A Town Like Alice was one that was long held on my to read list. It was certainly a pleasure to secure the book (from a Street Library) and to complete reading the whole of the book.
It is a wonderful story of courage, redemption and initative. It is a worthy account of growth out of hardship. It is a romance yet at the same time it is the story of the start of a commuinity. It has the right mix of history and fiction.
There were some irregularly used words:
almoner: a British social service worker
amal - a baby's nurse
chummery - the building in which un-married British Army officers were quartered
lariats - rope used for lasso
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Two reflections:
Risk to women: at the centre of the novel is the meeting of the main female and main male character in Japanese controlled Malaya. The main female is part of a contingent of women who were prisoners of war. The women are at risk due to lack of a permenant camp - and lack of interest of Japanese guard. Their continual march is unsettling. When the final of their guards is lost to them (he dies) the prisoners of war, through the main femal character, achieve a wonderful risk mitigation response. They settle in a village and await for Allied success of winning war.
Privacy: in today's world where privacy is at risk it is quite a treat to be reminded of the outback radio days.At one point in the novel it is indicated that over 350 households were listening in to an un-folding drama.
Shalom,
Ozhamada
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