Meinongs Jungle Book

I want to pay what tribute is within my power to the most gallant lady I have ever met.
- Author's Note
I've owned a copy of A Town Like Alice for more than ten years now, and I've always stopped short of reaching for it because... it just didn't sound that interesting to me. On the whole, I'm not a huge fan of war books, especially those set within the conflict itself. But I made a mistake waiting to read this one. I've been missing out.

This is one helluva good yarn. It's all told in first person minor by a solicitor, Noel Strachan, who is the executor of the late James McFadden's estate. After he dies, Noel must locate McFadden's niece, Jean Paget, who is set to inherit his fortune, but, because McFadden didn't believe women were capable of handling their own finances, it is all tied up in a trust until Jean reaches thirty-five.

At first glance, Jean Paget is gentle-mannered and unassuming, as you might expect from a well-behaved young lady in 1940s England. But as Noel gets to know her, an unbelievable tale unravels. Jean takes him back to the jungles of Malaya, when the Japanese invaded and led her, along with a group of other women and children, on a death march across the country. Many died of disease, or malnutrition, or exhaustion. This is based on a true story of a march that took place in Sumatra.

Later in the novel, we follow Jean, through letters and anecdotes received by Noel, as she returns to Malaya to put her money into a well for the hardworking women of the village she spent several years in, as a thank you for saving her life. Then to Australia, to the lonely outpost of Willstown in search of a brave figure from her past, whose aid to the group of women in Malaya was invaluable, and had devastating consequences for him.

For an old white guy writing in the 1940s-50s (and I did have to go check it wasn't a Ms Nevil Shute), the author has done a pretty great job of writing an incredibly strong, complex female character. I love how he juxtaposed the very capable Jean Paget (and other women in this story) with the sexist conditions of James Mcfadden's will, making his lack of faith in women even more ridiculous.

He portrays the Malays as mostly kind, considerate, yet multifaceted people, though they are also noted as being uncivilized in comparison with the English women. It's hard to know whether this reflects the author's beliefs, or the characters' only. Jean is openly critical of segregation in Australia, something that I had little knowledge of prior to reading this book.

It was an engaging, gritty tale that kept me hooked from start to finish. And it had just the right amount of romance.