Retro Reads discussion
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A Town Like Alice
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A Town Like Alice Start date 7th of Sept 2021 Non SPOILERS thread
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I am still waiting for a copy from my library- will be my first read whenever I get to it!I did watch the mini series with Bryan Brown (hubba hubba) from the 1980s many years ago on PBS, so I’ll just lurk in the comments for now.
This is my first read as well and I am loving it. A little over halfway through.
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I'm a little under half way. (view spoiler)
I'm one who owns a copy. I've got the Pan paperback from 1980 or so that ties into the TV mini-series. (starring Bryan Brown and Helen Morse).And, dear lord! the print is miniscule!! I may have to buy an e-book version, so I can enlarge the print.
I've only read the book once, but have watched the mini-series numerous times.
This is a reread for me but I was pretty young when I first read it. I'm finding it incredibly engaging. From the moment Jean said her brother was sent to the railroad I was hooked.
I first read this at high school. It was one of the titles on my fourth form required reading list for English. It stuck so firmly in my mind I read it again in my early 20s (pre-children/distraction days), and thoroughly enjoyed it then too.I recall going to the local cinema with the school to see the 1956 movie. Black and white with Peter Finch and Virginia McKenna. Many, many years later I watched the TV series in weekly episodes, and then saw the re-make of the movie in colour. Around 1981/2 I believe. It was one of the last movie evenings my Mum and me shared.
There was also a TV series of a group of women prisoners in Malaya, Tenko? or something like that around the same time as the movie. Mum and I both agreed how much it reminded us of A Town Like Alice.
Even though I last read this book in 2018, I'm looking forward to reading it again. It's one of those books I become very involved in.
It says in the Afterword (no spoilers) that the historical group of female prisoners endlessly walking were in Sumatra, not Malaya, and they were Dutch women, not English. The author met one of the survivors and so admired her that she inspired this book. His crush on that woman shows through in the portrayal of Jean, I think.
Lesley wrote: "I first read this at high school. It was one of the titles on my fourth form required reading list for English. It stuck so firmly in my mind I read it again in my early 20s (pre-children/distracti..."Lesley--you have a good memory! "Tenko" was a 30 episode series (spread over 3 years) about a group of women who had been living in Singapore when the Japanese invaded. These women ended up in a prison camp; the series explored their experiences. It first aired (on US television, anyway) in late 1981.
Abigail wrote: "It says in the Afterword (no spoilers) that the historical group of female prisoners endlessly walking were in Sumatra, not Malaya, and they were Dutch women, not English. The author met one of the..."I'm a bit naughty and don't tend to read the afterwords and such like so probably have missed that information. Unless, of course, if it wasn't in the copy I used to have. My Mum had a set of Nevil Shute books and it would be from that set.
So, both A Town Like Alice and Tenko could have been inspired by the same group of women.
Thus far, I tend to think you are right in that the author was smitten with 'Jean'. It is still just as lovely as it was on previous readings.
Barb in Maryland wrote: "Lesley wrote: "I first read this at high school. It was one of the titles on my fourth form required reading list for English. It stuck so firmly in my mind I read it again in my early 20s (pre-chi..."Barb in Maryland wrote: "Lesley wrote: "I first read this at high school. It was one of the titles on my fourth form required reading list for English. It stuck so firmly in my mind I read it again in my early 20s (pre-chi..."
That timeline would be right, Barb. My husband took ill around the time the series was on and I'd often watch it at my Mum's after I'd been visiting with him at the hospital. Mum would have our kids to mind and she'd cook dinner. On the Tenko nights I'd bath the kids there, watch the programme with her, then head off home. A couple of years after it had finished, she read Nevil Shute's book again, and within a couple of years she had also become terminally ill.
Not so much just good memory, but a memory of association. Although I'm sure my teachers who so often noted "she is easily distracted/talkative" would be pleased to see that I was absorbing all along! :)
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I LOVE this book. Of all the thousands of books I have read, this might be my favorite book of all times. Yes, I have read it several times before but not for some years and I had forgotten just how good it is. I would love to meet Nevil Shute in heaven and thank him for all his wonderful books.
Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Map of Malaysia - it is quite big, but when I made it smaller I couldn't read the place names!"
Thank you for the map, that is very helpful.
Yes, the map definitely helps visualize the setting better. Thanks, Carol!
I have definitely read before, as some of the plot details are coming back to me.
Here is my copy
So... Is this anyone's first read?
How many times have you read it?
What format are you using.
Because this is quite a short book there will just be the two threads - non SPOILERS & SPOILERS. Please don't post spoilers in this thread or use spoiler tags. We don't want to spoil a first time read for anyone.