This book focuses on humans that are thrown into war from their peacetime lives. Accountants, bankers, journalists, cargo ship captains, pension seeking peacetime sailors, are all placed in a war that they, as individuals, had very little to do with its inception. From there, the changes in the characters are illustrated through the most extreme of circumstances and the ever-accumulating risk associated with time. Decisions are made and sacrifices are suffered. The enemy becomes transformed from humans with differing points of view into mere objects of resistance: worthy of a hatred that can only be bestowed upon the most inhuman of threats. And the defenders are transformed into machines that are virtually unaware of the hatred that they display. Monsarrat notes before the action begins that this is a "long" book. Given that it is fewer than 500p it hardly seems so, but it is three times the length of a more typical novel of its day...and there is no bloating or padding here. It's a compelling tale from the outset and all the way through to the end, which covers the entire period of the war as the Royal Navy attempts to keep the vital supply lines of Merchant Navy traffic protected from the depredations of the German U-boats. Something to Hide (1972) (also known as Shattered), produced by Avton Films, directed by Alastair Reid, starring Peter Finch, Shelley Winters, Colin Blakely, John Stride, Linda Hayden. Screenplay by Alastair Reid.

But this isn't just a war story. In a surprisingly subtle way, The Cruel Sea also chronicles the often abrasive process by which classes, previously unknown to each other, were thrown together onboard ship and had to learn to rub along - and how the earned respect, in the long term, led to the future Welfare State and the social equity and cooperation of the 50's and 60's. This is nautical fiction stripped of the romance and glamour normally associated with the genre, to reveal a plot that is gritty and real. The appalling weather is as much the enemy as the circling German U-boats. It has all the elements that show what war is actually like - the boredom, the exhaustion, the relentlessness and the errors made in equal measure. Some officers are brave, others as bullies; some are dedicated, while others neglect their duty. The journey of the ship’s commanding officer, Ericson, being remorselessly ground down with fatigue and war weariness is particularly poignant. Seldom, if ever, is it objectified, granularized and trivialized (and I use this term very, very circumspectly) in the way that it is here - and therein lies the glory of this book. The pervading spirit of the book is ennui - punctuated indiscriminately with rare picquances of drama. Monsarrat was born on Rodney Street [2] in Liverpool, Lancashire, to parents Keith Waldegrave Monsarrat FRCS (among the most eminent surgeons of his time) [3] and Marguerite Turney. [1] Monsarrat was educated at Winchester College and Trinity College, Cambridge. [4] In his autobiography, he wrote that the 1931 Invergordon Naval Mutiny influenced his interest in politics and social and economic issues after college. Today's economic participants are perpetually at sea and failure may very well be a sort of virtual death. Our livelihood, which is often synonymous with life itself, can be stolen by seemingly inhuman forces, which are easily hated. Our home ports are but a fleeting reprieve, sometimes despised for the temporary shelter that they represent. And we are constantly cast adrift, at sea, at war, again and again.This is good, very good, better than I I had expected. Years ago I had begun listening to this on a BBC broadcast. Such broadcasts are abridged, which is not to my liking!

a b Pace, Eric (4 August 1979). "Nicholas Monsarrat, Novelist, Dies; Wrote War Epic 'The Cruel Sea' ". The New York Times. p.17 . Retrieved 20 April 2017. The ending is low-key, and I like this. The book gives readers a glimpse into another aspect of the Second World War. It is a book featuring so-called “fictional characters”, but it draws the true to life reality of the war as it played out for the men stationed on escort ships guarding convoys. I repeat—Monsarrat writes of that which he knows.

Published in 1951, this book is a classic fiction of maritime warfare in the Battle of the Atlantic during WWII, focused on a corvette ship assigned to protect convoys from German U-Boats. At the story opens, the newly built HMS Compass Rose is just being readied for launch and the crew is in training. The only experienced crew member is Lieutenant-Commander George Ericson, who had previously served in the Merchant Navy. His officers are new to the Royal Navy, as so many were at the start of the war, having previously held civilian jobs. It is told linearly, covering 1939 to 1945, with one chapter dedicated to each year, and is based on the author’s own (and, at that time, recent) experiences. He had intended to practise law, but decided to pursue working as an author instead. He moved to London and wrote as a freelancer for newspapers. He wrote four novels and a play in the space of five years (1934–1939). I found the book even better than the film. More depth, more emotional intensity, more to really get your teeth into. This is a story of the Battle of the Atlantic, the story of an ocean, two ships, and a handful of men. The men are the heroes; the heroines are the ships. The only villain is the sea, the cruel sea, that man has made more cruel... HMS Flower" and "HMS Compass Rose" were fictional Flower-class corvettes in the short story H M Corvette (1942) and the novel The Cruel Sea (1951)

How can it be? There’s too many classics to choose from. Antiwar masterpieces like All Quiet on the Western Front and Fear. Literary opuses such as The Naked and the Dead and The Thin Red Line. Big, operatic epics like Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Once you start listing them, it’s hard to stop. Catch 22. The Things They Carried. The Red Badge of Courage. Even War and Peace can be classified here. A lot of great literature exists in this genre. The Reconciliation (1984) – TV film, directed by John Jacobs, starring Roger Rees, John Castle, Jim Norton, Meg Davies, teleplay by Roy Russell. Monsarrat's first three novels, published during 1934–1937 and now out of print, were realistic treatments of modern social problems informed by his leftist politics. The Visitor, his only play, was in the same category. [7] His fourth novel and first major work, This Is the Schoolroom, had a different theme. The story of a young, idealistic, aspiring writer experiencing the "real world" for the first time, it is at least partly autobiographical. Ireland comes in for a lambasting; the country is potrayed as contemptible for remaining neutral and benefiting from the vital food and other supplies from North America, guarded by the Royal Navy, whilst at the same time allowing the Nazis to run an espionage base on their territory. His final work, unfinished at the time of his death but published in its incomplete form, was a two-volume historical novel titled The Master Mariner. Based on the legend of the Wandering Jew, it told the story of a 16th-century English seaman who, as punishment for a terrible act of cowardice, is doomed to sail the world's seas until the end of time. His hero participates in critical moments in history; Monsarrat used him to emphasize the importance of seamen.Now that I’ve got your attention, let me say that The Cruel Sea is not the greatest war novel of all time. Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR (22 March 1910–8 August 1979) was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea (1951) and Three Corvettes (1942–45), but perhaps known best internationally for his novels, The Tribe That Lost Its Head and its sequel, Richer Than All His Tribe. [1] Early life [ edit ] Saltash Castle was portrayed by Castle-class corvette HMS Portchester Castle, pennant F362, as in the film. Although she had been paid off in 1947, she was held in reserve until broken up in 1958, and so could be made available for use in the film. The book serves to bring to life the historical accounts of the war, but it also opens up parallels that exist in our current lives. In the hear-and-now, stresses are also ever-present and they accumulate with time. We eventually lose our peace-of-mind to a constant and continuing struggle.