a town like alice
nevil shute's a town like alice, strenuously recommended and then finally purchased for me by mom, was good enough that i stayed up until 2 last night reading it, even after being up very early for a long day of travel. (my seatmate on the plane was a jackass who wanted to talk, even though i kept conspicuously opening my book every time he paused to draw breath.)
it's a romance, but not a trashy one. jean paget is a young englishwoman taken prisoner by the japanese in malaysia during world war ii. as the story unfolds, she meets an australian soldier who makes an extraordinary sacrifice for her.
back in england after the war, she inherits a sizable legacy and decides to return to malaysia. there she repays the kindness of the villagers who saved her life — and learns by chance what's become of the australian soldier.
it's simple, slow, and satisfying. it's beautifully told, and it ends exactly as it should. i wish i could read this book again for the first time. (happily, in a few years i will have forgotten the details entirely, so will revisit it then.)
Comments
and you will love it just as much ten years from now I guarantee, /// Beside that, the movie was just as good. The villian in the Thornbirds was the hero in this.
Posted by: grandma | February 8, 2004 02:37 PM
i can totally see him as the australian soldier. i will keep my masterpiece theater-loving eyes peeled.
Posted by: julie | February 9, 2004 12:39 PM
Oh I love this book! AND the movie, which I was about 13 when I saw on PBS. Hearty thumbs-up for both! In fact, perhaps I will go re-read it.
Posted by: Cori | April 26, 2004 03:49 PM