My parents always had a lot of Nevil Shute books knocking around the house and I saw one second hand and picked it up recently.
I have to say I tore through “A Town like Alice” though the writing is more functional than inspired. It is also shockingly racist in a very casual, unthinking way that demonstrates how racism was woven into the fabric of society more clearly than anything else I’ve read. The framing device is somewhat odd and, judging by the author’s note at the back, it’s a tribute to a Dutch lady he fell in love with.
All in all, though, I’m inclined to give “On the Beach” a whirl. Any thoughts?
On a related note, wikipedia tells me that Nevil Shute’s father was the head of the General Post Office in Dublin during the 1916 uprising and stretchered people out. Suspect possibly not the founders of the new State.
Finally, can anyone tell me whether Australians say bonza in real life as in “Alice is a bonza town”?