A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Town Like Alice
Book Review: A timeless classic of love and adventure.
Summary: 5 Stars
When asked what is my favorite book I always respond that I have two. The first is "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and the second is "A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute. I've recommended it to many people over the years and I haven't found one person yet that could put it down. It's a true classic, one that I've enjoyed over and over. Shute's better known "On The Beach" is as good as "A Town Like Alice" but it is much darker in content. "Alice" is a sweet love story that spans time and distance. If you haven't read it yet do yourself a favor, pick it up, sit down in a comfy chair and enjoy.Book Review: A town called Corny
Summary: 1 Stars
I honesty cannot find any redeeming qualities in this book. Everything is ruined by the writing style, even the almost salvageable descriptions of the outback and the Malay jungle. The abundance of irrelevant facts (is Anne Tyler a direct descendant of Nevil Shute?) that drag the storyline along for ages and provide absolutely nothing to the plot was unbearable. Same thing with the myriad of characters that pepper the pages, which have a half-a-minute cameo appearance, never to be heard of again. I estimate the adverb 'presently' was used about once per page. Joe has the adjective 'sheepish' tacked on every other time he is mentioned. If this book were to become a movie, i would picture Gerard Depardieu playing the part of Big Oaf Joe. The old lawyer is the narrator of the story, yet how could you narrate dialog taking place between two or three people 12000 miles away? Surely Jean did not write all that verbatim in her letters! From a documentary standpoint, one could see that this novel uses racial epithets for male and female Aborigines (boongs and lubras) because it is reflecting the spirit of the time (another example is when Jean starts her shop and she decides to have an annex where the colored can go). However, i do think that the descriptions of the Japanese in the early parts of the novel are very racist. These descriptions went beyond reporting, and i did not appreciate that.
The funniest part of the book is when Joe and Jean finally reveal their love for each other, and Jean almost loses her virginity in the heat of passion. She and Joe decide to cool it off, and the next morning, when she is taking a bath, she discovers bruises all over her body, and reflects on "the narrowness of her escape from a fate worse than death". WOW! I know the story takes place in post WWII time, but it was hilarious to read those sentiments.
There are lots of contradictions in the book. For example, Joe and Jean go to a semi-desert island for the weekend, and that's when they get passionate. But they decide they are going to keep their romance a secret, so that the townspeople don't gossip. Well, what would they be thinking when they saw the young couple take off for the weekend to a paradise island, no chaperone invited??? How about when Jean goes to the ranch overnight? Hmmm...
Anyway, there are romance novels in your local supermarket that can be far more entertaining and less unnerving. Don't waste your time on this one.
Book Review: A town like Alice
Summary: 5 Stars
My comment on this book is that we can learn a lot from this story and the difficult situations refugees have to face and fear. Nobody in the book liked the refugees and the people kept saying that there was no place for them. In our school there are many refugee children, and it's really not easy for them to adjust. So everyone should try to make the best of the situation he/she is in. I think it's a great book for pupils who like adventure stories and books about war. I enjoyed the book very much and I hope that other students will read it too.Book Review: A wonderful book, told by building small details into the story of two extraordinary (yet apparently ordinary) people
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful book, set against the backdrop of some pretty dramatic events such as WWII. Yet, the reason it works as a novel is that it is actually very SMALL in scope. It's the story of two people who might seem very ordinary in today's glitzy world - an English typist and an Aussie cattle ranch manager. Neville Shute builds the story, and shows us their character, by layering detail after detail of small events which, in themselves, are not earth-shattering, but which add up to two lives, richly lived. The book is divided into three sections - the first is the shortest: an introduction set in London; then a flashback to the two main characters' years as prisoners of the Japanese in Malaya; then their experiences in the Australian outback. In the process of reading the book, I came to greatly admire the main character, Jean Paget, through whose eyes much of the story unfolds.Book Review: Absolutly the best!
Summary: 5 Stars
The book I have read once, the movie, I have watched more times than I can count. It is riveting, inspiring and touching. If I could only watch one more movie in my life, this would be it. I won't recount the story, others have done that. What strikes me about this story is the age old triumph over tradedy, and not turning into a sour person when bad things happen. It is inspiring in that aspect even though it is only fiction. Nevil Shute based the story on true people, however they were Dutch instead of Australian. Make your life richer by watching the movie and reading the book.