Eat Your Words: A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute with special guest, Jeff Jones
Eat Your WordsCost:
$ 60.00 per personDuration:
2h 30minAbout this experience
Thursday, 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
March 19
EAT YOUR WORDS
A literary event that includes a luncheon and book discussion led by a special guest.
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute with special guest, Jeff Jones
A Town Like Alice is a romance novel in three parts by British author Nevil Shute, published in 1950, by which time the author had settled in Australia. The novel bounces around in time and place from 1950 London to the Australian outback with flashbacks of the key character’s (Jean Paget’s) time in Malaya before and during World War II, including her time as a prisoner of the Japanese, along with other women and children who are marched under horrible conditions from village to village. Along the way, Jean meets Joe Harman, an Australian who is also a prisoner of the Japanese, and a budding friendship/romance begins. Historically, this tale meets at the very interesting intersections of British colonialism, Japanese conquest of East Asia during World War II, and the early Cold War, all aspects of the history we will explore in our discussion of this fascinating novel.
Refund Policy
To receive a refund, a written request must be received 3 business days before the first class. A $25 processing fee will be deducted from the refund. Cancellation requests received less than 3 business days before the first class but before the second meeting will receive a 50% refund. ALL written requests should be emailed to emeritus@spartanstrategiesinc.org or mailed to the address above.
Your Host
Jeff Jones is a native North Carolinian who did his undergraduate and graduate work at UNC-Chapel Hill. Since 2000, he has been a Professor of Russian/Soviet and Contemporary World History at UNCG. His first book, Everyday Life and the ‘Reconstruction’ of Soviet Russia During and After the Great Patriotic War, 1943-1948, was published in 2008. His second book, Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories: Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War, is forthcoming with the University of Toronto Press. He has also had several published articles. Jones won the 2024 Mary Settle Sharp UNCG Alumni Teaching Excellence Award and the 2023-2024 UNCG College of Arts & Sciences Senior Teaching Award.