What happened to the Corbetts is in a way a dystopian science fiction novel about the collapse of society after a catastrophic event. The writing style and atmosphere is similar to works of that period, its positively upbeat tone now feeling quite typical for that time.

It is a didactic novel, helpful to teach what to think of in case of such an event. This edition includes a preface written by the author explaining that the novel was written in 1938 when the reality of war with Nazi Germany was taking contours, and as an airman Shute rightly predicted that air raids would be an important part of an armed conflict. What happened to the Corbetts was published in 1939, five months before the outbreak of the war. ( )

Reads like historical fiction but it is not. The story takes place in a real setting but the background is fictional. Easy read as the author uses simple language and not-too-long sentences. More difficult would be the sailing jargon, which could be managed by skipping them. The ending touched me a little when Joan hurried Peter to join the naval crew upon sighting them at the port, rather than keeping Peter till they sailed. Parts of the book can be repetitive when the Corbetts faced the same challenges every day trying to decide what to do, and looking for essentials like milk. You feel like you have just read something similar. ( )

Another gem by Nevil Shute. The Corbetts are a normal English family—father, mother, two small children and a baby, living in a small house with a lovely garden—who find themselves scuttling to their garage for safety against a surprise bomb raid on their city. After the bomb raids continue, but only on cloudy nights, they decide to escape for safety to their small yacht, with hopes of eventually making it to safety in Canada.

The suddenness of the bomb raids pretty much destroys normal modes of communication—newspapers and radios—so no one much knows what's going on. Essential goods, gasoline, milk, bread, become scarce. Some kind of medical epidemic appears, perhaps; no one knows how virulent or wide spread. Thus everyone is left to speculate as to how best to protect themselves and their loved ones. They don't really know who the "enemy" is (never called out in the book) or why he suddenly began a random bombing campaign. People are pretty much forced to live day by day, making out as best they can. This story tells how the Corbetts themselves did that. Quite a nice story.

It was written shortly before World War II broke out, so is a bit prophetic it would seem. Certainly terrorist bombing of civilians became common in WWII, both in the German's regular air raids over London, and in our own flying over Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, .... Now, we're more sophisticated, we have drones do our terrorism for us. No real people involved. ( )

What Happened to the Corbetts - Nevil Shute ****

Shute has to be one of my favourite authors and I have loved his works ever since stumbling across a copy of ‘On the Beach’ a few years back. I believe he wrote around 23 novels so I have been rationing myself and reading 2 – 3 a year. He seems to be fairly overlooked today which is a real shame, it is true that the books may seem a little dated but they still carry many messages and character traits that are equally as relevant today.

Written in 1938 the book is how Shute imagines the country will look after the outbreak of war and the struggles that will be faced. In order to detail this he introduces us to the Corbett family, as usual with the characters in a Shute book they tend to be middle class professionals and here we have no exceptions. Peter is a young solicitor whose wife stays at home with the children, one morning he wakes to discover that an air raid has taken place over Southampton, caught unaware he and his young family must first make sense of the attack and the damages caused, and then prepare for any further assaults. The bombings keep coming and soon the after effects are felt when fresh water and food stores run low. Eventually their lives become further endangered, and not just from the physical bombardments, but an outbreak of cholera forces Peter to take drastic action. A keen sailor he has a small private boat that he uses for holidaying around the British coast, using his knowledge he decides the safest way to safety is upon the open sea. But just what hardships will this decision throw in his way? Full of the horrors of war and the harsh reality of how a civilian’s life is turned upside down in an effort to protect those he loves.

Shute is one of those authors that has the ability to draw me into a bygone world, one where the men are men and still have manners, just like you imagined your grandparents lived (although they more than likely didn’t). Even the bad guys in his books tend to have decency about them. There is never any sex or swearing just for the shock factor and you get the feeling that he really wanted you to care about his characters and what becomes of them. The other aspect of this book is how much of it was to become a reality and although he looked at the worst possible scenarios, there really was the possibility that events could have turned out the way described. There is even evidence to support that the publishing of this book spurred both government and councils to revaluate the measures already implemented for the outbreak of war.

Although it doesn’t stand up as well to some of his later works, this is still a brilliant read. If it were written by anyone else I would give 5 stars, but when compared to Shute classics such as A Town Like Alice, it can only really be given a 4. ( )

(7.5) There is something so soothing about a Nevil Shute novel. He creates such a clear picture of a time and place in English history. This novel was written in 1938 in an attempt to prepare the people of England for impending war. He imagines what it would be like to be subjected to continuous bombing raids and the resulting impact on every day life.
Peter and Joan Corbett and their three young children are forced to leave their home and retreat to their small yacht for safety from the nightly air raid attacks and the threat of cholera and typhoid. They set off on an adventure around the English coast.
My annual Nevil shute read never fails to satisfy and return this reader to a time that can only be revisited in books. ( )