It just wasn't cricket, at least not the sort that followers of England's one-day team were used to anyway, as Eoin Morgan's new-look, new-outlook side battered their way to an unexpected 3-2 series triumph over New Zealand.
Even the book's harshest glimpses of wartime reality have their grace, from the prison matron whom Adair wishes "dead as the earl of hell" to the amputees who "had been utterly changed in their demeanor and outlook, from one side of the bone saw to the other".
One year on, the outlook for Alan Solomons' side is substantially rosier as they chase European Champions Cup qualification, but this defeat highlighted the disparity between the Scots and the Pro12 title-chasers.
The operators of H Samuel and Ernest Jones stores in the UK said "the outlook on both sides of the Atlantic remains uncertain".
Still, as it did for stock futures in the United States, the jobs report provided a lift to battered stock markets in Europe, which have been sliding this week on fears about the economic outlook on both sides of Atlantic.
Given the data, it's understandable that their demand-side outlook has been mostly dour and dire since mid-2009.
On the passenger side, the outlook is rosier.
Outlook: On the bright side for the T'Wolves, they finally signed Joe Smith to a legitimate contract.
For grounded workers at Kurnell, on the bay's south side, the outlook is not so promising.
Using the vertical scroll bar on the left hand side of Outlook, scroll down until you see the name of the newly added shared mailbox.
On the House side, the outlook is muddier.
