There is a lot to like about "A Town Like Alice", notably the protagonist, Jean Paget. But the clumsy framing story and, especially, the appalling racism towards the Aboriginal characters in the last third of the book - racism which was very much of its time, but uncritically reflected in the novel - prevents me from giving it more than 3/5. ( )

6/10. Based on the true-story of a group of women prisoners in WWII. Started very well but the second half of the book is "Oh my word" quite slow and quaint. ( )

Eigenlijk twee boeken: één over vrouwen en kinderen die tijdens WOII gevangen genomen worden door de jappen, één over een vrouw die in de 'outback' een nieuw bestaan opbouwt. Rechttoe rechtaan liefdesverhaal. De charme zit vooral in de beschrijving van het leven in de Australische outback. ( )

A young woman on a WWII "death march" meets an Australian POW. Their tale of survival is a wonderful love story and a good history lesson. I enjoyed A Town Like Alice. The story of Jean Padgett and Joe Harmon reminds us of the really important things in life like basic necessities, loyalty and good moral values. I found out about this book from a library book called 1100 Books You Should Read Before You Die. ( )

www.thebookpond.se ( )