A few days ago I wrote a short post about the 100 greatest novels to read. One of the novels on that list has been alluding me for years. I have tried and tried to find it at used bookstores and online at the library and finally got my hands on a copy. It was worth the wait!

A Town Like Alice is not one of my normal reads, it’s a lovely story that is all about staying positive in the darkest of times and making the most of situations. This is a shout out to my fellow graduate students, we may be in a tunnel where the light at the end is not yet visible, but staying positive and keep on trudging is all that we can do.

To return to the book, Shute portrays a lovely story that takes place in real time after WW II through the eyes of a lawyer. Noel Strachan is the lawyer of a wealthy hermit who lives in a hotel. This man dies and leaves his net worth to his sister and her two children. His sister and nephew both die prior to the gentleman, so the entirety of the estate goes to his niece Jean Paget. When Jean meets with Strachan she is shocked to learn she, a lowly typist, is worth a ton of money. Thus begins the story of A Town Like Alice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the overall plot of the novel in that Shute does not give the reader a sense of whiplash through time. I say this because half of the novel is Jean Paget relaying her struggles in Malaysia when the Japanese conquer the island and force her and 20 other women with children to march thousands of miles all over the island in search of a camp. This book was published in 1956, so I give Shute an immense amount of props for providing such a strong female character in Jean Paget who is smart, tries to make the most of situations, and wants to better not only her life but the lives of others around her.

The other half of the novel concerns Jean travelling to Australia in search of a man that she met while in Maysia, Joe Harman. Harman was almost killed because he stole chickens to feel Jean and her fellow females, and Jean thought that he did die, but later found he survived. In traveling to Australia, she came across this little town where Harman lived and wanted to find a way to better the lives of the people in the town and to find new ways to promote the town so people and workers would move there. I really enjoyed the ways in which Shute gave Jean the business skills to think of all of the ways in which to lure people to the town: a pool, ice cream parlor, a salon where ladies can get their hair and make-up products, etc. I also like Shute’s descriptions of the three places the novel takes place: England, Australia, and Malaysia. The three are so different and Shute makes it evidently clear they are, but they each have their unique qualities that make them special and make people miss them or fall in love with them.

There are only two negatives that come to mind for the novel. One is that the plots and conversations seem to drone on and on. Almost as if Shute was long-winded himself. At times it was necessary for the story to develop, but other times I felt as if Shute could have removed 2000 words and the premise would not have been lost to the author. The other negative aspect of the story was the last climactic part. Honestly, the whole novel was amazing that Shute could have left out the part where the stranger got stranded in the rain and Jean and Joe needed to save him. It really didn’t build up the characters, nor did it add to the plot. If anything it forced the reader to keep going in order to find out what really happens to Jean and Joe. It was unnecessary and I wish Shute left it out.

In the end, if you are in the mood for a lovely read, this is a great novel for the summer. It’s a fairly light topic story, a few deaths in the first 1/3 but that’s what happens when you have 30 women and children trudge through a jungle without any medication and not the proper clothes. On the positive note, the novel does end with positivity in mind and especially love. It’s as if Jean, Joe, and Noel are some of your great friends and you can relate to them in many ways, and almost wish you shared in their adventures.