It’s time for a modern classic (with a bit of romance)! Our February selection is A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. The novel tells the story of Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, who is captured by the invading Japanese army during World War II and forced on a brutal seven-month march with dozens of other women and children. On the journey, she becomes friends with Joe Harman, an Australian soldier and fellow prisoner, and they endure hardship as they struggle to keep themselves and their co-marchers alive. Jean’s experience in Malaya profoundly affects the direction her life takes following the war.
A Town Like Alice was published in 1950 and sold 1.5 million copies. It became a film in 1956, a PBS Masterpiece Theatre mini-series in 1981, and a six-part BBC radio dramatization in 1997.
Save-Yourself-From-A-Spoiler-Alert: If you haven’t read A Town Like Alice, do not read the Amazon summary, which gives away a key plot point that happens well into the novel.
This is not a spoiler – just a point of info. (Ignore, of course, if you don’t want any discussion at all before Feb. 1)
I was wondering what 900 pounds back then might be worth today. Here is one calculator that shows it has the same buying power as about 40,000 pounds nowadays. Even as a ballpark figure, that improves my understanding.
I finished the book two days ago - reading almost nonstop. How did I miss this book before!? Fantastic. And yesterday I found the 1981 miniseries free online in three parts and binged it. Also fantastic, and very true to the book.
I enjoyed the miniseries, which was quite faithful to the book, except for a few places that we might want to discuss after Feb. 1. My husband is watching it, too!
May i suggest that if you are going to watch it on YouTube, your experience will be much better if you first install Adblock Plus.
