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'A rattling story, full of action and laughs and gut-wrenching fear ... Roll on Vol.2' Daily Mail 'Very funny, and always delightfully non-PC' GQ 'A novel about the D-Day invasion of Normandy that's a welcome corrective to the Spielberg-Hanks version and promises a lot more excitement to come ... Jolly good show, Delingpole' Spectator 'Although extremely funny in parts the book is also, perhaps surprisingly, at times very moving ... truly compelling and feels authentic ... undoubtedly entertaining' Sunday Telegraph
James Urquhart, Financial Times Magazine
Tempered by the carnage of war, Dick's antics have more meat and less sauce than those of his antecedent Flashman, whose racy adventures Delingpole creditably updates
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Read some of the other reviews with surprise. I suppose it just goes to show beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, just to contradict myself straight away, here's why I really enjoyed this book and it's sequel.
I liked the story and the pacing. There's lots of interesting and apparently accurate historical background . The characters are likeable and believable in the context of the unlikely set of events in the story (yes I know that sounds like I'm contradicting myself again ). The story has touches of warm humour, action and excitement, and can also be touching. Without giving too much away, one of the final scenes really captures the conflicting emotions of relief, suddenly changing to frustration, guilt and sadness at the randomness of war.
Where the book does itself no favours is with the cover design and choice of reviews. I can see why people have made references to Flashman, Jeeves & Worcester but they are misleading.
Coward is an upper class wealthy landowner with an eccentric farther who has decided whichever son has the 'best' war shall inherent the estate. Unfortunately the brother is a cad. Coward is accompanied into battle by Price his down to earth, cynical batman who is an experienced soldier and would much rather be back on the estate running the stables.
Coward himself is also a very experienced soldier who just happens to have a lot of luck (good and bad). The family motto should be 'the road to hell is paved with good intention.' In particular, poor Coward can't help making a fool out of himself over the beautiful Gina. He does have his faults, mainly occaisional snobbery, but he admits these himself (especially in the case of the Landgirl someone mentioned in another review).
The book is written as his memoirs, recorded for his grandson after playing a PlayStation game together.
Anyway, I'm waffling, I've read the book twice now and was sad to get to the end on both occaision. My wife has also read it and enjoyed it and she would not normally read anything war related. We both found it added to our understanding and appreciation of a recent trip to the Normandy beaches.
I read the second book soon after the first and thought it was even better.
I hope the next one arrives soon and look forward to finding out more about the other adventures alluded to.
I liked the story and the pacing. There's lots of interesting and apparently accurate historical background . The characters are likeable and believable in the context of the unlikely set of events in the story (yes I know that sounds like I'm contradicting myself again ). The story has touches of warm humour, action and excitement, and can also be touching. Without giving too much away, one of the final scenes really captures the conflicting emotions of relief, suddenly changing to frustration, guilt and sadness at the randomness of war.
Where the book does itself no favours is with the cover design and choice of reviews. I can see why people have made references to Flashman, Jeeves & Worcester but they are misleading.
Coward is an upper class wealthy landowner with an eccentric farther who has decided whichever son has the 'best' war shall inherent the estate. Unfortunately the brother is a cad. Coward is accompanied into battle by Price his down to earth, cynical batman who is an experienced soldier and would much rather be back on the estate running the stables.
Coward himself is also a very experienced soldier who just happens to have a lot of luck (good and bad). The family motto should be 'the road to hell is paved with good intention.' In particular, poor Coward can't help making a fool out of himself over the beautiful Gina. He does have his faults, mainly occaisional snobbery, but he admits these himself (especially in the case of the Landgirl someone mentioned in another review).
The book is written as his memoirs, recorded for his grandson after playing a PlayStation game together.
Anyway, I'm waffling, I've read the book twice now and was sad to get to the end on both occaision. My wife has also read it and enjoyed it and she would not normally read anything war related. We both found it added to our understanding and appreciation of a recent trip to the Normandy beaches.
I read the second book soon after the first and thought it was even better.
I hope the next one arrives soon and look forward to finding out more about the other adventures alluded to.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The action scenes are pretty good, the love scenes aren't. There are some great scenes and set-pieces. Much of the soldiers' dialogue is tedious. The commandos came out looking a bit stupid (which can hardly have been the intention, unless aimed at an American audience perhaps?). The Price character doesn't come alive at all. The humour is reminiscent of a Panzer tank (heavy, clunking and you can hear it coming from miles away). Despite reviews reprinted on the cover it is actually pretty politically correct (except for some unnecessarily unpleasant comments about a poor, hard-working land girl's appearance).
Despite all this I would probably buy the next one, except that... we all want to make money, James, but the first job of a novelist is to create an exciting read. By spending so long sign-posting future books you make me think you're more interested in a lucrative long-term book deal than with making this one as good as it could be. And that is, in the end, a disservice to the commandos.
Despite all this I would probably buy the next one, except that... we all want to make money, James, but the first job of a novelist is to create an exciting read. By spending so long sign-posting future books you make me think you're more interested in a lucrative long-term book deal than with making this one as good as it could be. And that is, in the end, a disservice to the commandos.
23 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I must confess to having felt a little uneasy at the prospect of Coward on the Beach: I mean, do really need an "updated Flashman" as it pipes on the blurb? Well, if this first installment is anything to go by, yes, we really do. I've devoured all the Flashman books over the years and have recently had a sense that they don't quite have the same zip and verve as they once did. Delingpole, who I've never read before (his previous novels didn't register on the radar to be hoenst) manages to write a very funny story, verging on the pastiche, in a very similar vein to MacDonald Fraser. But despite the larger than life characters and extraordinary plot twists, he manages to imbue the book with a sense of real respect for what the soldiers of the second world war achieved: their amazing spirit and backbone and the honorable way in which they offered their lives. He also brilliantly describes the battle scenes - very Band of Brothers - and tells the story of the assault on the Fort at Port En Bessin with a historian's eye for detail. I really can't wait for the next installment.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Clumsy and contrived.
The first few chapters are a bore, compounded by the fact that they jump backwards and forwards chronologically. Read more
Published 4 days ago by DEVIZES
Decent Start
COWARD ON THE BEACH is the first in this new-ish series about a British officer in the Second World War. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Hereward
no Flashman but a promising start to a series 3.5*
It's no Flashman - let's get the out of the way straight away.
Yes, it borrows heavily from GMF's classic novels but it's different enough to stand by itself and avoid... Read more
Yes, it borrows heavily from GMF's classic novels but it's different enough to stand by itself and avoid... Read more
Published 10 months ago by An avid reader
Excellent WWII adventure novel, reminds me of the Gimlet WWII novels
I read this after the author's excellent "How to be right", which is dictionary of political incorrectness. This novel doesn't disappoint either, centering on the D-Day invasion. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. N. B. Cook
Rubbish
I don't generally give reviews, but I'll make an exception for this. I am a passionate devourer of historical fiction. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Zac
Good History but Tonally Adrift Storytelling
This is one of those books I can across by pure serendipity: I was in the library looking for something completely unrelated (a Don DeLillo book) and the retro design of the spine... Read more
Published 20 months ago by A. Ross
Paging Flashman...
Coward on the beach is a WWII version of Flashman - or, rather, the anti-Flashman. While Flashy was a rogue, bounder and cad who became a national hero, largely via... Read more
Published 20 months ago by John Middleton
great book
my son loves this book which we got for his birthday.
If you are like me and have a teenage son who wont read 'story books', try these. Read more
If you are like me and have a teenage son who wont read 'story books', try these. Read more
Published on 26 May 2010 by J. Wimblett
Shoddy Flashman Knock-Off
The author has obviously read some Flashman books and thought - "I can do that" - sadly he was wrong. Read more
Published on 7 May 2010 by Wulliexk8
An excellent start in the Flashman vein.
I read George McDonald Fraser's novels Flashman and MacAuslan and enjoyed the wit and humour alongside GMF's ability to bring a real sense of historical period to life, whether... Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Dazzla
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