Book club questions for still alice book club babble. An example from the book is the australians, whose culture is rather close to the english, but there are few englishmen who would have liked the loneliness in the big country australia, and even fewer australians, i think, would feel comfortable in the. A newly wealthy english woman returns to malaya to build a well for the villagers who helped her during war. While the blatant racism mostly in the 3rd act of the book was uncomfortable, the story as a whole was entertaining. Also type spoiler when given away a major plot element.
A town like alice has been such an intriguing read. Nevil shute s most beloved novel, a tale of love and war, follows its enterprising heroine from the malayan jungle during world war ii to the rugged australian outback. Contemporary fiction, womens lives and relationships tone. I did not enjoy reading this book because of the disrespectful attitude towards the aborigines. The first two things are easy to accomplish just read anything by. What happens when joey and his sister, mary alice two city slickers from chicago make their annual summer visits to grandma dowdels seemingly sleepy illinois town. A town like alice by nevil shute, first edition abebooks. About the book a town like alice, a novel written in 1950, is intertwined with romance and economic development.
She presents some ideas but then she sits back and lets them figure out exactly what will best serve their needs. How does each friendship grow and change over the course of events. A town like alice questions temp galesburg public library. Alices adventures in wonderland alices adventures in wonderland is a wildly entertaining tale for all ages. You will read a town like alice and fall in love with shutes writing. With helen morse, bryan brown, gordon jackson, dorothy alison. Study questions, project ideas and discussion topics based on important themes running throughout a town like alice by nevil shute.
A town like alice by nevil shute smart bitches, trashy books. Questions may contain spoilers a town like alice topics for discussion what significance arejean pagets ice. A town like alice the greatest literature of all time. Sep 11, 2019 the perfect book club is made up of three key things. 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. Nevil shutes a town like alice is complex and intriguing novel. Ive probably seen the movie version of a town like alice at least ten times. This study guide consists of approximately 63 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of a town like alice. Shop online for our annual print editions, which include book overviews, suggested discussion topics and discussion questions for all our annual books. The level and depth of his writing in alice shows that he was indeed learning to draw upon his own experiences to create critically acclaimed works. Ill throw out a few topics for discussion, and you can write your responses about these topics or anything else youd like to say in the comment section. Jean paget, a young englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner of world war ii in malaya, and after liberation emigrates to australia to be with him, where she attempts, by investing her substantial financial inheritance, to. A town like alice is a romance novel by nevil shute, published in 1950 when shute had newly. A town like alice tells of a young woman who miraculously survived a japanese death march in world war ii, and of an australian soldier, also a prisoner of war, who offered to help hereven at the cost of his life.
Jean paget, a young englishwoman living in malaya, is captured by the invading japanese and forced on a brutal. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of a town like alice by nevil shute. Instead, talk about your experiencehow you felt as you read the book. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. However, i had never read a town like alice 1950 by nevil shute until a few weeks ago. From the steamy jungles of malaya to the dusty and desolate outback of australia. It takes nevil shute a long time in this novel to get around to the town of alice alice springs actually, and even longer to get around to the town like alice.
What alice forgot for our virtual book club this month, were talking about what alice forgot by liane moriarty, which i introduced here. Based on nevil shutes international bestselling novel a town like alice. This summary of a town like alice includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. Set against the brutal chaos of world war ii, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living nightmare of captivity, across three continents and two decades. The book was a delightful read, and id suggest it as a perfect summer beach read if you are so inclined. After they are liberated she emigrates to australia to be with him. They say that it can take three times for you to hear about a book before you read it. Try to avoid words like awful or idioticeven like and dislike. Sep 05, 2016 even if you do have a reading guide, these questions will still help engage your book club members and provide great conversation starters. While the book presents these backward and oldfashioned ideas. The building of the new town in australia is only a minor part of a town like alice, just the climax really of a very long story arc. It is told in a whole different voice and manner and if you are older than 12, you are going to be terribly disappointed. They see their first corpse, and he isnt resting easy. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of part two and truncating or omitting much detail.
A town like alice aka the legacy tells of a young woman who miraculously survived a wartime japanese death march, and an australian soldier, also a prisoner of war, who offered to help her even at the cost of his life. Carrie picked a town like alice because she would often find it on those. With virginia mckenna, peter finch, kenji takaki, tran van khe. Town like alice, a by nevil shute reading guidebook club. Join with other readers over refreshment to discuss a town like alice by nevil shute. The time has come to discuss the fascinating february 20 mobileread book. The by michael crichton, i take thee, serenity by daisy newman, a town like alice by nevil shute, 4 books in 1 volume read. He clearly loved travel and people from all walks of life and cultures. Britishaustralian author nevil shutes historical romance novel a town like.
A town like alice is narrated by a london attorney, noel strachan. It was published in 1950, and reflects the bias and prejudices of its time, but its also a powerful book about a smart, tough, resourceful young woman. A town like alice is a classic romance among other things, by nevil shute. A town like alice is one of my favorite books by nevil shute so i was pleased that masterpiece theater did such a believable job when they filmed it. After you read the book together, take some time to get creative and turn it into a lesson. Written more than a century ago, this story continues to be a favorite of readers around the world.
A town like alice discussion even though cultures differ, people are basically the same. Jean paget, a young englishwoman living in malaya, is captured by. The book portrays a community and how it deals with the changes due to world conflicts. A town like alice by nevil shute reading guidebook club. Jean paget, a young englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner of world war ii in malaya, and after liberation emigrates to. Watch movies based on alices adventures in wonderland and compare them to the book with our free helper comparing a book to its movie. The subject matter can be tough, women and children, prisoners of. A town like alice appears to be a war novel on the surface, being published in 1950, but it was written when he was presumably doing some traveling in southeast asia and australia. The fruit fluff was the hit of the night not to mention the root beer floats. Fill out our annual survey and win books and prizes for your group.
The writing had an easy flow to it and the story was certainly gripping, even though this decidedly is a book of two halves. A town like alice pied piper the far country the chequer board no highway. As hinted earlier, there is some discussion of gender relations and inequality. The alice network discussion questions girly book club. I wanted to know where the movie had come from, as books are usually better than movies, and i had forgotten much of the plot. I think people are pretty much the same all around the world but and they definitely could end up being almost the same if they was raised in exactly the same way. Its very well cast with helen morse and bryan brown in the major roles and gordon jackson perfect as the sympathetic narrator.
If your library doesnt offer a regular reading group at. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. A town like alice most appropriately conforms to the genre of the sociological novel. I like to mix some of these generic questions in to our discussion along with more book specific ones, to create a nice balance in the conversation. Lit lovers book discussion questions author to author interview with liane moriarty real simple interview with liane moriarty what alice forgot book club hosting ideas.
Please post the chapter and or page number at the top of your post. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on a town like alice by nevil shute. A town like alice study guide ch 610 a town like alice most appropriately conforms to the genre of the sociological novel. A town like alice written by nevil shute ballentine books 1950 carrie chose julys selection and the night was cohosted at megans place all. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Was nevil shute, author of a town like alice a racist, or was he just recording the attitudes of the time. Shortly after his first visit, shute decided to move there. Discussion even though cultures differ, people are basically the same. The cowgill boys terrorize the town, and grandma fights back. They dont help move discussions forward and can put others on the defensive. The book portrays a community and how it deals with the changes due to. A harrowing, exciting, and in the end very satisfying war romance. We are grateful to librarians and program directors across the continent who sent us their materials and talked with us about their programs. A town like alice by nevil shute spoilers book clubs.
I found part of a town like alice in kuala selangor, another part of it at kota bharu, and a great hunk of it at palembang in sumatra. The perfect book club is made up of three key things. Like black rain, from last year, a town like alice took me by surprise. Most of the rest of it was found at normanton, in the gulf country of north queensland. A town like alice is a novel by the australian author nevil shute. A town like alice is a 1956 british drama film produced by joseph janni and starring virginia mckenna and peter finch that is based on the 1950 novel by nevil shute. Set against the brutal nightmare of world war ii, a love story begins that will take two lovers through a living chaos of captivity, across three continents and two. Jul 21, 2012 a town like alice written by nevil shute ballentine books 1950 carrie chose julys selection and the night was cohosted at megans place all. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. My book club has read many of these same books, including pride and prejudice and zombies and given our similar interests, id like to make a recommendation to your club.
A town like alice join with other readers over refreshment to discuss a town like alice by nevil shute. Read any nevil shute book you can get your hands on. Here are some of the things we did as a family and with our friends during our book club. A town like alice by nevil shute summary this study guide includes the following sections.
Great supplemental information for school essays and projects. And remember to check out our other book resources. Thinking back, she recalls the australian man who made a great sacrifice to aid her and her fellow prisoners of war. Just discovered this blog while searching for discussion questions for a town like alice. Britishaustralian author nevil shutes historical romance novel a town like alice.
Female friendship is a constant theme throughout the alice network. Discussion questions for a town like alice by nevil shute galesburg public library tuesday book club november 2006 1. A long way from chicago discussion guide scholastic. Set in both malaysia and then the australian outback, its easy to see why a town like alice is so well known and a classic. The discussion will begin on november 1, 2011 where. A town like alice is a bonza book as one of its main characters, joe hardman of australia, would say about two love stories, two adventures and two remarkable characters inspired by a reallife man and woman who displayed remarkable bravery during wwii. A town like alice tells the story of a plucky young englishwoman who becomes a legend in malaya during world war ii, inherits a fortune, marries her true love, and wisely uses her money to transform an australian ghost town. I think i will be less apprehensive of war time novels, going forward. Welcome to book club babble, the site for busy people who love books.
People who spent the war in prison camps have written a lot of books. Jun 16, 2015 however, i had never read a town like alice 1950 by nevil shute until a few weeks ago. Nevil shute writes every character with quiet kindness and intelligence. There is work to be done, but all we want to do is read.
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