A Town Like Alice

Hey Oprah,

I just wanted to go over some other things that I think you should know before you visit. Now I know most people will be rushing to go and buy their Lonely Planet Guide Book before travelling anywhere, and these books usually give you quite a good run down on the general history of the place, but to be honest I skim these parts and try to get to the "fun" stuff that I can do while there.

I think that for your visit, that for you to understand Australia and to fully appreciate the people and the place, that some more in-depth research will need to be undertaken. Oprah, please don't worry, I am not going to suggest text books for you as we are luckily enough to have some excellent novels and movies that will not only educate but entertain.

So, for some movies I'd recommend for you.
Rabbit Proof Fence
Sampson & Delilah
10 Canoes
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Australia
Their a weird mob
Charlie & Boots
Gallipoli

Some books to read
A Town like Alice (this is also a movie) by Nevil Shute
S'pose I Die: The Evelyn Maunsell Story by Hector Holthouse
Fortunate Life by Albert Facey
My place By Sally Morgan
No place for a Woman by Mayse Young & Gabrielle Dalton

There are a few more that I will advise of as we go, but these movies and books give quite a good insight on Australian culture.

Why did I think to bring this up? Well I'm reading A Town Like Alice at the moment and I am hooked. I can't stop reading nor stop thinking about it. The book is written in a language from a time gone by, that kind of English that our grandparents spoke and also the was society presented then. The way men and women interacted and how World War II affected people’s lives and in come cases, bought the best out of people. One major aspect of this book that adore is that how one encounter can change your life. The two main characters (He's Australian and she's English) meet briefly in terrible circumstances in Malay in WWII.  But this encounter leads to a bond that neither can escape as they then try to find each other from across the globe.

I also love how Joe (the Australian) describes Alice Springs as his "happy place" - when the times are tough and he is a prisoner, the Alice is where he dreams of.
After Jean (the primary character) enquires about what 'the Alice' looks like, Joe replies:

"It's red,' he said "Red around Alice and where I come from, red earth and then the mountains are all red. The Madonnells and the Levis and the Kernots, great red ranges of bare hill against the blue sky. Evenings they go purple and all sorts of colours. After the wet there's green all over them. In the dry, parts of them go silvery white with the spinifex.' he paused 'I suppose everyone likes their own place," he said quietly "the country round about the Springs in my place..." (pg 100, A Town Like Alice)

As I have been in Alice Springs numerous times I can understand the Joe's longing for the lovely outback town. When life gets super busy and stressful, the Alice can take you back to "reality".

I know you may be thinking, 'what do you mean my reality?' and what I mean is, that sometimes we get so weighed under the worries in our lives. Sometimes these worries can be as small such as....will I get through all my emails, I have $20 to last me for 4 days until pay day, my bus pass has run out and I need to buy another one, I hope I can buy another one on the way to the bus and I'm sick of going to the gym but know I need to...blah blah blah. You know it's small but they all add up and then you get out to a place like Alice, where the living is a little simpler and the beauty of the landscape is humbling. It makes you stop and reflect and actually appreciate the fact that you have a job, you can afford a bus pass, you can afford and enjoy a gym and that you have $20 in your pocket.

I know that isn't the premise of the book, but that's how the 'Alice' speaks to me when I visit it.

Have a read and watch some of these movies. I know you will enjoy some interesting stories...