A Town Like Alice in Never too Late to Read Classics

Jul 23, 2022 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: malaysia, love, legimus, relationships, 2022-read, flora, philo-psychol, fauna, england, hf

Oh my, I am so glad I finally got ahold of this. I've been searching for it for years. I t’s a winner.

Any review will tell you that the story is made up of two parts. The first focuses upon events during the Second World War in the Far East--a group of English women and children, 30-some at the start, are stranded in Malaysia The year is 1942 and Japan has recently invaded. The second part, set in 1948, is a direct consequence of the events that played out in the first part. One of the women, J ...more

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Apr 23, 2009 Dan | The Ancient Reader rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

This is an excellent book about what perseverance and vision can accomplish but most of all it's two love stories - the one between the two main characters of the story and the one in the mere telling of the story. ...more

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Aug 30, 2010 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: hf-world-war-ii, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, read-2011, australia, malaya

Page 38:
Kuala means the mouth of a river.

Page 56:
"People who spent the war in prison camps have written a lot of books about what a bad time they had,"..."they don't know what it was like, not being in a camp."

This book was originally published as "The Legacy".

This is the story of Jean Paget, a Scottish woman, who was captured together with 80 women and children by the Japanese during World War II in Malaya, when they have been forced to walk through the jungle trails for more than 1200 miles.

T ...more

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Jan 30, 2018 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, classics

4.5 stars. I loved this book. I loved the glimpse into the hard life of people taken prisoner in Asia during WWII. I loved the exploration of life in the outback of Australia. I loved the detailed discussion of the roles of women in Europe and Australia during the middle years of the 20th century. Mostly, I loved the characters. I found them real and believable. I found them likable but flawed. I found myself rooting for things to go well for them. This book was truly enjoyable. The only thing t ...more

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Apr 13, 2017 Karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel-the-world, 1001

Another wonderful tale by Nevil Shute. Yes, a bit dated and some prejudices, but beautiful writing.

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Nov 21, 2009 Janice rated it it was amazing

This is a book with staying power. I read it long ago by the title given to it for US publication which was 'The Legacy'. I was fourteen or fifteen then and I loved it. I think it is what lead to my fascination with Australia and the Outback. It is really a book in two parts. First the story of a young English woman who survived as a prisoner of war under the Japanese in Malaya during World War II. There was no prison camp for her group of 30 or more women and children and they were forced to ma ...more

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Dec 17, 2014 Kate rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2014

"A Town Like Alice tell of a young woman who miraculously survived a Japanese 'deathmarch' in World War II, and of an Australian soldier, also a 0prisoner of war, who offered to help her -- even at the cost of his life."
~~back cover

Of course there was much more to the story than that.

It was enjoyable, and it was harrowing. Until the war was over. And then it was predictable, and stilted, and a bit far-fetched. Copyright 1950 -- the book is a great example of how literary tastes change with the p ...more

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Feb 01, 2022 Debbie Hughes rated it really liked it

3.5
It started out a 4.5 but took so long to get to the end in my opinion. It is a lovely story about the Outback in the 40’s.. and a young lady who helps settle it and help the town to grow.

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