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The Persimmon Tree
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's summary
It is 1942 in the Dutch East Indies, and Nick Duncan is a young Australian butterfly collector in search of a single exotic butterfly. With invading Japanese forces coming closer by the day, Nick falls in love with the beguiling Anna van Heerden.
Their time together is brief, as both are forced into separate, dangerous escapes. They plan to reunite and marry in Australia but it is several years before their paths cross again, scarred forever by the dark events of a long, cruel war.
In The Persimmon Tree, Bryce Courtenay gives us a story of love and friendship set against the dramatic backdrop of the Pacific during the Second World War.
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- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Born in a South Africa divided by racism and hatred, this one small boy will come to lead all the tribes of Africa. Through enduring friendships with Hymie and Gideon, Peekay gains the strength he needs to win out. And in a final conflict with his childhood enemy, the Judge, Peekay will fight to the death for justice.
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Compelling story lifted higher by the narration
- By Bob on 05-14-09
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Jack of Diamonds
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 26 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Born and raised in a poor, working-class family in Toronto, Jack Spayd is the son of an unhappy marriage. After being taken under the wing of "Miss Frostbite", the owner of a local jazz club, Jack becomes a gifted musician, playing piano and harmonica. Fame and the allure of gambling takes him to Vegas, and prospects of fortune take him to the Belgian Congo, where he's heard it's possible to earn big money working in the most dangerous parts of the local copper mines.
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On the Day we lost Bryce
- By Brodie on 11-23-12
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Brother Fish
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 31 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of The Power of One comes an inspiring human drama of three lives brought together and changed forever by the extraordinary events of recent history. Inspired by real events, Bryce Courtenay's new novel tells the story of three people from vastly differing backgrounds. All they have in common is a tough beginning in life.
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Not Just Another Fish Story - something special
- By Rebecarol on 07-07-08
By: Bryce Courtenay
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The Potato Factory
- The Australian Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Always leave a little salt on the bread. Ikey Solomon's favorite saying is also his way of doing business, and in the business of thieving he's very successful indeed. Ikey's partner in crime is his mistress, the forthright Mary Abacus, until misfortune befalls them. They are parted and each must make the harsh journey from thriving nineteenth century London to the convict settlement of Van Diemen's Land.
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Best audiobook of the year!
- By karen on 11-30-05
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Whitethorn
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 24 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of The Power of One comes a new novel about Africa. The time is 1939. White South Africa is a deeply divided nation with many of the Afrikaner people fanatically opposed to the English. The world is also on the brink of war, and South Africa elects to fight for the Allied cause against Germany. Six-year-old Tom Fitzsaxby finds himself in The Boys Farm, an orphanage in a remote town in the high mountains, where the Afrikaners side fiercely with Hitler's Germany.
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Typical Bryce Courtney/Humphrey Bower ....awesome
- By Melissa on 12-06-12
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Four Fires
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 29 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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The four fires in this story are passion, religion, warfare, and fire itself. While there are many more fires that drive the human spirit, love being perhaps the brightest flame of all, it is these four that have moulded us most as Australian people. The four fires give us our sense of place and, for better or for worse, shape our national character.
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Hit in the solar plexus
- By Robert on 01-07-11
By: Bryce Courtenay
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The Power of One
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Born in a South Africa divided by racism and hatred, this one small boy will come to lead all the tribes of Africa. Through enduring friendships with Hymie and Gideon, Peekay gains the strength he needs to win out. And in a final conflict with his childhood enemy, the Judge, Peekay will fight to the death for justice.
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Compelling story lifted higher by the narration
- By Bob on 05-14-09
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Jack of Diamonds
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 26 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Born and raised in a poor, working-class family in Toronto, Jack Spayd is the son of an unhappy marriage. After being taken under the wing of "Miss Frostbite", the owner of a local jazz club, Jack becomes a gifted musician, playing piano and harmonica. Fame and the allure of gambling takes him to Vegas, and prospects of fortune take him to the Belgian Congo, where he's heard it's possible to earn big money working in the most dangerous parts of the local copper mines.
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On the Day we lost Bryce
- By Brodie on 11-23-12
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Brother Fish
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 31 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the author of The Power of One comes an inspiring human drama of three lives brought together and changed forever by the extraordinary events of recent history. Inspired by real events, Bryce Courtenay's new novel tells the story of three people from vastly differing backgrounds. All they have in common is a tough beginning in life.
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Not Just Another Fish Story - something special
- By Rebecarol on 07-07-08
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Matthew Flinder's Cat
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of a drunk, a boy, and a cat. Billy O'Shannessy, once a prominent barrister, is now on the street where he sleeps on a bench outside the State Library. Above him on the window sill rests a bronze statue of Matthew Flinders' cat, Trim. Ryan is a 10-year-old, a near-street kid heading for the usual trouble. The two form an unlikely bond.
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Extraordinary Story
- By CYNTHIA L SPANNUTH on 08-11-06
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Fortune Cookie
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 21 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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It's the 1960s and the world of advertising is coming alive - and it's an exciting world to be part of. Simon Wong, a Chinese-Australian and promising young advertising executive, is sent to Singapore to establish an office. He finds himself thrust into an environment that is at once strangely familiar and profoundly different; one where the rules that govern behaviour - both in business and in personal life - differ wildly from what he is used to. And where all is not what it appears to be.
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You need a refresh Mr Bower and Mr Courtenay
- By Geoff Croshaw on 04-21-11
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Jessica
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 19 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Jessica is based on the inspiring true story of a young girl's fight for justice against tremendous odds. A tomboy, Jessica is the pride of her father, as they work together on the struggling family farm. One quiet day, the peace of the bush is devastated by a terrible murder. Only Jessica is able to save the killer from the lynch mob: but will justice prevail in the courts? Nine months later, a baby is born...with Jessica determined to guard the secret of the father's identity.
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No light reading!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-04-10
By: Bryce Courtenay
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Shantaram
- A Novel
- By: Gregory David Roberts
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 42 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.
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Probably the best performance I've listened to.
- By Mickey on 04-15-14
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The Story of Danny Dunn
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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At just 16 years Danny Dunn has everything going for him: brains, looks, sporting aptitude - and luck with the ladies. His mother steers him towards a university education, but with just six months of his degree to go, he signs up for the AIF, driven by a desire to serve his country and plain wanderlust. Danny serves in South-east Asia, spends three and a half years as a POW, and returns a broken man, embittered and facially disfigured. He is scared and overwhelmed by the need to sort himself out, to find out who the hell he is....
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Oh Danny Boy!
- By Eddie on 02-06-10
By: Bryce Courtenay
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April Fool's Day
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 19 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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This is Bryce Courtenay's moving tribute to his son, Damon, a hemophiliac who died from medically acquired AIDS on April 1, 1991, at the age of 24. April Fool's Day is controversial, painful and heartbreaking, yet has a gentle humor. It is also life-affirming, and, above all, a testimony to the incredible regenerative strength of love: how when we confront our worst, we can become our best. This tragic yet uplifting story will change the way you think.
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This is A Love Story
- By Louise on 12-03-07
By: Bryce Courtenay
What listeners say about The Persimmon Tree
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Cheryl
- 09-15-14
Formulaic
What did you like best about The Persimmon Tree? What did you like least?
After having read several of Courtenay's novels I concluded that he had developed a formula that became very pronounced in this book: An unlikely hero humbly ambles through one (often unbelievable) adventure after another. Always self deprecating, our hero consistently wonders why he is being awarded medals, women, riches, etc. that he insists he doesn't deserve.
I also did not like the treatment of the female characters in the novel. They are flat and predictable. Courtenay's mothers are always the same crochety, auto-didactic crone, the love interests (and there are many in this book) are equally anticipated: they are beautiful, intelligent, hard-to-get, but are always willingly (and sometimes manipulatively) conquered by our humble hero. It was particularly funny to me that all of the female characters who meet our hero fall in love and manage to "service" him EXCEPT the main love interest, Anna, who even after living through the Japanese occupation of Java, manages to remain a virgin until she is around twenty-six years old (and a heroine addict who owns a "brothel") and is reunited with our hero. Yeah, right.
Another problem with the book is its redundancy. Courtenay repeats himself frequently.This book was written when the author was seventy-four years old. Listening to it was like listening to the fantasies of an old man. If you want to really enjoy Bryce Courtenay at his best, listen to the Power of One and Tandia or The Potato Factory Trillogy.
What do you think your next listen will be?
I have all of Bryce Courtenay's books on my wish list and have already listened to half of them (there are several). I will probably listen to the others because, in the end, Courtenay tells a good story, and the history he covers is very interesting. Also, his books are long, and I love really long audio books. But for now, I need a break so I am finishing the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. After that I will listen to A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.
Have you listened to any of Humphrey Bower’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Humphrey Bower is a good reader who is capable of a range of accents and voice levels, however he uses the same voices for each ethnic character he tackles. He used the same black American accent for both the character of Jimmy in Brother Fish and Joe in The Persimmon Tree. Courtenay constantly rails against racism in his books, but his writing contradicts the message as his characters embody unflattering stereotypes. Adding to the problem, the characters in The Persimon Tree were particularly flat. Once you've listened to several of Bower's readings of Courtenay's books the issue becomes annoying.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
No.
Any additional comments?
If you haven't read this one, don't bother. While the historical aspects are interesting, the story is ridiculous.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 06-23-21
Great story
Loved it! A factual and insightful look into the war. The story was gripping and i couldnt stop listening.
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- Shelley Belley
- 04-06-18
Intriguing saga
So, I loved the narrator and learned quite a lot about WEII in the Pacific Theatre. The story revealed so much about the war I’d never understood or even heard before. It was well woven but the ending was too fuzzy and I am ok with being left with questions, but this was so unlike the rest of the book that it just felt awkward and not well planned...I highly recommend the book, so much to discover and enjoy!
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- Anne
- 03-19-18
Highly recommend, intriguing
I quickly became involved with the characters and story lines. The author doesn’t lose you when the focus switches between characters.
The narrator does a wonderful job and has a pleasant voice. I have listened to him before and enjoy his many voices and accents, none seem strange as can happen to some narrations.
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- Ina R O'Donnell
- 06-26-21
Innocence and integrity
I love a long listen with well-developed characters. Nick is a wonderful hero. Anna is so strong. The narrator has a lovely voice.
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- April
- 12-11-22
Beautiful
Great story. Slow start. Once you get through the first little bit you'll be hooked.
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- Jeanette
- 05-04-18
Too much sex
This seemed to be a marvelous story. But sex just became too important. Too unreal
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- James Karl
- 04-02-12
Great Book
What did you like about this audiobook?
Well presentation of a great story
How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?
Yes, even though my interest was already great because I lived in Southeast Asia for years many years ago.
Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?
Yes, with great accurate details
What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?
No complaint with the narrator.
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- Katrinka
- 05-05-13
a long story you never want to end
Would you listen to The Persimmon Tree again? Why?
I will listen to this book again because I couldn't absorb all the really fascinating details within the book one time around.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Persimmon Tree?
...the twist and turns about prejudice in a small village during WW2 in the Phillipines and how it is acted out.
Who was the most memorable character of The Persimmon Tree and why?
Nick the main character, was most memorable. He is the "narrator" and is a young guy having totally new life experiences; how he views them is so fun to read.
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- Ann
- 01-30-13
Excellent listen.
Where does The Persimmon Tree rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This book ranks in the top 10 percent.
What did you like best about this story?
Although a love story, it is also historical fiction. A good combination. I do not want to ruin the story by saying too much about the plot. I could not wait to see how the story would unwind and was not disappointed.
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