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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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
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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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Sylvia
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Edwina Wren
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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From master storyteller Bryce Courtenay comes a colorful, lusty story set in the 13th century, an epic tale of a Europe torn by religious intolerance. The story centers around Sylvia Honeyeater, who sings like an angel and can literally charm the birds from the trees. The narrative also features the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Francis of Assisi, the Muslim Sultan and his harem, and the fervor that becomes the Children's Crusade and then, later, the Crusades.
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a departure for Bryce
- By G. on 06-11-07
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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Overall
- Jennifer
- 07-07-11
Love Bryce Courtenay - Need New Narrator or Plot
I read EVERYTHING by my beloved modern-day Dickens, Bryce Courtenay. I love this story. But, I hate to say, his characters are getting kind of predictable, and maybe, though I LOVE Humphrey Bower's narration, it's time to get a new narrator. The voice of all black people was quaint at first, but now I'm starting to find it offensive. And Bryce - dig into your cupboard and find a few new characters. Dig deeper - they are beginning to all be so typical - anybody who reads lots of Courtenay knows what I mean. Let's find a new one - totally different. K? That all being said - I will keep reading everything of his and this book really IS excellent for its own purposes! I do love an old-fashioned, well-wrapped-up ending, and appreciate that Courtenay always provides, as Dickens always did.
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- ARM
- 01-08-16
struggled to finish
I love Bryce Courtenay and more so Humphrey Bower but some psrts drug on and on with disappointing conclusions. Were it not for Mr Bower I would have given up.
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- Donah
- 02-12-13
Great story extremely well read.
Would you consider the audio edition of The Persimmon Tree to be better than the print version?
The Australian accent and the reader's ability to speak the pidgeon language added to my enjoyment of the book. Mr Bower gave the characters personality that the the written word cannot give. I rate this high and wish I could give Humphrey Bower 6 stars!!
What did you like best about this story?
It was two stories in one. The couple meet as youth, then come of age separately, in completely different and extermely difficult circumstances, then meeting again. Then there was the need to work through Anna's serious consequences when they did meet. This added to the beauty of the story. I was sooo glad they met again, and, the ending was very well done.
What about Humphrey Bower’s performance did you like?
His accent and ability to read emotion into the characters. I didn't understand much of the pidgeon language, glad there was an interpretation! I've never heard the language before but it had an authentic sound to my ear.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
If the love is real and the heart is strong and clever, nothing can quench or overrule.
Any additional comments?
I will listen again.
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Overall
- Will
- 04-16-11
Wonderful Story
Listening to this story made me feel, I was right there. I was totally engrossed.
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- Cindy
- 04-25-13
Enchanting
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When Nick found his father.
Any additional comments?
Wonderful Courtenay! Enchanting story, the detail of Japanese tradition is superb. I can't wait to find out what happens to Nick and Anna.
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- Mary
- 08-20-12
Loved it!
What made the experience of listening to The Persimmon Tree the most enjoyable?
The narration was incredible, the story compelling, combining to make a memorable experience.
What does Humphrey Bower bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Bower brings the characters to life.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The relationship between the Japanese commander and the heroine was emotional.
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- Jan Moorehouse
- 09-03-11
Total Engagement
From the moment this book began, I was drawn into the story and looked forward to my long commute each day just so I could "read" more. I look forward to playing it for my husband on our next cross-country trip. There's plenty here for both of us: war scenes, love stories, intrigue, tragedy, cross-cultural interest, historical accounts, hair-raising adventure: So glad I purchased it!
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- Larry Patrick
- 07-01-12
Offbeat, Austraila, Indoneisa, WWII, Wonderful
What made the experience of listening to The Persimmon Tree the most enjoyable?
Very different and compelling story. Real life at its finest and worst at a difficult time. This book kept my interest throughtout and tore at my heart and finally mended it with a slight scar. Narrator was excellent.
What did you like best about this story?
The honestly
What does Humphrey Bower bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The reality of first hand experience. I felt as if I was there.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There were too many parts of the story that touched me to mention just one moment.
Any additional comments?
You you have a need for drama, love, compassion, adventure, history, you will make this book one of your favorites. It was truth in humanity. The good and the bad.
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- Kathryn
- 05-20-12
Historical fiction never so interesting!
I love Bryce Courtenay! I haver read a few others and each one is better than the last. Not only does the story entertain, but the historical facts and interesting settings make me feel like I have gone somewhere and learned something new.
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- Janice Budd
- 07-21-12
Great Listen
Finally! I have found a book to break the 3-star slump I seemed to be in.
I have found a new author and new narrator. Bryce has a lot more novels to discover, and Humphrey Bower brings many of them to life with his fabulous command of accents.
The story has a little bit of everything. It is a romance, but not a mushy tale, of two young people separated by war when the Japanese invade Java. Nick sets sail for Australia expecting to meet Anna there. Anna, gets caught behind enemy lines and learns to do whatever she needs to do to survive. Nick, because of his command of the Japanese language is recruited to Intelligence in the Navy and stationed at Guatemala Canal.
Will they survive the war, and if they do, will their love for each other survive?
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22 people found this helpful