A town like alice tells the story of a plucky young englishwoman who becomes a legend in malaya during world war ii, inherits a fortune, marries her true love, and wisely uses her money to transform an australian ghost town. Book discussion further reading guide kent district library. There is work to be done, but all we want to do is read. Also type spoiler when given away a major plot element. A town like alice the legacy this book is a member of the special collection special collection. After they are liberated she emigrates to australia to be with him. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Nevil shute writes every character with quiet kindness and intelligence. Jun 16, 2015 however, i had never read a town like alice 1950 by nevil shute until a few weeks ago. His ability to create real, 3dimensional characters was one of his gifts. Produced by the seven network, and directed by david stevens, it. A town like alice a 1950s exciting story, of a woman who has such success, vision, courage and determination. Nevil shutes most beloved novel, a tale of love and war, follows its enterprising heroine from the malayan jungle during world war ii to the rugged australian outback. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on a town like alice by nevil shute. At the bottom of the page you will also find useful links, all in one place. A harrowing, exciting, and in the end very satisfying war romance. The main character, jean, is a secretary in a shoe factory.
Set against the brutal chaos of world war ii, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living nightmare of captivity, across three continents and two decades. Set against the brutal nightmare of world war ii, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living chaos of captivity, across three continents and two. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of part two and truncating or omitting much detail. Jean paget, an adolescent englishwoman, becomes romantically involved with a fellow wwii prisoner, joe harmon, in malaya now the western portion of malaysia. Set in both malaysia and then the australian outback, its easy to see why a town like alice is so well known and a classic. People who spent the war in prison camps have written a lot of books.
This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of a town like alice by nevil shute. I wanted to know where the movie had come from, as books are usually better than movies, and i had forgotten much of the plot. In the book this is found amongst the malayan women that has to work on the fields, look after the kids and sleep on the floor. Based on nevil shutes international bestselling novel a town like alice. With virginia mckenna, peter finch, kenji takaki, tran van khe. I think i will be less apprehensive of war time novels, going forward. I did not enjoy reading this book because of the disrespectful attitude towards the aborigines.
Read any nevil shute book you can get your hands on. A town like alice has been such an intriguing read. A town like alice is a novel by the australian author nevil shute. A town like alice rape of malaya 1956 rotten tomatoes. Shop online for our annual print editions, which include book overviews, suggested discussion topics and discussion questions for all our annual books. There was not one positive thing mentioned about them as far as i could see, but so much glorification of the heroine and her man. A town like alice tells of a young woman who miraculously survived a japanese death march in world war ii, and of an australian soldier, also a prisoner of war, who offered to help hereven at the cost of his life. Apr 09, 2020 a harrowing, exciting, and in the end very satisfying war romance. A town like alice study guide ch 610 a town like alice most appropriately conforms to the genre of the sociological novel. He clearly loved travel and people from all walks of life and cultures. Like black rain, from last year, a town like alice took me by surprise.
Every book page contains useful information for your book group including book club questions. Find discussion books, contests, and reading lists. Jean paget, a young englishwoman living in malaya, is captured by the invading japanese and forced on a brutal sevenmonth death march with dozens of other women and children. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Welcome to book club babble, the site for busy people who love books. From the steamy jungles of malaya to the dusty and desolate outback of australia. In other words the are real because he made them so, and they did not rely on events to make them so. A town like alice tells the story of a plucky young englishwoman who becomes a legend in malaya during world war ii, inherits a fortune, marries her true love, and wisely uses her money to transform an australian ghost town into a thriving community. Thinking back, she recalls the australian man who made a great sacrifice to aid her and her fellow prisoners of war. A harrowing wwii drama that was a huge critical and commercial success in england, this british production was based on a novel by nevil shute. This is a statement that depends a lot on what you mean with basically. A town like alice, nevil shutes novel of the japanese occupation of malaya during world war ii, was first filmed as a theatrical feature in 1956. A town like alice by nevil shute summary this study guide includes the following sections.
Of course, that is the basic theme of many of shutes books. This book is in the public domain in canada, and is made available to you drmfree. An example from the book is the australians, whose culture is rather close to the english, but there are few englishmen who would have liked the loneliness in the big country australia, and even fewer australians, i think, would feel comfortable in the. A town like alice aka the legacy tells of a young woman who miraculously survived a wartime japanese death march, and an australian soldier, also a prisoner of war, who offered to help her even at the cost of his life. Discussion even though cultures differ, people are basically the same. A town like alice appears to be a war novel on the surface, being published in 1950, but it was written when he was presumably doing some traveling in southeast asia and australia. About the book a town like alice, a novel written in 1950, is intertwined with romance and economic development.
A town like alice questions temp galesburg public library. A town like alice most appropriately conforms to the genre of the sociological novel. Was nevil shute, author of a town like alice a racist, or was he just recording the attitudes of the time. During the war, a group of prisoners, mostly women. A town like alice goodreads meet your next favorite book. People who spent the war in prison camps have written a. Both tell the story of rather uncomplicated people, setting out to change a corner of the world and succeeding. Jean paget, a young englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner of world war ii in malaya, and after liberation emigrates to australia to be with him, where she attempts, by investing her substantial financial inheritance, to. Oct 16, 2015 alice in wonderland book club discussion. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. Book club questions for still alice book club babble. Book club discussion questions this page gives you a full list of all the books featured on this site, split between fiction and non fiction. However, i had never read a town like alice 1950 by nevil shute until a few weeks ago. The perfect book club is made up of three key things.
The discussion will begin on november 1, 2011 where. Its a classic and shock its not on more must read book list. A town like alice is a fivehour 1981 australian television adaptation of nevil shutes novel of the same name. A town like alice is a 1956 british drama film produced by joseph janni and starring virginia mckenna and peter finch that is based on the 1950 novel by nevil shute. One of my two favorite shute books is a town like alice aka the legacy. And remember to check out our other book resources. Aug 21, 2017 ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Britishaustralian author nevil shutes historical romance novel a town like alice. What alice forgot for our virtual book club this month, were talking about what alice forgot by liane moriarty, which i introduced here. A town like alice by nevil shute, first edition abebooks. Still alice by lisa genova book club discussion questions. A newly wealthy english woman returns to malaya to build a well for the villagers who helped her during war.
Both groups brought new insights to a book that has puzzled and. Stay in the loop with reading group choices, get notified about the release of our print editions, and receive handy materials from our publishing partners. A town like alice, trustee from the toolroom, and in the wet are my 3 favorites. Sep 11, 2019 the perfect book club is made up of three key things. A town like alice by nevil shute reading guidebook club. Discussion questions for a town like alice by nevil shute galesburg public library tuesday book club november 2006 1. You will read a town like alice and fall in love with shutes writing. The legacy is a romance novel by nevil shute, published in 1950 when shute had newly settled in australia. The book was a delightful read, and id suggest it as a perfect summer beach read if you are so inclined. Please post the chapter and or page number at the top of your post. The first half deals with the history of jean paget, in which we follow her to malaya under the japanese occupation.
The writing had an easy flow to it and the story was certainly gripping, even though this decidedly is a book of two halves. The first two things are easy to accomplish just read anything by. One of my two favorite shute books is a town like alice a k a the legacy. A town like alice, by nevil shute the story begins right before the start of world war two. While the blatant racism mostly in the 3rd act of the book was uncomfortable, the story as a whole was entertaining. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Its amazing story of the strength of women surviving against all odds. Ill throw out a few topics for discussion, and you can write your responses about these topics or anything else youd like to say in the comment section. The level and depth of his writing in alice shows that he was indeed learning to draw upon his own experiences to create critically acclaimed works. The book portrays a community and how it deals with the changes due to world conflicts.