A Town Like Alice
(Vintage Classics Shute Series)
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4.6 • 72 Ratings
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- £0.99
Publisher Description
'Probably more people have shed tears over the last page of A Town Like Alice than about any other novel in the English language... remarkable' Guardian
Jean Paget is just twenty years old and working in Malaya when the Japanese invasion begins.
When she is captured she joins a group of other European women and children whom the Japanese force to march for miles through the jungle - an experience that leads to the deaths of many.
Due to her courageous spirit and ability to speak Malay, Jean takes on the role of leader of the sorry gaggle of prisoners and many end up owing their lives to her indomitable spirit. While on the march, the group run into some Australian prisoners, one of whom, Joe Harman, helps them steal some food, and is horrifically punished by the Japanese as a result.
After the war, Jean tracks Joe down in Australia and together they begin to dream of surmounting the past and transforming his one-horse outback town into a thriving community like Alice Springs...
With an introduction by Eric Lomax, author of The Railway Man
Customer Reviews
A lovely story.
I first read this book almost 60 years ago and it was a delight to read it for the second time after the passing of all those years and find that my very fond memories of the story and the characters within it offered the same emotions and joy I had when I read it the first time. Highly recommended.
It doesn't get better than this
Adventurous, international, loyal, entrepreneurial, romantic, funny, sexy. There might be more intellectual novels out there but this is the one I come back to again and again. Definitely my favourite of all times.
A Town Like Alice
Possibly the best book I have ever read.