Exit the Actress ~ October 2011

[Alias Reader]

No problem, Julie. :)

You will always find the info in the first Folder.
Folder: Intro and Welcome to BNC
Thread: Announcements.


* * * November
A Town Like Alice~A Town Like Alice
Nevil Shute

Discussion leader: Marialyce

A Town Like Alice~Nevil Shute~
A Town Like Alice (U.S. title: The Legacy) is a novel by the British author Nevil Shute about a young Englishwoman in Malaya during World War II and in outback Australia post-war. Written from the perspective of her Scottish solicitor and trustee, it tells the story of her time as a prisoner of war in Malaya, and her post-war life in a small outback community in Australia, which she sets out to turn into 'a town like Alice', Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. It was first published in 1950 when Shute had newly settled in Australia
Pages 384


* * * December
Girl in Translation~Girl in Translation
Jean Kwok

Discussion leader: meera

When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life-like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition-Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but also herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.
320 pages

[Julie]

Ah thanks Alias. I ordered the next one from the library. You should just keep the polls until we are done reading. That is usually the first place I look when I forget what won for groups reads. :-)

[Alias Reader]

It appears the discussion for this book is over. I will keep the thread open if anyone wished to comment on the novel in the future.

I want to thank Marialyce for leading this discussion. You did a wonderful job.

[Michelle]

Alias Reader wrote: "Section 5

Here is some info on the Great plague of 1665

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/...

Plague had been around in England for centuries but in 1665 the so-called Great Pl..."

Sorry I have been away from the discussion! I have been moving and it took up all of my time for a few weeks!
I had no idea that people were paid to kill cats and dogs to stop the spread of the plague. I did know that people were quarantined for 40 days and that that is what usually killed them. It was not catching from person to person but off the fleas on the rats.

[Michelle]

Alias Reader wrote: "Marialyce wrote: "Ellen obviously being pregnant and then losing the baby has undergone an emotional experience. Did anyone think her feelings were just sort of glossed over? Perhaps it is the diar..."

I have read several books about her affair with the king. What I find so interesting is that she was a total celebrity in her own right before they had an affair and that part of her history gets ignored. I love the theatre world in the story. Everything about Teddy is true!

[Alias Reader]

Michelle wrote: Sorry I have been away from the discussion! I have been moving and it took up all of my time for a few weeks!

I had no idea that people were paid to kill cats and dogs to stop the spread of the plague. I did know that people were quarantined for 40 days and that that is what usually killed them. It was not catching from person to person but off the fleas on the rats.
----------------

Hope all went well with the move. That can be a big ordeal. Where did you move to?

As to the dogs/cats I guess they worried that they were carrier of fleas. Considering the lack of sanitation in London at the time, I would think feral animals would present all sorts of health problems. It was not the "good old days" for sure.

[Alias Reader]

Michelle wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "Marialyce wrote: "Ellen obviously being pregnant and then losing the baby has undergone an emotional experience. Did anyone think her feelings were just sort of glossed over? P..."
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I'm reading a book on President Lincoln. It was noted that when his wife Mary became pregnant it was customary to go into seclusion. Pregnancy was not to be seen or talked about.

Maybe the same attitude was prevalent during the time of Exit the Actress.

[Bobbie]

Alias Reader wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "Marialyce wrote: "Ellen obviously being pregnant and then losing the baby has undergone an emotional experience. Did anyone think her feelings were just sort o..."

You don't have to go that far back. If you were a teacher in the 1950s and you were pregnant as soon as you showed it was not considered acceptable for you to be in the classroom. And in the I Love Lucy show when she was pregnant with Ricky the word "pregnant" was not allowed.

[Sara]

I loved this book. I am a fan of historical fiction, especially English history. While the point of view does sometimes change, it gives great insight as to how government and society functioned. While the diary portion did gloss over some important emotional parts of her life, that could also be due to the way life worked then. Overall I believe the author did a wonderful job portraying life in the 17th century. I can't wait to read more of her work!

[Alias Reader]

Welcome to Book Nook Cafe, Sara !

I'm glad you enjoyed the book.

[Lisa]

7. Nell's relationship with the Queen is a fascinating combination of admiration and pity. Do you think she betrays the Queen to the same degree the other mistresses do, or does she redeem herself because of her seemingly unique approach to the affair?

I think the relationship with the Queen and Nell is fascinating! Yes, Nell betrays the queen. However, it is not to the same degree as to the other mistresses. It seems as though, out of all the mistresses, Nell was the only other person (other than the queen herself) who wanted Charles for Charles himself (and not the titles, money, etc).

I think in the Authors notes at the end, priya makes reference to this relationship between the queen and nell. I believe you could read further about it in a biography about King Charles II.

In general, I liked this book a lot. I love historical fiction and I like Historical London especially. However, I did think that some details were glossed over, such as the death of her first child, her first "encounters" with her charles"s. I would think, this being a diary format, that Nell would be more open and more detailed about these experiences in her life. However, I do recognize, with historical fiction it is easy to get carried away and once could go on and on and before you know it, you just wrote over 1000 pages!

For me, the way it was written, it was very fast paced, but fun. I liked this book!

[Alias Reader]

Welcome to BNC, Lisa !

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the book.

I think you are right that the author must pick and choose or the book would end up a zillion pages. Which would be a turn off to many readers. That's something a new author needs to consider.