Nevil Shute Debut
Have been meaning to read a Nevil Shute book for a long time. Having heard about the author a lot from my cousins and other relatives, I had been keeping a eye out for Shute's work. The two big bookstores in Hyderabad, Odyssey and Walden's don't stalk Shute, and it was at Frankfurt, the second hand store, that I finally got hold of the author's work. The Chequer Board is a leisurely read, nicely written and the story development is very good. It follows the story of a terminally sick man who remember's his fellow hospital ward inmates, and wants to track them down and see how did they turn out in life. Quite unlike a traditional hero, he is not all goody-goody and infact is quite a rogue in his business dealings. The primary thread running through the story line is the author's determination to break down barriers of color. Two of his characters are shown having mixed race marriages. I did detect a touch of condescension, but judging by the timeline when the book was written (1950s), will give the author benefit of the doubt. I found the style of writing and the genre quite interesting and would be on the lookout for more of his works.