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. One of my two favorite shute books is a town like alice aka the legacy. He clearly loved travel and people from all walks of life and cultures. The legacy is a romance novel by nevil shute, published in 1950 when shute had newly settled in australia.
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. You will also find links to popular books for questions and discussion guides. However, i had never read a town like alice 1950 by nevil shute until a few weeks ago. Nevil shute books, ebooks, audiobooks, biography barnes. Most sets have at least 8 copies, and some have even more. Still alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50yearold womans sudden descent into early onset alzheimers disease, and captures in remarkable detail whats its. In alice in wonderland, alice grows and shrinks and nothing quite fits just like life, says one reader.
In short, she winds up making willstown a town like alice. People who spent the war in prison camps have written a lot of books. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important. The novel is also a deeply romantic one, essaying jeans relationship with australian soldier, joe harman, whose acts of friendship towards jean. Both tell the story of rather uncomplicated people, setting out to change a corner of the world and succeeding. After they are liberated she emigrates to australia to be with him. Shortly after his first visit, shute decided to move there. A town like alice the legacy this book is a member of the special collection special collection. A town like alice by nevil shute, first edition abebooks. Cannery row is only a few blocks long, but the story it harbors is suffused with warmth, understanding and a great fund of human values carrie by stephen king the master of horrors debut novel, carrie is the story of a. The book was written in 1950, so readers will come across terms that are dated or are no longer pc, but the language, values and behaviours reflected the times. More information about this seller contact this seller 26. As a naval volunteer reservist in the second world war, shute developed antisubmarine missiles and was sent to normandy to chronicle the dday landings.
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. If you have your own book group, wed love to share our book kits. Check either of the lists below if youd like to use the. The fruit fluff was the hit of the night not to mention the root beer floats. A town like alice pied piper the far country the chequer board no highway by nevil shute. To the club at six oclock to read the periodicals, and gossip, and dine, and after dinner a rubber of bridge. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. The discussion will begin on november 1, 2011 where. Ohio college town where she and her biracial family dont quite fit in, her parents. Beartown by fredrik backman book club discussion questions. A town like alice written by nevil shute ballentine books 1950 carrie chose julys selection and the night was cohosted at megans place all. 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. In 1945 he emigrated to australia with his wife and daughters and there wrote perhaps his most famous novels a town like alice 1950 and on the beach 1957. A town like alice is a novel by the australian author nevil shute.
Fictional drama, a town like alice by nevil shute, is one of my alltime favourite australian classics a bittersweet journey. A town like alice, more than any other work, reveals shutes feelings about australia. It takes nevil shute a long time in this novel to get around to the town of alice alice springs actually, and even longer to get around to the town like alice. Great novel of wwii, friendships, and a good love story as a bonus. I think i will be less apprehensive of war time novels, going forward. Moving sixpart miniseries based on nevil shutes novel traces a romance during and after wwii in postwar australia as t moremoving sixpart miniseries. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. 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. No highway a town like alice on the beach by nevil shute. However it has a certain directness and freshness which makes it quite watchable. Ive found the many lists of books on that sight to be a most treasured resource. Discussion questions for a town like alice by nevil shute galesburg public library tuesday book club november 2006 1.
Carrie picked a town like alice because she would often find it on those. A town like alice rape of malaya 1956 rotten tomatoes. Discussion questions for a town like alice by nevil shute galesburg public library tuesday book club november 2006. Welcome to book club babble, the site for busy people who love books. Jean paget, an adolescent englishwoman, becomes romantically involved with a fellow wwii prisoner, joe harmon, in malaya now the western portion of malaysia. Our summary page for what alice forgot by by liane moriarty includes book club discussion questions, author website, summary, talking. 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.
Like black rain, from last year, a town like alice took me by surprise. Of course, that is the basic theme of many of shutes books. There is work to be done, but all we want to do is read. If your parent or spouse was diagnosed with early onset alzheimers, how do you think you would handle it. A town like alice is the story of an english nurse, who is trapped in malaya with a group of englihs women during the japanese invasion. A town like alice and millions of other books are available for instant access. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of part two and truncating or omitting much detail. 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. The author of 24 published novels and novellas, his bestknown books include pied piper, a town like alice, and especially on the beach. Book discussion kits cannery row by john steinbeck a timeless american classic. A town like alice is made all the better by the true story that inspired it. A town like alice by nevil shute, from project gutenberg canada. Not only that, any book featured on this site has a list of questions on its book page. I would never have heard of it if i didnt see it on.
Nevil shute writes every character with quiet kindness and intelligence. The time has come to discuss the fascinating february 20 mobileread book club selection, a town like alice by nevil shute. A town like alice questions temp galesburg public library. 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. A town like alice most appropriately conforms to the genre of the sociological novel. They say that it can take three times for you to hear about a book before you read it. Book discussion kits louisville free public library. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Do you think the book did a good job of illustrating what it would feel like to have the disease. A town like alice the far country on the beach by nevil shute. A town like alice is a bonza book as one of its main characters, joe hardman of australia, would say about two love stories, two adventures and two remarkable characters inspired by a reallife man and woman who displayed remarkable bravery during wwii. Extra copies are located in storage, so please place holds online or ask at our front desk for the entire set.
People who spent the war in prison camps have written a. 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. Alice, or even the alice, as it is called by the australians, was a comfortable place to live in the middle of the 20th century 1950. Read any nevil shute book you can get your hands on. This book is in the public domain in canada, and is made available to you drmfree. You will read a town like alice and fall in love with shutes writing. During the second world war he joined the royal navy volunteer reserve where he worked on developing secret weapons. The book was a delightful read, and id suggest it as a perfect summer beach read if you are so inclined. This summary of a town like alice includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. Its very well cast with helen morse and bryan brown in the major roles and gordon jackson perfect as the sympathetic narrator. 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. Whether you are the one organising the book club, the host for the evening or just an ordinary member who has read the book and wants to discuss it, then a set of questions will really get the most out of your discussion. 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. After this by alice mcdermott this novel of a middleclass american family, in the middle decades of the.
It has a compelling story set after the war in the 1950s and has all the key elements that make for a great book sorrow, hope, courage and love. 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. Have youdo you have a person like noel in your life. What alice forgot by by liane moriarty book club discussion.
Study questions, project ideas and discussion topics based on important themes running throughout a town like alice by nevil shute. To the club at six oclock to read the periodicals, and gossip, and dine. The building of the new town in australia is only a minor part of a town like alice, just the climax really of a very long story arc. For our virtual book club this month, were talking about what alice forgot by liane moriarty, which i introduced here heres how it works. Also type spoiler when given away a major plot element. Book discussion kits contemporary fiction after this by alice. A town like alice is one of my favorite books by nevil shute so i was pleased that masterpiece theater did such a believable job when they filmed it. Book discussion further reading guide kent district library. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions.
After the war he continued to write and settled in australia where he lived until his death in 1960. Its a classic and shock its not on more must read book list. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Book club questions for still alice book club babble. A town like alice by nevil shute reading guidebook club. From the steamy jungles of malaya to the dusty and desolate outback of australia.
Unfollow town like alice dvd to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. While the blatant racism mostly in the 3rd act of the book was uncomfortable, the story as a whole was entertaining. Resources for book discussions may be found at publishers websites, bound into some editions of the book. The book portrays a community and how it deals with the changes due to world conflicts. Shute published alice in 1950, ten years before toolroom in 1960, just before he died at the age of 60 in melbourne, australia.
Find an array of questions to bring your book club discussion to life. Save town like alice dvd to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed. Oct 16, 2015 alice in wonderland book club discussion. Ill not go into the hows of it, you can read the book for yourself, but she starts a small shoe factory in willstown, this leads to an ice cream parlor, which leads to a hairdresser, which leads to a swimming poolrec center etc. A town like alice the greatest literature of all time. His most celebrated novels include pied piper 1942, a town like alice 1950, and on the beach 1957. A town like alice by nevil shute and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. With helen morse, bryan brown, gordon jackson, dorothy alison. Based on nevil shutes international bestselling novel a town like alice. Its amazing story of the strength of women surviving against all odds. The paperback of the a town like alice by nevil shute at barnes. Snoisle libraries and the snoisle foundation are proud to offer book discussion kits. The pace of life and the movement of information was much slower in the middle of the last century. Designed to appeal to the book lover, the macmillan collectors library is a series of beautifully bound pocketsized gift editions of much loved classic titles.
Jun 16, 2015 however, i had never read a town like alice 1950 by nevil shute until a few weeks ago. A town like alice 1 is an episode from season 11 of the pbs tv series masterpiece theater in which joe harmon and jean paget fall in love during world war iis japanese occupation of malaya. Great supplemental information for school essays and projects. Please post the chapter and or page number at the top of your post. A town like alice is narrated by a london attorney, noel strachan. About the book a town like alice, a novel written in 1950, is intertwined with romance and economic development. Just browse the pages and you will find them about half way down the page.
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