Publication
Vintage, c1960
Collection
Status
Available
Description
Fiction. Literature. Thriller. HTML: Keith Stewart is a quiet and unassuming man called upon to undertake an extraordinary task. A skilled maker of miniature working models, he lives a modest life devoted to his hobby. But when his sister and her wealthy husband die in a shipwreck on a coral reef in the Pacific--while trying to smuggle out of England their entire fortune in diamonds hidden in the keel of their yacht--Keith becomes trustee for his orphaned niece. To save her from destitution he must travel halfway around the world and risk a long voyage in a small boat in inhospitable waters to recover her inheritance. In the course of his adventure-filled quest, a colorful and international cast of characters mobilize to help him, and this humble man discovers he has more friends and admirers than he could have dared to imagine..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Meredy
Six-word review: Mild-mannered homebody braves challenging journey.
Extended review:
Keith Stewart is a prosaic Frodo Baggins pulled out of his quiet everyday world to undertake a classic hero's journey, as Joseph Campbell defines it: he answers the call, he survives the ordeals, he returns with the
Keith is a plain, ordinary, home-loving man with no ego to speak of, content with a fixed, simple life, who suddenly finds himself charged with a duty that requires extraordinary measures. A man of meager means, he must find a way to travel from his home in England to a remote, uninhabited island in the South Pacific in order to carry out the daunting task entrusted to him by his sister.
Not so ordinary after all, though, our Keith: within the very small sphere of miniature-machine hobbyists, he is a world-renowned expert, engineer of designs for tiny working machines and author of articles about them in a weekly specialty magazine. Subscribers around the globe know and admire his work, and many have benefited from his generous-spirited correspondence. As he travels he is amazed to be greeted as a celebrity because of his stature within the engineering world. Although he is much too modest to realize it, he has earned gratitude from his readers because of his selfless courtesy and assistance to others over the years as they have sought his help through exchanges of letters. Now several of those are in a position to treat him handsomely and offer him significant aid in completing his mission.
But it is his own courage and endurance that see him through: those and his goodness of heart and simple honesty, which win him friends who can help him--just as in the old folktales where a humble hero befriends creatures he meets on his road to adventure, only to find in his own time of need that they possess special powers and are able to confer magical favors to repay his kindness.
There's no magic here, of course, other than the magic of invention and resourcefulness. Shute describes in loving detail the complex apparatus and processes involved in sailing, metal machining, and lumber milling. There's not enough pretext in either character or plot for all the technical particulars he supplies, which seems to be there for their own sake, much like ornamentation in a fabulously excessively detailed pen-and-ink drawing that you simply can't look at without awe. Somehow, though, all that obsessively intricate detail succeeds in showing a bigger picture, one in which skill is respected, expertise is valued, and dedication is rewarded. I'd guess that a story like this probably couldn't be published today; I can easily imagine a book editor insisting that all the technicality be drastically reduced in favor of more interpersonal drama.
Not that drama is lacking. A storm at sea is as chilling as any I've ever met in print, including in a Thor Heyerdahl voyage. There are touching moments as well, especially between Keith and his young niece. And there is nicely restrained humor. The centerpiece of the book is the leg of the journey taken with a modern-day Neanderthal named Jack Conelly, proprietor of a minimalist vessel that appears to be Keith's only hope for reaching Tahiti from Honolulu. Jack is a great secondary character--a natural man, somewhat appalling, but good-hearted, with the rugged, odoriferous charm of a bear in his den. Being trapped on a small boat with him on a 2700-mile journey, with no engine, no navigational devices, no radio, and no inhabited land in between, sounds more than a little intimidating; but practical-minded Keith considers his options and then takes the likeliest path to his goal, yielding no more to doubt once he's made his decision.
Written in 1960, the book reflects some attitudes that are long out of date, and in general those don't bother me. I'm not even too miffed that Shute's Americans all sound like uneducated bumpkins not long out of the boonies. But I did find myself cringing at the fact that they can scarcely speak a sentence that doesn't begin with "Say." Most of us don't talk like that and never did.
That's a small point, however. I enjoyed this book, and I especially liked the epilogue, which gives us a quick-take life trajectory for each of the principal characters. I wish more novels would provide such a satisfactory answer to the question "And then what?"
Extended review:
Keith Stewart is a prosaic Frodo Baggins pulled out of his quiet everyday world to undertake a classic hero's journey, as Joseph Campbell defines it: he answers the call, he survives the ordeals, he returns with the
Show More
elixir.Keith is a plain, ordinary, home-loving man with no ego to speak of, content with a fixed, simple life, who suddenly finds himself charged with a duty that requires extraordinary measures. A man of meager means, he must find a way to travel from his home in England to a remote, uninhabited island in the South Pacific in order to carry out the daunting task entrusted to him by his sister.
Not so ordinary after all, though, our Keith: within the very small sphere of miniature-machine hobbyists, he is a world-renowned expert, engineer of designs for tiny working machines and author of articles about them in a weekly specialty magazine. Subscribers around the globe know and admire his work, and many have benefited from his generous-spirited correspondence. As he travels he is amazed to be greeted as a celebrity because of his stature within the engineering world. Although he is much too modest to realize it, he has earned gratitude from his readers because of his selfless courtesy and assistance to others over the years as they have sought his help through exchanges of letters. Now several of those are in a position to treat him handsomely and offer him significant aid in completing his mission.
But it is his own courage and endurance that see him through: those and his goodness of heart and simple honesty, which win him friends who can help him--just as in the old folktales where a humble hero befriends creatures he meets on his road to adventure, only to find in his own time of need that they possess special powers and are able to confer magical favors to repay his kindness.
There's no magic here, of course, other than the magic of invention and resourcefulness. Shute describes in loving detail the complex apparatus and processes involved in sailing, metal machining, and lumber milling. There's not enough pretext in either character or plot for all the technical particulars he supplies, which seems to be there for their own sake, much like ornamentation in a fabulously excessively detailed pen-and-ink drawing that you simply can't look at without awe. Somehow, though, all that obsessively intricate detail succeeds in showing a bigger picture, one in which skill is respected, expertise is valued, and dedication is rewarded. I'd guess that a story like this probably couldn't be published today; I can easily imagine a book editor insisting that all the technicality be drastically reduced in favor of more interpersonal drama.
Not that drama is lacking. A storm at sea is as chilling as any I've ever met in print, including in a Thor Heyerdahl voyage. There are touching moments as well, especially between Keith and his young niece. And there is nicely restrained humor. The centerpiece of the book is the leg of the journey taken with a modern-day Neanderthal named Jack Conelly, proprietor of a minimalist vessel that appears to be Keith's only hope for reaching Tahiti from Honolulu. Jack is a great secondary character--a natural man, somewhat appalling, but good-hearted, with the rugged, odoriferous charm of a bear in his den. Being trapped on a small boat with him on a 2700-mile journey, with no engine, no navigational devices, no radio, and no inhabited land in between, sounds more than a little intimidating; but practical-minded Keith considers his options and then takes the likeliest path to his goal, yielding no more to doubt once he's made his decision.
Written in 1960, the book reflects some attitudes that are long out of date, and in general those don't bother me. I'm not even too miffed that Shute's Americans all sound like uneducated bumpkins not long out of the boonies. But I did find myself cringing at the fact that they can scarcely speak a sentence that doesn't begin with "Say." Most of us don't talk like that and never did.
That's a small point, however. I enjoyed this book, and I especially liked the epilogue, which gives us a quick-take life trajectory for each of the principal characters. I wish more novels would provide such a satisfactory answer to the question "And then what?"
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LibraryThing member seasidereader
Despite having virtually no knowledge of either engineering or nautical terms and practices - nor to be honest, any interest in those areas - I found myself engaged in this story from the start. To me the book is really more about how character and connections to others work to solve problems and
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overcome obstacles than about the details. Show Less
LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
A wonderful book. I love the way this little man in his little house and workshop has touched so many people, so that when he needed help he could ask for it - and then he got a lot more without asking. And he managed things wonderfully. Jo would have been surprised at the level of initiative Keith
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showed! And a perfectly happy ending. Wonderful characters, in every sense of the word; fascinating settings and events; and a great plot. I should read more Shute, he's good. Show Less
LibraryThing member andreablythe
Keith Stewart is a simple man, who has retired to follow his passion of making miniature functioning engines and machinery. He makes a small sum of money writing about these engineering projects for a magazine called the Miniature Mechanic. Living with his wife, who works in a local shop to help
Things become complicated, however, when Keith's sister and husband die in a ship wreck on a small island off Tahiti, leaving their young daughter in his care. Now as trustee for the girl, he finds himself making a journey across the world by plane and boat to ensure her inheritance.
This is a fairly simple and straightforward adventure/travel story in which the difficulties of money and distance put Keith into a position of stepping out of his comfortable home and into the big world. He approaches these adventures with an honest manner and a continued fascination for how things work, drawing interest and sympathy from those he meets. One of the wonderful things about this story is how unaware Keith was of his affect in the world. As a small man making small machines in his basement and writing about it, he never knew how far his articles traveled or the impact they had on his readers. It's this far reaching impact on others that ultimately saves him in the end and it's wonderful to read.
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support them, he couldn't be happier. Things become complicated, however, when Keith's sister and husband die in a ship wreck on a small island off Tahiti, leaving their young daughter in his care. Now as trustee for the girl, he finds himself making a journey across the world by plane and boat to ensure her inheritance.
This is a fairly simple and straightforward adventure/travel story in which the difficulties of money and distance put Keith into a position of stepping out of his comfortable home and into the big world. He approaches these adventures with an honest manner and a continued fascination for how things work, drawing interest and sympathy from those he meets. One of the wonderful things about this story is how unaware Keith was of his affect in the world. As a small man making small machines in his basement and writing about it, he never knew how far his articles traveled or the impact they had on his readers. It's this far reaching impact on others that ultimately saves him in the end and it's wonderful to read.
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LibraryThing member nkmunn
What an interesting read exploring contrasting lifestyles and ways of working/thinking and looking at other people's lives. I loved getting to know the protagonist and the way he moves through life tackling problems CONSTRUCTIVELY is fascinating even if it feels slightly nostalgic! I loved the
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author's admiration for engineering and people who appreciate engineers! Show Less
LibraryThing member celephicus
To the outsider this is a boring book: a little man with little ambitions and a dull hobby has to travel around the world to fulfil a promise he made to his brother, the characters he meets to help him are like him, middle class English types with little ambition, often with the same dull hobby. He
However to the Nevil Shute fan, this is a joy of a novel that slips down like an oyster, and like an oyster never cloys. Shute's characters are of a very British niceness, pleased to help someone down on their luck. Now this attitude is only found in the colonies, it has vanished in Britain. Read this book, back when Briton almost ruled the world, but because of post war austerity travellers could only take a few pounds out with them.
Oh yes and there's lots of engineering in here as well, wehat is?
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does his job, goes home, life goes on. However to the Nevil Shute fan, this is a joy of a novel that slips down like an oyster, and like an oyster never cloys. Shute's characters are of a very British niceness, pleased to help someone down on their luck. Now this attitude is only found in the colonies, it has vanished in Britain. Read this book, back when Briton almost ruled the world, but because of post war austerity travellers could only take a few pounds out with them.
Oh yes and there's lots of engineering in here as well, wehat is?
Show Less
LibraryThing member sonofcarc
Shute's specialty was the hero who doesn't know he's a hero; Keith Stewart is one of his best.
When this book came out the New Yorker described it as a fairy tale -- which is about right, given the sheer number of lucky coincidences necessary to get Keith where he is going. But it's altogether
When this book came out the New Yorker described it as a fairy tale -- which is about right, given the sheer number of lucky coincidences necessary to get Keith where he is going. But it's altogether
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charming; relax and bathe in it. Show Less
LibraryThing member TadAD
In a way, this is sort of a fairy tale placed in a realistic setting. Keith Stewart, an "insignificant" little engineer who writes for a magazine devoted to model makers, sets out against almost impossible odds to rescue his niece's inheritance which was lost at sea. Along the way, many those who
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loved his articles and willingness to help the inexperienced—from simple engineers on cargo ships to captains of industry—lend a hand to make his quest a success. The story works in Shute's hands because of his talent for giving us quiet, lovable characters that engage us. It's a nice story in the best sense of the word. Show Less
LibraryThing member SylviaC
I first read this as a teenager, and remembered nothing about it. I do recall that I liked it, but I probably wasn't old enough to fully appreciate it. It is about a quiet, humble man, content in his life, who finds himself in circumstances far outside of his experience. He has carved out a niche
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for himself in the world of miniature engineering hobbyists, and earns the respect of several men who go out of their ways to help him accomplish his mission. It is a quiet book, full of engineering detail, which seems like it might make it dull, but actually adds to the tone of the book and to Keith's character. I loved Keith, who just did what he decided had to be done, and couldn't understand why people were so willing to help him. This is a book full of kindness. Show Less
LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
It's hard to name my favourite Shute, but if I had to do it, I would probably end up with this one.
Keith Stewart is a fairly ordinary man who finds himself in extraordinary situations and finds out that he can do what he has to do, and do it extraordinarily well.
Keith Stewart is a fairly ordinary man who finds himself in extraordinary situations and finds out that he can do what he has to do, and do it extraordinarily well.
LibraryThing member realistTheorist
This is a light read, yet one of my favorite books.
LibraryThing member Bridgey
Trustee from the Tool Room - Nevil Shute *****
This is Nevil Shute’s final novel first published in 1960 it details the adventures of Keith Stewart, a brilliant but unassuming engineer. Keith is someone that is more than content with his life, despite never really having risen to his full
What did I like?
What isn’t there to like? Shute is an author that I have discovered only relatively recently yet I feel as if I have known all my life. Yes, at times the books seem dated, but that is part of their beauty. He transports the reader to a time that probably never really existed, and yet we all wish we lived in. He doesn’t need to rely on violence or sex to sell you a story and ‘Trustee’ is no exception to this rule. The characters are warm, everyday people that find themselves thrown into extraordinary circumstances, although not so extraordinary that we couldn’t imagine them happening to ourselves. I don’t know what it is that draws me back to a Shute book, but he has the ability to drag me into the storyline and get lost there.
What didn’t I like?
Nevil Shute was an engineer by trade, and at times I sometimes felt a little bogged down by some of the technical descriptions, but to be honest they rarely detracted away from the main body of the story, and I probably picked up some free knowledge without even realising it.
Would I recommend?
If I had to recommend a Shute novel as in introduction to the author it would either be this or ‘On the Beach’. Whatever you normally enjoy reading I am sure you will find something here that will get you hooked. It is a real shame that his books aren’t seen more often.
This is Nevil Shute’s final novel first published in 1960 it details the adventures of Keith Stewart, a brilliant but unassuming engineer. Keith is someone that is more than content with his life, despite never really having risen to his full
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potential. He is a writer for a magazine called ‘The Miniature Mechanic’ a job to which he devotes his entire life despite the less than glamorous wages. His sister is married to a naval officer who has recently retired, and decided to emigrate for a different way of life in British Columbia, but decide to travel there alone on their small yacht. Before setting off they ask Keith to do two things, firstly help them hide their diamonds in the ships ballast (all of their wealth was converted to diamonds for the trip) and to mind their ten year old daughter whilst they make the journey. Things however do not go to plan and Keith soon finds himself as the girl’s trustee and legal guardian. The family solicitor informs him that there are no funds left in the bank and therefore the child’s inheritance has been lost. The usually unadventurous Keith must decide on what course of action to undertake, and we soon see him travelling across the world on a limited budget, relying on the kindness of strangers and goodwill of the readers of his magazine. As much a book of morality, honesty and strength as it is of adventure.What did I like?
What isn’t there to like? Shute is an author that I have discovered only relatively recently yet I feel as if I have known all my life. Yes, at times the books seem dated, but that is part of their beauty. He transports the reader to a time that probably never really existed, and yet we all wish we lived in. He doesn’t need to rely on violence or sex to sell you a story and ‘Trustee’ is no exception to this rule. The characters are warm, everyday people that find themselves thrown into extraordinary circumstances, although not so extraordinary that we couldn’t imagine them happening to ourselves. I don’t know what it is that draws me back to a Shute book, but he has the ability to drag me into the storyline and get lost there.
What didn’t I like?
Nevil Shute was an engineer by trade, and at times I sometimes felt a little bogged down by some of the technical descriptions, but to be honest they rarely detracted away from the main body of the story, and I probably picked up some free knowledge without even realising it.
Would I recommend?
If I had to recommend a Shute novel as in introduction to the author it would either be this or ‘On the Beach’. Whatever you normally enjoy reading I am sure you will find something here that will get you hooked. It is a real shame that his books aren’t seen more often.
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LibraryThing member piemouth
Keith Stewart is a mechanical engineer who loves building models of things like engines and clocks, and writes a column about that for Minature Mechanic magazine. His comfortable life with his wife in a London suburb is upset when his sister and her wealthy husband, who've left their daughter in
It's a pleasant and satisfying read, with some amusing characters along the way. I know little about engineering or sailing but enjoyed the descriptions of handling sailboats and various engineering and mechanical things. Keith's tiny generator that he built for fun figures into the story, impressing everyone and making friends for him wherever he takes it.
Keith's a likeable guy but it's a little strange that during his months long adventures he doesn't seem to miss his wife or worry about her or their ward, and doesn't even write home. But on the other hand, that's a lot like some of the engineers I know.
What I liked is how the common language of engineers and problem solvers is shown to unite a group of very disparate people, from a barely literate guy who built is own sailboat and sailed it across the Pacific, to a business tycoon.
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Keith and his wife's care, are shipwrecked sailing from England to Vancouver. Keith, a man who's never left England, must find a way to get to a remote South Seas island to see about his sister and brother in law's graves, salvage the ship, and death with something else that will greatly affect their daughter's future. It turns out that his columns have readers all over the world and there are many fellow engineers who are happy to help him along his journey. He even manages to earn a considerable amount of money as consulting engineer.It's a pleasant and satisfying read, with some amusing characters along the way. I know little about engineering or sailing but enjoyed the descriptions of handling sailboats and various engineering and mechanical things. Keith's tiny generator that he built for fun figures into the story, impressing everyone and making friends for him wherever he takes it.
Keith's a likeable guy but it's a little strange that during his months long adventures he doesn't seem to miss his wife or worry about her or their ward, and doesn't even write home. But on the other hand, that's a lot like some of the engineers I know.
What I liked is how the common language of engineers and problem solvers is shown to unite a group of very disparate people, from a barely literate guy who built is own sailboat and sailed it across the Pacific, to a business tycoon.
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LibraryThing member JudithProctor
A gentle story, written in the days before cheap and easy international travel, that demonstrates beautifully both the principle of seven degrees of separation and also the support given by people to those who share their hobbies - in this case, model engineering.
It's also a reminder that a happy
It's also a reminder that a happy
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man is the one who has found what he really enjoys in life, and is content with it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jopuc
A simple story of an engineer with a hobby of writing mag articles about models. Takes in a little girl who he finds out has a fortune lost at sea. He decides to find the treasure and receives help along the way from all his readers around the wold. I can't do this justice in my review as it has
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been years since my last reading. One of my favorite stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member RBeffa
I listen to audiobooks sometimes. This was one of those times. The "audible" book was read by Frank Muller and I thought it was done well, if a little dry. It is easy to listen to. The voices for different characters are also handled fine. This was Nevil Shute's final novel, finished before his
I guess I'd say it is just a nice book that shows the good in people, and how it might surprise you a little. The beginning is a little slow and plodding. It is all about establishing characters and the set-up for what is to come. I had my doubts about the start, but the book gets markedly better with chapter two and improves.
Our titular character, Keith Stewart, the trustee from the toolroom, leaves his quiet life and goes on a very unexpected journey across the world. We meet some interesting characters and Keith meets friends he never knew he had and experiences the world. Bits of the story are, to me, a little tedious with an excess attention to detail (and this is in keeping with the detail oriented main character) but overall the story is a very good one as we follow Keith's journey from England to Polynesia to recover his niece's inheritance on a boat wreck crashed upon a remote reef. It seems odd to me to call something a kind novel, but that is the word that springs to my mind. There is something very warm and fuzzy nice about this book.
As an aside, it is always a plus to me to learn a little history about something, and that happened here. I didn't know that England had such restrictive policies on converting pounds into dollars at the time this was written (1960 or so). That fact, that England didn't want capital leaving the country, is integral to what happens in this story.
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death and left to his daughter to publish. Shute is one of my favorite authors. This one seems to be a favorite book among his readers, although I'd rate it as a lesser work. I have yet to read one I disliked. Shute wrote about twenty novels and I've only read about half of them, and most were long ago. I should have read this in the mid 80's after a trip to Tahiti had me temporarily seeking out novels set in the South Pacific. I don't know if I would have appreciated the book very much then, although I liked being familiar with the some of the names and locations of islands in the story.I guess I'd say it is just a nice book that shows the good in people, and how it might surprise you a little. The beginning is a little slow and plodding. It is all about establishing characters and the set-up for what is to come. I had my doubts about the start, but the book gets markedly better with chapter two and improves.
Our titular character, Keith Stewart, the trustee from the toolroom, leaves his quiet life and goes on a very unexpected journey across the world. We meet some interesting characters and Keith meets friends he never knew he had and experiences the world. Bits of the story are, to me, a little tedious with an excess attention to detail (and this is in keeping with the detail oriented main character) but overall the story is a very good one as we follow Keith's journey from England to Polynesia to recover his niece's inheritance on a boat wreck crashed upon a remote reef. It seems odd to me to call something a kind novel, but that is the word that springs to my mind. There is something very warm and fuzzy nice about this book.
As an aside, it is always a plus to me to learn a little history about something, and that happened here. I didn't know that England had such restrictive policies on converting pounds into dollars at the time this was written (1960 or so). That fact, that England didn't want capital leaving the country, is integral to what happens in this story.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thorold
This is one of Shute's last novels, published in 1960. Whilst it's much more positive in tone than some of the others from the fifties, it still includes a few digs at his bête noire, the post-war British government. You don't have to be a born-again libertarian to enjoy it, though: it's primarily
The central character, Keith Stewart, is a model engineer living a quiet life on the western fringes of London (where Shute grew up himself), who, without much money, has to make an epic journey to a remote Pacific island to retrieve his young niece's inheritance. En route, he receives assistance from fans of his articles in Miniature Mechanic magazine. He's a modest, middle-aged hero in the great tradition of Bailie Nicol Jarvie and Dickson McCunn.
Being an engineer himself, Shute obviously enjoys the excuse this book gives him to indulge in the language of precision mechanics, but he doesn't go overboard. A technical reader probably wouldn't find much to quibble at, but I don't think someone without a mechanics background would be baffled for long, either. Where the book is less convincing is in the final section, where the main characters are American industrial tycoons. Here you do get the impression that Shute doesn't quite know how such people speak and act (they talk like Americans in British novels), and is using the technology of long-distance phone calls, tape recorders and helicopters to distract from this.
The ending is a bit fairy-godmotherish, but that is entirely fitting for this sort of story, so there's no reason to complain about this: we need a bit of escapism in a feel-good adventure story.
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a celebration of craftsmanship as a unifying force that breaks through social and geographical barriers. The central character, Keith Stewart, is a model engineer living a quiet life on the western fringes of London (where Shute grew up himself), who, without much money, has to make an epic journey to a remote Pacific island to retrieve his young niece's inheritance. En route, he receives assistance from fans of his articles in Miniature Mechanic magazine. He's a modest, middle-aged hero in the great tradition of Bailie Nicol Jarvie and Dickson McCunn.
Being an engineer himself, Shute obviously enjoys the excuse this book gives him to indulge in the language of precision mechanics, but he doesn't go overboard. A technical reader probably wouldn't find much to quibble at, but I don't think someone without a mechanics background would be baffled for long, either. Where the book is less convincing is in the final section, where the main characters are American industrial tycoons. Here you do get the impression that Shute doesn't quite know how such people speak and act (they talk like Americans in British novels), and is using the technology of long-distance phone calls, tape recorders and helicopters to distract from this.
The ending is a bit fairy-godmotherish, but that is entirely fitting for this sort of story, so there's no reason to complain about this: we need a bit of escapism in a feel-good adventure story.
Show Less
LibraryThing member brone
Good Story
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The Trustee From the Toolroom by Nevil Shute is an interesting story about Keith Stewart, a toolroom fitter who has given up his factory job in order to devote his time to his hobby of miniature machines and to writing about them in a magazine. He has become well known in the world of hobbyists who
What follows in a lively, engrossing story about his incredible adventure. As Keith has very little money, he relies on the kindness of friends and admirers to help him travel the vast amount of miles that he needs to cover.
The Trustee From the Toolroom moves quickly and the main character is a simple yet admirable man who is trying to do the right thing by his young relative. Shute himself was an engineer so there was a great deal of technical information that was perhaps a little overdone but certainly added to the authenticity of the book. This was a relaxing, feel good read that leaves you with a smile on your face.
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follow his work. Keith and his wife have been appointed guardians to their young niece whose parents have gone on a sailing trip to the South Pacific. When their lives are lost, Keith realizes his niece’s inheritance, in the form of loose diamonds, had been secured in the yacht and he decided to travel to Tahiti in order to retrieve the jewels.What follows in a lively, engrossing story about his incredible adventure. As Keith has very little money, he relies on the kindness of friends and admirers to help him travel the vast amount of miles that he needs to cover.
The Trustee From the Toolroom moves quickly and the main character is a simple yet admirable man who is trying to do the right thing by his young relative. Shute himself was an engineer so there was a great deal of technical information that was perhaps a little overdone but certainly added to the authenticity of the book. This was a relaxing, feel good read that leaves you with a smile on your face.
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LibraryThing member Craftybilda
One of Nevil Shute's best I think, well written, a good story and a good read
LibraryThing member lschiff
An enjoyable adventure story that makers of things will enjoy, though it doesn't have quite as much of a "do-it-yourself" aspect as I had expected.
LibraryThing member adzebill
An utter delight. And more endearing for containing great wodges of unapologetic engineering detail, ideal for the man of a certain age who like the protagonist imagine that their unassuming skill might bring them respect and fortune. A book that is exactly what it says on the tin.
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780099529989
Original publication date
1960