Kevin C answers “Was Nevil Shute, author of 'A Town like...”

Lina asked this question about A Town Like Alice:

Was Nevil Shute, author of 'A Town like Alice' a racist, or was he just recording the attitudes of the time? I did not enjoy reading this book because of the disrespectful attitude towards the aborigines. 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. Not my cup of tea.

Kevin C I have read all of his books and I do not believe he was a racist. He recorded the common attitudes of the time but there is nothing that implies he a…moreI have read all of his books and I do not believe he was a racist. He recorded the common attitudes of the time but there is nothing that implies he approved. Many times he sets those racist attitudes as a strawman and proceeds in the story to show how misguided they were. In this book the heroine was the woman who learned the native language & customs, and succeeded, in contrast to her conservative colleagues. In his book "In The Wet", set in 1983, 30 years in his future, the hero is a mixed race Aboriginal / European man who becomes captain of the Queen's flight and a personal friend of the Queen. In "The Chequer Board" one hero is a black American G.I. When American officers tell the landlord of an English pub that they should segregate, the landlord decides he would rather have the black customers and his locals rather than serve the racist officers.(less)

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A Town Like Alice

by Nevil Shute

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