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The Potato Factory
- The Australian Trilogy, Book 1
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins
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Publisher's summary
Ikey Solomon is very successful indeed, in the art of thieving. 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 19th century London to Van Diemens Land.
In the backstreets and dives of Hobart Town, Mary learns the art of brewing and builds The Potato Factory, where she plans a new future. But her ambitions are threatened by Ikey's wife, Hannah, her old enemy. The two women raise their separate families. As each woman sets out to destroy the other, the families are brought to the edge of disaster.
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Great Story!!
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By: Elin Hilderbrand
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Frankenstein
- By: Mary Shelley
- Narrated by: Dan Stevens
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Narrator Dan Stevens ( Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.
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ARE WE ALWAYS TO BE UNHAPPY?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 01-28-16
By: Mary Shelley
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Starship Troopers
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids. Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job.
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One of the best RAH books ever just got better.
- By Jamie Robertson on 10-02-24
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He Who Fights with Monsters 2
- A LitRPG Adventure (He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 2)
- By: Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.
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Contrary to common reviews
- By Karen on 05-21-21
By: Shirtaloon, and others
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The Persimmon Tree
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The Persimmon Tree opens in Indonesia in 1942 on the cusp of Japanese invasion and the evacuation of Batavia (Jakarta) by the Dutch. Seventeen-year-old Nicholas Duncan is on holiday there, in pursuit of an exotic butterfly known as the Magpie Crow. It's an uncertain, dangerous time to be in Indonesia, and Nick's options of getting out are fast dwindling. Amidst the fear and chaos he falls in love with Anna, the beautiful daughter of a Dutch acquaintance, and she nicknames him 'Mr Butterfly'.
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An excellent sequel
- By CBDC on 02-13-11
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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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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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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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 Persimmon Tree
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Persimmon Tree opens in Indonesia in 1942 on the cusp of Japanese invasion and the evacuation of Batavia (Jakarta) by the Dutch. Seventeen-year-old Nicholas Duncan is on holiday there, in pursuit of an exotic butterfly known as the Magpie Crow. It's an uncertain, dangerous time to be in Indonesia, and Nick's options of getting out are fast dwindling. Amidst the fear and chaos he falls in love with Anna, the beautiful daughter of a Dutch acquaintance, and she nicknames him 'Mr Butterfly'.
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An excellent sequel
- By CBDC on 02-13-11
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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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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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Whitethorn
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 24 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
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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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
-
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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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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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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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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The Exiles
- The Australians 1
- By: Vivian Stuart
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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VOYAGE TO THE LAST FRONTIER... The first book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country built on blood, passion, and dreams. They were transported from 1780s' England, packed like cattle in cargo compartments: scammers and prostitutes, thieves and murderers — doomed to build His Majesty's new colony in Captain Cook's anchorage in Botany Bay. It was a cruel fate even for the toughest of individuals but especially for 15-year-old Jenny Taggart, who was sentenced to lifelong exile for a crime she did not commit.
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a great way to learn history
- By Robert I. on 04-15-24
By: Vivian Stuart
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Smoky Joe's Cafe
- By: Bryce Courtenay
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Thommo returns from Vietnam to an Australia that regards him as a mercenary guilty of war crimes. He begins to develop all kinds of physical and mental problems, and thinks it must only be him until he finds he is not alone. Ten mates, all who remain of his platoon who fought and died in the Battle of Long Tan, are affected the same way.
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Australian Vietnam vet with Agent Orange
- By Kathleen on 10-01-12
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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The Bastard
- The Kent Family Chronicles, Book 1
- By: John Jakes
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Set against the colorful tumult of events that gave rise to our fledgling nation, this novel of romance and adventure introduces Phillipe Charboneau. The illegitimate son of an English nobleman, Phillipe flees Europe and, as Philip Kent, joins the men who set our course for freedom. The Bastard is the first volume in the Kent Family Chronicles, a series of novels that details one family's journey in the early years of the American nation.
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An Amazing Tale
- By will on 11-06-13
By: John Jakes
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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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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
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Wolf Hall
- A Novel
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Ben Miles
- Length: 25 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of 20 years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
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Superb narration, but keep a character index at hand
- By Oculus on 12-27-20
By: Hilary Mantel
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The Thirteenth Tale
- A Novel
- By: Diane Setterfield
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato, Jill Tanner
- Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.
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Simply Amazing Story--2 missing chapters
- By JE on 01-28-10
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The Overstory
- By: Richard Powers
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 22 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The Overstory unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fable that range from antebellum New York to the late 20th-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. An air force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits 100 years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back into life by creatures of air and light.
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eye opening
- By Michael Stansberry on 05-23-18
By: Richard Powers
What listeners say about The Potato Factory
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Hilary
- 07-11-13
Oliver Twist
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Very depressing storyline, it would be nice if they had some more positive things happen.
What did you like best about this story?
Interesting, liked the history.
Do you think The Potato Factory needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Yes, I enjoy reading the next one to find out what happened to the twin and why he was gone for so long.
Any additional comments?
A little gruesome but a good story.
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- Zenobia Woodlife
- 05-14-22
left me speechless
This is one of the finest books I have ever listened to! I wish I'd known about it years ago. I'm going to search for a copy of the book and will undoubtedly listen to this recording again - After the tumult in my head has calmed a bit. The narration is superlative and I plan to look for more books by Bryce Courtenay AND hopefully find more works narrated by Humphrey Bower. So >>> This is a long book, this is a heavy duty story and even tho there are passages in the book that will leave you squirming in horror at what humans are capable of doing to others there is stupendous compassion writ large here too. Ya just gotta listen to this!
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- Mike Summers
- 02-06-24
Awesome
Great book! Narrators was also great! Kept me interested from beginning to end. Highly recommend.
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- Jan
- 02-25-12
Powerfully told story... but a warning
A woven tapestry tale with the bawdy, tender, joyous and horrific. He opens the slums of London and the prisioner deportations to Tasmania to our view. You learn history in passing but more important meet characters so complex, that I felt I knew them... almost as friends who shared what they had learned from life. It is a hard book to put down, but does include a great deal of profanity, whores, multiple graphic sexual events and violence. With all the good in it, I still strongly wouldn't recommend for a teen reader or tender spirited soul.
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133 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Lorenrw
- 01-17-08
Outstanding listen
This first book of a trilogy, was as good or better than any book/books I have listned to out of the more than 120 books I have downloaded through Audible. Out of all the reviews not one listed all three books and in the order they were written. All are avialible through Aubible. This trilogy of novels contains "The Potato Factory", "Tommo & Hawk" and "Solomon's Song". In that order. Another book by the same author "Brother Fish" was outstanding. Maybe a tad better (if that is possible) than the aforementioned Trilogy.
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47 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Joellen
- 08-24-06
Learning history through fiction
It is rare to understand the history of a specific region; there is simply too much information about the plight of all people, the landscape, the political times, to make sense of the period. The Potato Factory is an anomaly. This first book of Bryce Courtenay’s trilogy brings this time to life. Not only are you involved in the lives of crooks and scoundrels, whores and bawdy houses, but the treatment these poor wretches receive is disgusting--and most horrid is the plight of the children. The saga of the characters from England to Australia persists, as a reader you begin to admire and respect them and their tenacity. I could not stop listening…and being a cheap Audible user, I waited two weeks until I could download the second book. It was every bit as good as the first book. What a treasure. The third book in the Potato Factory is not on Audible. By the time it is I’m sure I’ll have listened to the first two books again, just to hear the story—and contrary to other reviewer I thoroughly enjoyed Humphrey Bower the narrator.
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24 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Howard
- 12-18-05
An Excellant Book!
This is an amazing view of the 19th Century London poor and criminal class, and their migration to Van Deimon's Land. It is also a facinating introduction to Jewish life in London at that time.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Phillip
- 02-15-13
Breathtaking Story
What an amazing tale. Together with "Tommo and Hawk" and "Solomon's Song," Bryce Courtenay's Australian Trilogy is a treasure of historical fiction. Courtenay, who was an ad man for most his life, came to writing late in life. But thank God he did.
Courtenay considered these books his love song to Australia. He immigrated there from South Africa as a boy and said Australia gave him a chance at a life he could never have hoped for in Africa.
While the whole of the trilogy is breathtaking in it's breadth and scope, this first installment is the best of them. Ikey Solomon, a real life rogue of the London underworld, and his mistress and business partner Mary Abacus are both sentenced to the prison colony of Van Diemen's Land. From there, through many trials and tribulations, they forge a life for themselves in the newfound British colony.
Both heartbreaking and uplifting, Courtenay's trilogy brings life to the too often neglected history of Australia. If you are a lover of history and literature, I urge you to purchase this book. The story and characters will stay with you forever.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Judith
- 03-04-09
The Potato Factory
I usually enjoy Bryce Courtenay books. However, there are too many characters with no moral compass here. Reading/listening to a long story about not very nice people, gets tiresome.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall
- W.Denis
- 04-21-07
Flashman for Aussies
Flashman becomes Fagan and we even meet Charles Dickens and the Artful Dodger. The naration is very good. The author could have left out a little of the introspection and a few of the horrors that befall the charactors, however.
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3 people found this helpful