence. Those familiar with "In the Wet" or "An Old Captivity" will be somewhat prepared for these abrupt literary gymnastics and will take them in stride and just go along for the ride, whereas a reader encountering such a trick for the first time will undoubtedly find it a jolt. Never mind, Shute almost always manages to have his story work out alright in the end.
All of Shute's books are dated, his vernacular stilted and very English. If that is too distracting for your taste, give his works a pass. Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy his great stories.
All of Shute's books are dated, his vernacular stilted and very English. If that is too distracting for your taste, give his works a pass. Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy his great stories.
December 4, 2015
One of the many books by Nevil Shute I've enjoyed re-reading. Most remember the setting,a strong story element.
Found this piece at the Nevil Shute Foundation website
"By Bill McCandless
"The story is set in Northern Tasmania, a sparsely populated island South of Australia, in the 1950's. Here a retired Airlines Captain named John Pascoe operates a small aero club and crop-dusting company. We find that he has retired after 45 years as a military flyer, a flight instructor, and a commercial pilot for Australian-Continental Airlines. In a rescue attempt at a remote mountain location, he has crashed and suffered a fractured skull. Another pilot, also a Captain for Aus-Con Airlines, named Ronnie Clark, has volunteered to attempt rescue. He has known the injured flyer casually since Pascoe taught him to fly over thirty years ago.
The novels' somewhat misleading name was taken from a Poem by Rupert Brooke which describes the dreams of children as storing all the sweet sounds and sights and smells which make their waking lives colorful and active. By inference Brooke reminds us that this treasure trove of color and beauty is available to us in old age.
This is, like An Old Captivity and In The Wet, a dream-tale which Mr. Shute uses as a literary device to unfold the plot and develop the characters. In Pascoe's bedroom, surrounded by pictures recalling the past; after one failed attempt to deliver a doctor to the crash site; the exhausted Ronnie Clark takes a nebuhtal and sleeps. His dream relates Pascoe's two failed marriages, romances which resulted in the birth of two daughters. The first daughter was alienated by a vindictive mother and the second reported dead by a protective Grandmother. Apart from this novel, Mr. Shute only discusses adultery in On The Beach, and has his character commit suicide in Requiem for a Wren; here he uses both of these themes with a touch of incest thrown in. The complex plot, employing numerous flashbacks, has a mystical quality that suggests the influence of a cinematic screenplay with its ability to move through place and time frames using visual images. Only the writer's skill at the peak of a long career, and devoted readers who hang on every word, makes the novel form moderately successful.
What develops is a sense of personal loss when Pascoe dies before the 2nd rescue attempt can be completed, and an insight into how two daughters can approach the event from two entirely different viewpoints. The story has adventure, romance, and mystery; but the central character never speaks a word in real life. Descriptions of early fighter airplanes in 1918 and the techniques of dog-fighting and other risky flying activity, is well done and helps to build reader interest for the twists and turns of the plot. Mr. Shute may have written it for easy transcription to a screenplay, but to my knowledge, no filmaker has ever tried."
**
Don't particularly like this Kirkus review, but post it for the informative ...
"KIRKUS REVIEW
A story told on two levels of perception and the reader- an in some of Shute's other books- is called on to accept a shift of personality, an acutely aware extra sensory perception. He has made it very plausible this time as he tells two stories, -- the one of a youngish married pilot, Ronnie, who tells the story; the other of Johnnie Pascoe, an older pilot, who- in his years of retirement- has run a small airfield in Australia. Johnnie, on a mission to take a sick child off a remote beach location, has crashed. Ronnie volunteers to fly a doctor in, and falls on the first two attempts. Exhausted, he goes to Johnnie's cottage to sleep -- and becomes, for a period, Johnnie Pascoe, and relives in successive flashes, the whole of his life. There had been a marriage which crashed- when his actress wife went to Hollywood, divorced him, and brought their child up to distrust and blame him. Then, years later, there had been a romance which ended on tragedy. The girl was tied to a madman; when she knew she could not have her freedom, she crashed her own plane. And their child, here and Johnnie's, was supposed to have died. But she hadn't, and how she came on the scene, and the part she played in leaving the story's end with a note of hope, belongs to the story itself. Not literature, this, but good reading, both an romance and adventure. The flying aspects are perhaps the beat part of the book.
Found this piece at the Nevil Shute Foundation website
"By Bill McCandless
"The story is set in Northern Tasmania, a sparsely populated island South of Australia, in the 1950's. Here a retired Airlines Captain named John Pascoe operates a small aero club and crop-dusting company. We find that he has retired after 45 years as a military flyer, a flight instructor, and a commercial pilot for Australian-Continental Airlines. In a rescue attempt at a remote mountain location, he has crashed and suffered a fractured skull. Another pilot, also a Captain for Aus-Con Airlines, named Ronnie Clark, has volunteered to attempt rescue. He has known the injured flyer casually since Pascoe taught him to fly over thirty years ago.
The novels' somewhat misleading name was taken from a Poem by Rupert Brooke which describes the dreams of children as storing all the sweet sounds and sights and smells which make their waking lives colorful and active. By inference Brooke reminds us that this treasure trove of color and beauty is available to us in old age.
This is, like An Old Captivity and In The Wet, a dream-tale which Mr. Shute uses as a literary device to unfold the plot and develop the characters. In Pascoe's bedroom, surrounded by pictures recalling the past; after one failed attempt to deliver a doctor to the crash site; the exhausted Ronnie Clark takes a nebuhtal and sleeps. His dream relates Pascoe's two failed marriages, romances which resulted in the birth of two daughters. The first daughter was alienated by a vindictive mother and the second reported dead by a protective Grandmother. Apart from this novel, Mr. Shute only discusses adultery in On The Beach, and has his character commit suicide in Requiem for a Wren; here he uses both of these themes with a touch of incest thrown in. The complex plot, employing numerous flashbacks, has a mystical quality that suggests the influence of a cinematic screenplay with its ability to move through place and time frames using visual images. Only the writer's skill at the peak of a long career, and devoted readers who hang on every word, makes the novel form moderately successful.
What develops is a sense of personal loss when Pascoe dies before the 2nd rescue attempt can be completed, and an insight into how two daughters can approach the event from two entirely different viewpoints. The story has adventure, romance, and mystery; but the central character never speaks a word in real life. Descriptions of early fighter airplanes in 1918 and the techniques of dog-fighting and other risky flying activity, is well done and helps to build reader interest for the twists and turns of the plot. Mr. Shute may have written it for easy transcription to a screenplay, but to my knowledge, no filmaker has ever tried."
**
Don't particularly like this Kirkus review, but post it for the informative ...
"KIRKUS REVIEW
A story told on two levels of perception and the reader- an in some of Shute's other books- is called on to accept a shift of personality, an acutely aware extra sensory perception. He has made it very plausible this time as he tells two stories, -- the one of a youngish married pilot, Ronnie, who tells the story; the other of Johnnie Pascoe, an older pilot, who- in his years of retirement- has run a small airfield in Australia. Johnnie, on a mission to take a sick child off a remote beach location, has crashed. Ronnie volunteers to fly a doctor in, and falls on the first two attempts. Exhausted, he goes to Johnnie's cottage to sleep -- and becomes, for a period, Johnnie Pascoe, and relives in successive flashes, the whole of his life. There had been a marriage which crashed- when his actress wife went to Hollywood, divorced him, and brought their child up to distrust and blame him. Then, years later, there had been a romance which ended on tragedy. The girl was tied to a madman; when she knew she could not have her freedom, she crashed her own plane. And their child, here and Johnnie's, was supposed to have died. But she hadn't, and how she came on the scene, and the part she played in leaving the story's end with a note of hope, belongs to the story itself. Not literature, this, but good reading, both an romance and adventure. The flying aspects are perhaps the beat part of the book.
October 21, 2025
The Rainbow and the Rose is another wonderful book by Neville Shute (not sure he ever wrote a bad book). The only major confusion for me with this book was the title as I’m not sure how it relates to the story? The book is set post WWII with flashbacks to time periods between the world wars. As with many of Shute’s books a strong aviation theme runs through this story. Reading a Neville Shute book is like stepping back in time to see how people lived when life was simple, we didn’t have to know everything, people wrote letters or talked face to face. The story itself had plenty of adventure and tension as we would expect. There were also plenty of twists and turns as well as some romance. Even a small supernatural element with one main character having a dream about which reveals some past secrets of another character. Another excellent story from a highly renowned and skilled author.
April 4, 2023
Another great novel by Nevil Shute.
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
4* The Far Country
4* Lonely Road
3* Trustee from the Toolroom
3* An old captivity
3.5* Ordeal
4* Round the bend
3* The Rainbow and the Rose
TR Pastoral
TR So disdained
TR Ruined City
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
4* The Far Country
4* Lonely Road
3* Trustee from the Toolroom
3* An old captivity
3.5* Ordeal
4* Round the bend
3* The Rainbow and the Rose
TR Pastoral
TR So disdained
TR Ruined City
October 31, 2014
Johnnie Pascoe, a retired pilot, and his passenger have been injured in a terrible plane crash virtually in the middle of nowhere. Johnnie’s former student and long-time friend, Ronnie Clarke, must now go on an impossible mission to save him and his passenger before it is too late. As the story goes on, the clock begins to run out and the weather itself is making it even more difficult to conceive a thought of going to Johnnie’s location. With the terrible weather having few breaks, Johnnie and his passenger, who has a ruptured appendix, must be cared for by a family who owns the land that the plane had crashed on. Throughout the book, Ronnie begins piecing together what had happened through Johnnie’s life in his own eyes. Ronnie finally begins to realize the life Johnnie has led as time goes along. The story continues into the journey to the Tasmanian outback, where Johnnie and his passenger are stranded.
I liked the book for its historical fiction being tied in with the action, suspense, and romance. I would say this book is for anyone who likes romance, aviation in fiction, and historical fiction. The book jumps in time between the present and very far past and follows two love stories entangled with the long history of Johnnie’s flying career. A mature audience may appreciate the story because of its complexity and action. Those who enjoy books about aviation and adventure would really like this story due to its overall plot revolving around 2 pilots who do anything for each other.
I absolutely adored this book. The story itself, although relatively slow-paced, is quite riveting to the end. It did get a little confusing when Ronnie began dreaming about what happened, but after a while, it finally pieced itself together and captured my attention. With the extremely vivid imagery, the reader can step into the story as it unfolds a masterpiece of flashbacks that open a window into the mind of Johnnie Pascoe. The emotions in such a touching book pop out, making it that much more filled with action and the feeling of relations with all of the characters. I would definitely suggest reading this book.
I liked the book for its historical fiction being tied in with the action, suspense, and romance. I would say this book is for anyone who likes romance, aviation in fiction, and historical fiction. The book jumps in time between the present and very far past and follows two love stories entangled with the long history of Johnnie’s flying career. A mature audience may appreciate the story because of its complexity and action. Those who enjoy books about aviation and adventure would really like this story due to its overall plot revolving around 2 pilots who do anything for each other.
I absolutely adored this book. The story itself, although relatively slow-paced, is quite riveting to the end. It did get a little confusing when Ronnie began dreaming about what happened, but after a while, it finally pieced itself together and captured my attention. With the extremely vivid imagery, the reader can step into the story as it unfolds a masterpiece of flashbacks that open a window into the mind of Johnnie Pascoe. The emotions in such a touching book pop out, making it that much more filled with action and the feeling of relations with all of the characters. I would definitely suggest reading this book.
April 30, 2022
I enjoyed this story. I was fortunate to read this after just finishing Slide Rule. Which is his autobiography about his early life as aeronautics engineer and designer. This helped understand the detailed descriptions about flying, found in this book as in many of his other books. I am a huge Nevil Shute fan, but this book left me puzzled. Don’t misunderstand, I liked the overall story, but that aside, I was troubled with how the story was presented. It was the review by Anne, that it all made sense. She pointed out that the story was told in dream, not unusual until you realize that the main characters life story is being told through another man's dreams. This is an unreliable narrator in capital letters, and that is the flaw of this story. I just didn’t see it until reading Anne’s review. It seems strange to me that Shute did not see the plot flaw and reorganize the story. Oh well, it is still a good story, and I am still a big fan.
3.5 Stars rounded up!!
3.5 Stars rounded up!!
November 20, 2018
I like all Nevil Shute's books.
Written by an engineer who didn't read polite literature, and peopled with reasonable characters, these paint a world that is internally consistent. While it contains surprises, Shute's world reflects sound values, where people get on with things and don't whinge. There is a sense in which his books give a break from the often squalid reality of life, even if issues like rape, murder, cruelty, suicide and the end of the world are dealt with.
Like so many of Shute's characters, the protagonist lives close to technology (he is a pilot). He has been married twice and had a daughter from each marriage, with both of whom he has lost touch. These feature in surprisingly contrasting ways. As with In the Wet, the story is partly told by the narrator (when he is awake) and partly by the protagonist (by appearing in the narrator's dreams).
What is it about? Growing old alone contrasted with a settled family life; the helplessness of individuals in the face of fate, aka the randomness of life changing events; and of course it is a love story -- containing three love stories on the back of a mission to rescue an injured pilot from a remote part of Tasmania.
Is it also about extra sensory perception? For all that she was a doctor, Shute's wife was interested in these matters, that feature in a number of otherwise feet-on-the-ground books such as No Highway. And do the 2 doctors say something about the attitude of a man who had a heart condition and felt himself old -- as did the protagonist, also in his late 50s but who can pass any medical test that can be devised)? As a final point of comparison, the author and the protagonist both died at 60, survived by their two daughters each.
Written by an engineer who didn't read polite literature, and peopled with reasonable characters, these paint a world that is internally consistent. While it contains surprises, Shute's world reflects sound values, where people get on with things and don't whinge. There is a sense in which his books give a break from the often squalid reality of life, even if issues like rape, murder, cruelty, suicide and the end of the world are dealt with.
Like so many of Shute's characters, the protagonist lives close to technology (he is a pilot). He has been married twice and had a daughter from each marriage, with both of whom he has lost touch. These feature in surprisingly contrasting ways. As with In the Wet, the story is partly told by the narrator (when he is awake) and partly by the protagonist (by appearing in the narrator's dreams).
What is it about? Growing old alone contrasted with a settled family life; the helplessness of individuals in the face of fate, aka the randomness of life changing events; and of course it is a love story -- containing three love stories on the back of a mission to rescue an injured pilot from a remote part of Tasmania.
Is it also about extra sensory perception? For all that she was a doctor, Shute's wife was interested in these matters, that feature in a number of otherwise feet-on-the-ground books such as No Highway. And do the 2 doctors say something about the attitude of a man who had a heart condition and felt himself old -- as did the protagonist, also in his late 50s but who can pass any medical test that can be devised)? As a final point of comparison, the author and the protagonist both died at 60, survived by their two daughters each.
April 7, 2011
Can a man make something respectable of himself in imperfect times?
This is a story of a pilot's life in a postwar economy, of how easy it is to be unlucky in love and how hard it can be to establish a stable family life after a war. Men and women, old and young, make an effort to put life back together again. Relationships and disappointments grow out of checkered pasts. Respect comes where it's due but sometimes not when it's most wanted. Satisfaction and tranquility are possible, but sometimes not where they're expected.
My favorite part of this story may be the comparison of two doctors who come together to help a pilot who is trying to rescue the man who taught him to fly thirty years before. The way they compare to one another and to the two female caregivers in the story is quite well done. Nevil Shute was married to a medical practitioner and raised two daughters with her -he had plenty of time to consider what kind of medical care a man would want to receive by the time he wrote this, the last of his novels, two years before his death in 1960!
In Bill McCandless' review he describes how the title of this book was taken from a Rupert Brooke poem which describes the dreams of children as storing all the perceptions which make their waking lives colorful and active, reminding us that this treasure trove of color and beauty is available to us in old age.
This is a story of a pilot's life in a postwar economy, of how easy it is to be unlucky in love and how hard it can be to establish a stable family life after a war. Men and women, old and young, make an effort to put life back together again. Relationships and disappointments grow out of checkered pasts. Respect comes where it's due but sometimes not when it's most wanted. Satisfaction and tranquility are possible, but sometimes not where they're expected.
My favorite part of this story may be the comparison of two doctors who come together to help a pilot who is trying to rescue the man who taught him to fly thirty years before. The way they compare to one another and to the two female caregivers in the story is quite well done. Nevil Shute was married to a medical practitioner and raised two daughters with her -he had plenty of time to consider what kind of medical care a man would want to receive by the time he wrote this, the last of his novels, two years before his death in 1960!
In Bill McCandless' review he describes how the title of this book was taken from a Rupert Brooke poem which describes the dreams of children as storing all the perceptions which make their waking lives colorful and active, reminding us that this treasure trove of color and beauty is available to us in old age.
June 7, 2016
Canadian connection - character was Canadian ex-pat, living in Tasmania.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I didn't really have high expectations, and sometimes that is a good thing. I thought Nevil Shute's approach was unique. The present day was in the POV of the pilot who was attempting to rescue his friend. Any time he fell asleep, he dreamed of Johnny's past and thus told his story.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I didn't really have high expectations, and sometimes that is a good thing. I thought Nevil Shute's approach was unique. The present day was in the POV of the pilot who was attempting to rescue his friend. Any time he fell asleep, he dreamed of Johnny's past and thus told his story.
December 24, 2017
Odd. I mean, I'm not into aviation so much, or failed romances (especially those do to a misplaced sense of honor, or to patriarchal expectations), or adventure... but this novel is more than the sum of its parts and is surprisingly engaging. Not a fast read, but not difficult, either... again, just, hm. Definitely thought-provoking; would make a good book-club read.
I will prioritize my reread of On The Beach and will consider others by the author, too.
I will prioritize my reread of On The Beach and will consider others by the author, too.
January 21, 2021
Over coffee on Sunday, I was explaining to a British friend the novels of Nevil Shute. I have to say that I didn’t defend myself very well even though I wasn’t lacking in enthusiasm. I described Trustee from the Toolroom as a modern fairy tale, which may be true but does nothing to explain his work to the uninitiated. I still don’t think I’m capable of explaining the appeal of his books, at least their appeal for me, but I’ll try again.
When you look back when he was his books were popular, way back before television. Back then, to be considered a literate person, you read for pleasure. This just isn’t true today as many of us know quite a few people who never bother to read novels, ever. I think that our preoccupation with TV and movies has trickled down to affect the novels that are written today.
I’ve probably failed, or come up way short. One thing that I can say is that in all of his novels that I’ve read so far, the protagonists are remarkably decent, hard-working people, competent in their careers and loyal in their friendships. They are people you’d like to have among your friends.
Just as with Trustee from the Toolroom, I almost gave up on this one, but I’m equally happy that I kept on.
When you look back when he was his books were popular, way back before television. Back then, to be considered a literate person, you read for pleasure. This just isn’t true today as many of us know quite a few people who never bother to read novels, ever. I think that our preoccupation with TV and movies has trickled down to affect the novels that are written today.
I’ve probably failed, or come up way short. One thing that I can say is that in all of his novels that I’ve read so far, the protagonists are remarkably decent, hard-working people, competent in their careers and loyal in their friendships. They are people you’d like to have among your friends.
Just as with Trustee from the Toolroom, I almost gave up on this one, but I’m equally happy that I kept on.
August 6, 2013
It's odd but after every Nevil Shute book I read I think this is my favourite book and The Rainbow and the Rose is no exception. As often happens in his books it's two tales in one. One an attempted landing on an impossible air strip in an attempt to save a friends life and the other a life lived to the full by an flying instructor both intertwined in a most believeable way. A really great story, it's my favouite book!
April 27, 2024
The Rainbow and the Rose is a poignant tale of love and loss. Johnnie Pascoe, a WWI vet and lifelong aviator, is a retired airline pilot who has been seriously wounded while attempting to land a plane on a remote airstrip. Hearing the news, his friend and former student Ronnie Clarke takes leave to try to save him. All the while Clarke has dreams of Pascoe's past, revealing the trials and tribulations of the old pilot.
January 7, 2021
Another good Nevil Shute novel, with a story within a story.
August 16, 2020
Via Audible:
*warning- review contains spoilers (but in saying that, I'm doing you a favour and saving you many hours muttering 'WTF' to yourself). So, you're welcome.
Are you looking for an audiobook that confuses, perplexes and befuddles?
Sick of being able to follow plotlines, characters or locations?
Do you enjoy hearing place names be mispronounced (It's 'YARRA', not Yarh-rah')?
What about a Narrator with no ability to do voices?
Then this audiobook is for you!
Meet Ronnie, a pilot guy. Ronnie has a wife called Sheila, who has a voice identical to Ronnie.
Meet Johnnie, a pilot guy, who taught Ronnie how to pilot. Johnnie sounds like Ronnie who sounds like Sheila, and also sounds like his wife, Judy.
BUT - Judy is not a pilot. So forget her.
The story of Johnnie is told by Ronnie, who doesn't actually know the story, because he is dreaming about Johnnie. So whether this is a story about Johnnie, or just Ronnie having major dream-crushes on Johnnie, is unclear.
I might also point out that this whole time Johnnie is lying somewhere in Tasmania with a broken skull from a plane crash, Ronnie goes all Goldilocks and tells this entire story while making himself at home in Johnnie's house, dressing in Johnnie's robe, using his house keeper and even sleeping in his bed.
Woah, Ronnie? Single white female, much?
Meet, oh gosh, I don't remember her name... we'll call her Bronnie. Bronnie is Johnnie's daughter with Judy, and is a middle aged bitter woman with major daddy issues, and has a voice like Johnny, Judy, Ronnie and Sheila.
Now forget Bronnie, because she isn't a pilot either, and doesn't appear in the plot again.
Anyway, Judy leaves Johnnie and Johnnie falls in love with Brenda.
Meet Brenda, a pilot girl. Brenda has a voice just like Judy, wife of Johnnie, who sounds like Ronnie and his wife, Sheila.
You can forget about Sheila too.
Meet Brenda Jnr, baby daughter of Brenda and Johnnie (what, they couldn't come up with any other names?). We'll call her Brenda Lite.
Now forget Brenda Lite, because she comes to an untimely end.
Brenda Classic, also comes to an untimely end. Now we're Brenda-less.
Anyway, Johnnie is sad because the two Brendas are no more, and so vows to never touch a woman again (which is tough for pilots, due to the Mile High club and all).
Okay, so now Johnnie has suddenly aged twenty years, and after living in India (what? India? Twenty years and no plot line in India? Oh, Okay then, whatever.) Johnnie is still a pilot guy.
Now meet Peggy. Peggy is twenty-something air hostess (man does this author likes anything plane- related, huh?) and guess what? Peggy sounds just like Johnnie, Ronnie, Sheila, and Brenda Classic.
So now that Peggy has arrived on the scene and makes human contact with love-starved Johnnie, and he thinks Peggy is bonza.
In fact, Johnnie thinks Peggy is so bonza that he pops the question (no, not about the Mile High club).
Peggy gets all awks, and with excellent tact and timing, makes a big revelation - PEGGY IS BRENDA LITE (who's death was faked by Brenda Classic's mother - we'll refer to her as Bonnie) to ironically save Johnnie from heartache later on). Maybe I should have mentioned that earlier in the rant.
But I mean, come on Brenda Lite - have a bit of class: When a guy asks you to marry him, you don't story top their proposal by revealing you're his daughter! C'mon! This is manners 1-0-1!
Anyway, I've forgotten the rest of this story (more planes, I think), possibly because I was distracted by the facial twitch I developed, triggered by the repeated use of the word 'presently'. Seriously - it's ALL.THE. TIME.
All in all, a bit of a dud. But props for the crazy antics of Ronnie (who shamelessly occupied Johnnie's house, ate his food, swanned about wearing his robe and slumbered in his bed, all while Johnnie battled for survival with a fractured face in the Tasmanian bush scrub). Johnnie - I like that guy!
*warning- review contains spoilers (but in saying that, I'm doing you a favour and saving you many hours muttering 'WTF' to yourself). So, you're welcome.
Are you looking for an audiobook that confuses, perplexes and befuddles?
Sick of being able to follow plotlines, characters or locations?
Do you enjoy hearing place names be mispronounced (It's 'YARRA', not Yarh-rah')?
What about a Narrator with no ability to do voices?
Then this audiobook is for you!
Meet Ronnie, a pilot guy. Ronnie has a wife called Sheila, who has a voice identical to Ronnie.
Meet Johnnie, a pilot guy, who taught Ronnie how to pilot. Johnnie sounds like Ronnie who sounds like Sheila, and also sounds like his wife, Judy.
BUT - Judy is not a pilot. So forget her.
The story of Johnnie is told by Ronnie, who doesn't actually know the story, because he is dreaming about Johnnie. So whether this is a story about Johnnie, or just Ronnie having major dream-crushes on Johnnie, is unclear.
I might also point out that this whole time Johnnie is lying somewhere in Tasmania with a broken skull from a plane crash, Ronnie goes all Goldilocks and tells this entire story while making himself at home in Johnnie's house, dressing in Johnnie's robe, using his house keeper and even sleeping in his bed.
Woah, Ronnie? Single white female, much?
Meet, oh gosh, I don't remember her name... we'll call her Bronnie. Bronnie is Johnnie's daughter with Judy, and is a middle aged bitter woman with major daddy issues, and has a voice like Johnny, Judy, Ronnie and Sheila.
Now forget Bronnie, because she isn't a pilot either, and doesn't appear in the plot again.
Anyway, Judy leaves Johnnie and Johnnie falls in love with Brenda.
Meet Brenda, a pilot girl. Brenda has a voice just like Judy, wife of Johnnie, who sounds like Ronnie and his wife, Sheila.
You can forget about Sheila too.
Meet Brenda Jnr, baby daughter of Brenda and Johnnie (what, they couldn't come up with any other names?). We'll call her Brenda Lite.
Now forget Brenda Lite, because she comes to an untimely end.
Brenda Classic, also comes to an untimely end. Now we're Brenda-less.
Anyway, Johnnie is sad because the two Brendas are no more, and so vows to never touch a woman again (which is tough for pilots, due to the Mile High club and all).
Okay, so now Johnnie has suddenly aged twenty years, and after living in India (what? India? Twenty years and no plot line in India? Oh, Okay then, whatever.) Johnnie is still a pilot guy.
Now meet Peggy. Peggy is twenty-something air hostess (man does this author likes anything plane- related, huh?) and guess what? Peggy sounds just like Johnnie, Ronnie, Sheila, and Brenda Classic.
So now that Peggy has arrived on the scene and makes human contact with love-starved Johnnie, and he thinks Peggy is bonza.
In fact, Johnnie thinks Peggy is so bonza that he pops the question (no, not about the Mile High club).
Peggy gets all awks, and with excellent tact and timing, makes a big revelation - PEGGY IS BRENDA LITE (who's death was faked by Brenda Classic's mother - we'll refer to her as Bonnie) to ironically save Johnnie from heartache later on). Maybe I should have mentioned that earlier in the rant.
But I mean, come on Brenda Lite - have a bit of class: When a guy asks you to marry him, you don't story top their proposal by revealing you're his daughter! C'mon! This is manners 1-0-1!
Anyway, I've forgotten the rest of this story (more planes, I think), possibly because I was distracted by the facial twitch I developed, triggered by the repeated use of the word 'presently'. Seriously - it's ALL.THE. TIME.
All in all, a bit of a dud. But props for the crazy antics of Ronnie (who shamelessly occupied Johnnie's house, ate his food, swanned about wearing his robe and slumbered in his bed, all while Johnnie battled for survival with a fractured face in the Tasmanian bush scrub). Johnnie - I like that guy!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2016
I can remember reading this book for the first time when I was 15. What most amazed me about Nevil Shute's writing is that I could get so absorbed, so lost in it, that finishing a long section was like waking from a dream. In this book he layers in flashbacks and dreams in such a compelling way it can be hard to remember that you are not part of the story.
I have re-read this book once or twice and have to say that nothing is lost by already knowing the outcome. For so many books the payoff is the end resolution or realization, but with Shute the journey of the characters and the way he develops them is the reward.
I have re-read this book once or twice and have to say that nothing is lost by already knowing the outcome. For so many books the payoff is the end resolution or realization, but with Shute the journey of the characters and the way he develops them is the reward.
July 11, 2018
This was not the best Shute I've read with similar patterns in the plot to others of his books. It had good descriptions of small plane craft and the difficulties of landing in remote/short landing strips. Shute used one character's dreams to tell another's story and that didn't quite work, creating odd clunky transitions.
December 2, 2015
Another delightful and exhilarating Shute work... the adventure component is gripping and the romantic interlude(s) tenderly tragic... above all, has an unprecedented degree of altruism and another spiffing narrative device
October 24, 2019
Loved it. The historical setting is very accurate if you search for DC6's and read about the trans pacific routes. Interesting that long range (15hours +) plane journeys are being talked about as a new thing but back in the early 50's before jet travel they were quite common
June 19, 2018
Der Pilot Johnnie Pascoe hat sich nach seiner Pensionierung in Tasmanien niedergelassen und fliegt dort aus reinem Spaß an der Freude nach wie vor kleine Maschinen. Als auf einer entlegenen Farm, die wetterbedingt nur per Flugzeug erreichbar ist, ein kleines Mädchen an Blinddarmentzündung erkrankt, zögert er keine Sekunde und macht sich auf den Weg, um das Kind auszufliegen. Doch selbst für einen erfahrenen Profi wie Pascoe ist die winzige Landebahn zu problematisch, es gibt eine Bruchlandung und Pascoe wird schwer verletzt.
Sein ehemaliger Flugschüler Ronnie Craven will alles daran setzen, seinem Mentor und dem kranken Kind zu helfen, und erklärt sich bereit, trotz der widrigen Bedingungen einen Arzt auf die Farm zu bringen. Doch das Wetter lässt eine Landung nicht zu, und Ronnie verbringt eine quälend lange Nacht in Pascoes eigenem Haus, während er auf den nächsten Tag und eine zweite Chance zum Anflug wartet.
Während Ronnie zu schlafen versucht, verlagert sich der Fokus auf Pascoes Vergangenheit und bringt Geheimnisse aus der bewegten Vergangenheit des schweigsamen Mannes ans Licht, der im ersten Weltkrieg als Kampfpilot diente und danach in England als Fluglehrer arbeitete.
Nevil Shutes unaufgeregten Stil und seine aus heutiger Sicht etwas altmodisch anmutende, aber angenehm gemächliche Erzählweise mag ich immer wieder gerne. Hier scheinen zunächst die Rettungsaktion für einen verunglückten Retter und ihr Initiator im Mittelpunkt zu stehen, doch als der zum Warten verurteilt ist, tritt Pascoe als eigentliche Hauptfigur in den Vordergrund. In Rückblenden wird nicht nur dessen berufliche Laufbahn deutlich, sondern auch unglückliche Liebesgeschichten und ein tragisches Ereignis, das ihn für den Rest seines Lebens geprägt hat. Das hätte auch kitschig ausgehen können, Shute findet aber den richtigen Weg, die Entwicklungen glaubwürdig darzustellen und bringt beide Handlungsstränge zu einem gelungenen Abschluss.
Schade nur, dass die Übergänge zwischen den Erzählperspektiven missglückt sind - es hätte sicherlich einen besseren Erzählkniff gegeben, als Craven die Vergangenheit seines Mentors in Träumen erleben zu lassen - und dass es im letzten Drittel manchmal doch ein wenig langatmig wird.
Sein ehemaliger Flugschüler Ronnie Craven will alles daran setzen, seinem Mentor und dem kranken Kind zu helfen, und erklärt sich bereit, trotz der widrigen Bedingungen einen Arzt auf die Farm zu bringen. Doch das Wetter lässt eine Landung nicht zu, und Ronnie verbringt eine quälend lange Nacht in Pascoes eigenem Haus, während er auf den nächsten Tag und eine zweite Chance zum Anflug wartet.
Während Ronnie zu schlafen versucht, verlagert sich der Fokus auf Pascoes Vergangenheit und bringt Geheimnisse aus der bewegten Vergangenheit des schweigsamen Mannes ans Licht, der im ersten Weltkrieg als Kampfpilot diente und danach in England als Fluglehrer arbeitete.
Nevil Shutes unaufgeregten Stil und seine aus heutiger Sicht etwas altmodisch anmutende, aber angenehm gemächliche Erzählweise mag ich immer wieder gerne. Hier scheinen zunächst die Rettungsaktion für einen verunglückten Retter und ihr Initiator im Mittelpunkt zu stehen, doch als der zum Warten verurteilt ist, tritt Pascoe als eigentliche Hauptfigur in den Vordergrund. In Rückblenden wird nicht nur dessen berufliche Laufbahn deutlich, sondern auch unglückliche Liebesgeschichten und ein tragisches Ereignis, das ihn für den Rest seines Lebens geprägt hat. Das hätte auch kitschig ausgehen können, Shute findet aber den richtigen Weg, die Entwicklungen glaubwürdig darzustellen und bringt beide Handlungsstränge zu einem gelungenen Abschluss.
Schade nur, dass die Übergänge zwischen den Erzählperspektiven missglückt sind - es hätte sicherlich einen besseren Erzählkniff gegeben, als Craven die Vergangenheit seines Mentors in Träumen erleben zu lassen - und dass es im letzten Drittel manchmal doch ein wenig langatmig wird.
October 31, 2021
Ronnie Clarke is a pilot called to rescue fellow pilot Johnnie Pascoe who was sent to rescue a sick girl in the rough SW of Tasmania. He crashes however and is badly injured. The weather is foul and the doctor is unable to land. Ronnie has to wait: he goes to sleep in Johnnie’s bed and in his pyjamas and thereupon become Johnnie 25 years earlier in Duffington Aero Club UK. The shift in identity is clear but irritating. Most of the story is then that of Pascoe who falls in love with Brenda, teaches her to fly – but Brenda has a violent insane husband who forms a real threat to Branda who is carrying Pascoe’s illegitimate child. She is an excellent pilot but in clear weather dive straight into the ground. Johnnie is bereft, joins AusCan a fictitious airline and things get a bit boring for the next 20 years. Except an air hostess Peggy on one of his flights lights on to him and they become very friendly, but not sexy. He is 60 and considers himself very old, but canlt help himself asking Peggy to marry him. She refuses for a very unexpected reason. Johnnie has built a little airfield for himself in Tassie, and that is when he is called out. Ronnie wakes up having dreamt of Johnnie’s Life up till retirement (another irritating ID switch). The story swiftly ends. My complaint is structural. Shute as an experienced writer could have thought of a better way of handling the two stories. Both are good stories, particularly Johnnie’s . Very old fashioned writing: everything about honour, a cigarette all the time, an afternoon whisky, gender roles stereotyped, except Brenda is rather a jolly good pilot, and Peggy a frightfully good nurse. And very technical about different types of aircraft and how to fly in dicky conditions. A bare 4 stars.
September 13, 2017
I am a long-time Shute fan who has read almost everything he wrote. This novel, from late in his career, is not one of his best.
Shute relies here on three extended dream sequences to tell about a man, a pilot named Pascoe, who is unlucky at love. The first and longest sequence takes place in the pilot's youth, in WW I France, and the woman he marries turns out to be all glamour and no class. The second takes place in England, whee he's become a flight instructor. Then, he meets a wonderful lady, but the marriage he hopes for never can happen. The third finds him an old man, attracted to a young nurse ...
The dreamer, the narrator, learned to fly at Pascoe's knee. Pascoe has crashed in a remote part of Tasmania, and his former student has volunteered to fly a doctor to him to tend his injuries. Tired from too many hours of stressful flying, he stays at Pascoe's house, sleeps in his bed and wears his pajamas. In his dreams, he becomes Pascoe.
In the end, I had to grant Shute a reluctant fourth star. His writing here is, as always, impeccable. His main character is believable and appropriately tragic. For a Shute devotee, this is a must read. But it isn't at the top of the list, and a reader exploring Shute should start with his great books., like A Town Like Alice, Trustee from the Toolroom and On the Beach.
Shute relies here on three extended dream sequences to tell about a man, a pilot named Pascoe, who is unlucky at love. The first and longest sequence takes place in the pilot's youth, in WW I France, and the woman he marries turns out to be all glamour and no class. The second takes place in England, whee he's become a flight instructor. Then, he meets a wonderful lady, but the marriage he hopes for never can happen. The third finds him an old man, attracted to a young nurse ...
The dreamer, the narrator, learned to fly at Pascoe's knee. Pascoe has crashed in a remote part of Tasmania, and his former student has volunteered to fly a doctor to him to tend his injuries. Tired from too many hours of stressful flying, he stays at Pascoe's house, sleeps in his bed and wears his pajamas. In his dreams, he becomes Pascoe.
In the end, I had to grant Shute a reluctant fourth star. His writing here is, as always, impeccable. His main character is believable and appropriately tragic. For a Shute devotee, this is a must read. But it isn't at the top of the list, and a reader exploring Shute should start with his great books., like A Town Like Alice, Trustee from the Toolroom and On the Beach.
July 7, 2020
I really enjoy how Shute can take two (or more) different time periods and weave them into a seamless tale. His protagonist (Ronnie Clarke) becomes the vessel through which we learn the story of Jonnie Pascoe, a veteran whose personal life was as tumultuous as his war years.
The tale begins in Australia with Clarke finding out that his mentor, Pascoe, has crashed trying to get a young girl to the doctor. In short work, we learn Ronnie's side of their history and what type of life both men have built for themselves. They are quite similar, except that Clarke has been blessed with a wife and two kids. Pascoe, as we'll learn, has been far less fortunate.
The book goes back into several points of Johnnie's life where happiness seemed to escape him at every turn. Only in the twilight years of his life, as he prepares to retire to Tasmania, does he find a family, and the joy that evaded him for forty years. That may seem harsh, but Johnnie (and Ronnie) learn that this happiness was well worth the wait. As a reader, I think you'll agree as well.
I'll leave it there, because to reveal more will spoil what is a near-perfect ending.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!!
The tale begins in Australia with Clarke finding out that his mentor, Pascoe, has crashed trying to get a young girl to the doctor. In short work, we learn Ronnie's side of their history and what type of life both men have built for themselves. They are quite similar, except that Clarke has been blessed with a wife and two kids. Pascoe, as we'll learn, has been far less fortunate.
The book goes back into several points of Johnnie's life where happiness seemed to escape him at every turn. Only in the twilight years of his life, as he prepares to retire to Tasmania, does he find a family, and the joy that evaded him for forty years. That may seem harsh, but Johnnie (and Ronnie) learn that this happiness was well worth the wait. As a reader, I think you'll agree as well.
I'll leave it there, because to reveal more will spoil what is a near-perfect ending.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!!
May 4, 2024
This was my first read of this particular book, although I've read quite a few others of his. The first part was slow, but definitely picked up. Shute is more action-oriented than character-driven, and that really showed in this book, because there were actions taken by some of the characters that didn't really make sense since there had been no character development. As are others of his books, this is a story within a story within a dream. The surprise was kind of obvious but interesting and charming nonetheless. His books are such a window on the past, illustrating a time when air travel was still new, adventurous, glamorous, and fun, before all the TSA nonsense and restrictions. His worldview is definitely british/australian colonialist, which again, provides an interesting look into the past. I am sure there are people who will be very offended at some of his stereotypical depictions but that's just too bad. The writing is definitely not in the realm of great literature, but he surely does tell a good story.
March 24, 2021
This book starts out as a daring air rescue of a sick child and injured pilot from a remote spot in northern Tasmania. The first pilot, Johnny Pascoe, had come to rescue the child but crashed and now his former student, Ronnie Clarke, is trying to rescue both of them. However, he tries twice in one day and fails to be able to land due to the weather. These are the first two chapters and it seems like the book will be an adventure story. But the next five chapters in this eight chapter book have Ronnie fall asleep in Johnny Pascoe's home bedroom and dreams of Johnny's past life and loves, but especially his true love, Brenda Marshall, who Ronnie also knew. It doesn't seem like it will work but somehow in the end, we know Johnny's backstory fully and the last chapter comes back to the original story.
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