Ruined City is another solid novel from Nevil Shute. Written in 1938, it holds up as being written today. Another notch on my bookcase as I read all of Shute's novels.
My copy was a 'Lancer EZ-read paperback with larger type and no-glare paper' published in 1967 with the US title Kindling and a spine so dry the cover and each page fell off as I read it.
Henry Warren is a wealthy Londoner weary of business. Success, money and luxury are not enough to fulfill him, shifting money without making anything for the world. When his wife leaves him, he journeys to the Northumberland coast where he has a physical attack and ends up in the local hospital. Without his chauffeur and no papers on him, it's assumed he is a vagrant but is treated with attention and care. The town once built renowned ships but became desolate since the yard closed. Men need to work and Warren sees an opportunity to buy the yard and create an international deal to restore the lives of the shipbuilders, and his own sense of purpose as well. A little heavy on the business aspects, it does show the mercurial and sometimes flimsy tricks needed to secure funding. In Laevatia, he strikes up conversation with a bar hostess whose connections open doors he didn't dream possible, and although remaining only friends, you know he will change her life as well.
This isn't the most dynamic of Shute's novels, but as always his characters highlight integrity, purpose and an honest desire to be a better person. Each character, from Warren down to the hospital staff are memorable, and like the novels of W. Somerset Maugham, the story is timeless and you'll want to read it again.
My other reviews for Nevil Shute:
1938 / Paperback/ 319 pages
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