Recommendations based on A Town Like Aliceby Nevil Shute

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. On the Beach

    by Nevil Shute
    After a nuclear war, the last survivors in Australia await their inevitable death from radiation poisoning.

    The story is set primarily in and around Melbourne , Australia , in 1963. World War III has devastated most of the populated world, polluting the atmosphere with nuclear fallout , and killing all ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War

    by Sebastian Faulks
    A poignant love story set during World War I, exploring the impact of war on human relationships and the human psyche.

    Birdsong has an episodic structure, and is split into seven sections which move between three different periods of time before, during and after the war in the Stephen Wraysford plot, and three ... (Wikipedia)

  3. The Shell Seekers

    by Rosamunde Pilcher
    A family explores their past, present, and future while examining the importance of treasured objects.

    Shifting in time, the novel tells the story of Penelope Keeling, the daughter of unconventional parents (an artist father and his much-younger French wife), examining her past and her relationships ... (Wikipedia)

  4. David Copperfield

    by Charles Dickens
    A rags-to-riches story of a young boy's adventures, trials, and tribulations.

    David Copperfield is the story of a young man's adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among the gloriously ... (Goodreads)

  5. These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901

    by Nancy E. Turner
    A young woman's struggle for independence, chronicles her journey through the American Southwest.

    “Belongs on your must-read list. This novel is a gem.” — Omaha World-Herald Nancy E. Turner's unforgettable, These Is My Words, melds the sweeping adventures and dramatic landscapes of, Lonesome ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. Coming Home

    by Rosamunde Pilcher
    A journey of self-discovery and rediscovering love and family.

    The story focuses on Judith Dunbar, who is enrolled in St. Ursula's, an English boarding school, when her parents and younger sister move to colonial Singapore . She is introduced to a world of ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Day of the Triffids

    by John Wyndham
    A post-apocalyptic world overrun by carnivorous plants, exploring themes of survival and morality.

    In 1951 John Wyndham published his novel The Day of the Triffids to moderate acclaim. Fifty-two years later, this horrifying story is a science fiction classic, touted by The Times (London) as having ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Enchanted April

    by Elizabeth von Arnim
    Four women embark on a journey to a magical Italian villa, discovering joy and transformation.

    The novel follows four dissimilar women in 1920s England who leave their rainy, grey environments to go on holiday in Italy. Mrs Arbuthnot and Mrs Wilkins, who belong to the same ladies' club but ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

    by Helen Simonson
    A widower finds love and acceptance in an unlikely place, challenging social conventions.

    You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Far Pavilions

    by M.M. Kaye
    Epic adventure story set in 19th century India, exploring the clash of East and West.

    Ashton Pelham-Martyn (Ash) is the son of a British botanist travelling through India; he is born on the road shortly before the Sepoy uprising of 1857 . His mother dies from childbed fever shortly ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Thorn Birds

    by Colleen McCullough
    A powerful tale of forbidden love, set in rural Australia in the early 20th century.

    The story begins in New Zealand on 8 December 1915, the fourth birthday of Meghann "Meggie" Cleary who is the only daughter of Padriac ("Paddy"), an Irish farm labourer, and Fiona ("Fee"), his wife. ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Cry, the Beloved Country

    by Alan Paton
    A journey of faith in a divided land, seeking justice and reconciliation.

    In the remote village of Ndotsheni, in the Natal province of eastern South Africa , the Reverend Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from a fellow minister summoning him to Johannesburg . He is needed ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Hawaii

    by James A. Michener
    Epic saga of the history, culture and people of the Hawaiian Islands.

    The novel tells the history of Hawaiian Islands from the creation of the isles to the time they became an American state, through the viewpoints of selected characters who represent their ethnic and ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    An empowering story of female friendship, courage, and detective work in Botswana.

    Precious Ramotswe has only just set up shop as Botswana's No.1 (and only) lady detective when she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. However, ... (Goodreads)

  15. Eye of the Needle

    by Ken Follett
    A thrilling tale of espionage and wartime romance, set in the chaos of WWII.

    In 1940, Henry Faber, a German spy nicknamed 'die Nadel' ('The Needle') due to his trademark weapon being a stiletto , is working at a London railway depot, collecting information on troop movements. ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Robe

    by Lloyd C. Douglas
    A Roman tribune's journey from persecutor to believer in the wake of Jesus's crucifixion.

    The book explores the aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus through the experiences of the Roman tribune, Marcellus Gallio and his Greek slave Demetrius. Prince Gaius, in an effort to rid Rome of ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Jamaica Inn

    by Daphne du Maurier
    A young woman's unraveling of dark secrets in a remote and mysterious Cornish inn.

    Mary Yellan, 23 years old, was brought up on a farm in Helford . After her mother's death, Mary goes to live with her only surviving relative: her mother's sister, Patience Merlyn, in a coaching inn ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Atlas Shrugged

    by Ayn Rand
    A tale of a dystopian future where the strongest minds take control of society.

    This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators? Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Shipping News

    by Annie Proulx
    A man's attempt to rebuild his life in a small Newfoundland town, discovering compassion and joy.

    The story centers around Quoyle, a newspaper reporter from upstate New York , whose father had emigrated from Newfoundland . Shortly after his parents' joint suicide, Quoyle's unfaithful and abusive ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    by Rachel Joyce
    An elderly man's unexpected quest of faith, discovering the power of hope and love.

    Harold Fry, 65, has cut the lawn outside his home at Kingsbridge on the south coast of Devon when he receives a letter. A colleague of twenty years ago, Queenie Hennessy, has cancer and is in a ... (Wikipedia)

  21. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    by Betty Smith
    A coming of age story set in Brooklyn, depicting a young girl's struggles and growth.

    The novel is split into five "books", each covering a different period in the characters' lives. Book One opens in 1912 and introduces 11-year-old Francie Nolan, who lives in the Williamsburg ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Power of One

    by Bryce Courtenay
    A young man's journey of self-discovery, overcoming the odds and finding strength in adversity.

    The Power of One follows an English-speaking South African boy named Peekay from 1939 to 1951. The story begins when Peekay's mother has a nervous breakdown, and Peekay ends up being raised by a Zulu ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Cold Comfort Farm

    by Stella Gibbons
    A young woman moves to the countryside to bring order to the chaotic lives of her relatives.

    Following the death of her parents, the book's heroine, Flora Poste, finds she is possessed "of every art and grace save that of earning her own living". She decides to take advantage of the fact ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Chosen

    by Chaim Potok
    Story of two boys from different backgrounds learning to understand each other and their place in the world.

    In 1944 Brooklyn, fifteen-year-old Reuven Malter prepares to play a baseball game: his own Modern Orthodox school against a team from an ultra-orthodox Hasidic yeshiva. It becomes apparent that the ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Gaudy Night

    by Dorothy L. Sayers
    Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater to solve a mystery, while grappling with her feelings for Lord Peter Wimsey.

    Harriet Vane returns with trepidation to her, alma mater, , Shrewsbury College, Oxford to attend the Gaudy dinner. Expecting hostility because of her notoriety (she had stood trial for murder in an ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Forgotten Garden

    by Kate Morton
    A woman's quest to uncover the secrets of her family's past, leading to a mysterious garden.

    At Nell's joyous 21st birthday party her world falls apart when her father tells her she was adopted as a 4-year-old in 1913, seemingly abandoned on an Australian wharf and unable to remember her ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Lonesome Dove

    by Larry McMurtry
    Epic tale of two former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.

    It is the late 1870s. , Captain Woodrow F. Call and Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae, two famous retired Texas Rangers , run the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in the small Texas border ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Behind the Scenes at the Museum

    by Kate Atkinson
    A young girl's exploration of her family's history, unravelling their secrets and lies.

    Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn ... (Goodreads)

  29. Freckles

    by Gene Stratton-Porter
    A young girl's journey to find her place in the world, with the help of her guardian angel.

    The hero is an adult orphan , just under twenty years of age, with bright red hair and a freckled complexion. His right hand is missing at the wrist, and has been since before he can remember. Raised ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Love in the Time of Cholera

    by Gabriel García Márquez
    An epic love story spanning decades, exploring the power of true love.

    The main characters of the novel are Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza. Florentino and Fermina fall in love in their youth. A secret relationship blossoms between the two with the help of Fermina's ... (Wikipedia)