NOT THINKING OF DEATH

Set in England just prior to WWII, Fullerton's story tells of the testing trials for the new submarines the British are building to combat the Germans. In a series of flashbacks from the present, Rufus Chalk, a submarine commander, looks back fifty years, telling of construction problems, technical difficulties, and personality conflicts during the trials and maiden voyage. Peter Wickham ably handles the interactions between Chalk and Dymock, naval officer and ladies' man, and their respective female friends and acquaintances. Upper-class British country life in the late 1930s is the backdrop for the social interactions, the naval yards for the military action. Long drawn-out descriptions make Wickham work hard to keep the listener interested. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 04/ JAN 05]