Overall thoughts: a great story, great narration, and I'm looking forward to starting on the sequel. I highly recommend this audiobook.

When I reached the end of this audiobook, I was initially aggravated by the seemingly abrupt ending, until I realized there was a sequel (Fishing For Stars). That realization also cleared up my one spot of annoyance at the story, which was the constant reference of the narrator stating, "I was to learn that..____".

At first it seemed like a way to throw in details without explanations, and now I get that it literally meant "I was to learn more about this at a later time, which you will learn in a later book." Phew! Crisis averted.

Narrator Humphrey Bower is amazing as usual. I was *delighted* to finally hear a crack in his normally impeccable accents -- while he has a good "general American" accent, he is lousy at individual city accents. His Chicago and Boston accents were jarring at first, though they do somewhat improve. Other than that, his narration is wonderful.

The story is excellent, as I always expect from the late, great Bryce Courtenay. There's the usual shocking treatment of women in this story, so be prepared. While it's certainly not gratuitous, and is nowhere near as bad as how the character Tandia is treated in "Tandia", it's still jarring at times.

Looking forward to continuing the story!

Better plotting - so much hinges on lucky coincidences that appear one after another. Too many cheap tricks by the author.

Also - how in the world do you suppose Anna ended up with blue eyes, given that her mother is Javanese? Since there was no indication that she was Dutch/Javanese, a reader must assume she is full Javanese and would therefore have nothing but brown alleles to contribute to Anna. Since the story turns periodically on Anna having blue eyes - I think this is indicative of poor research on the author's part. I don't trust anything he tells us about what happened between the Japanese and the people of Java.

Never.

There were so many languages to work with, sometimes Bower seems to be overwhelmed. There were a couple of Japanese who sounded almost Latino.

I read this book because a person recommended it to me. We had both read A Town Like Alice, and he said he liked it even better than Alice. Wow - what a disappointment this book was. A Town Like Alice remains one of my favorite books. I would never recommend this book to anyone.

The story was intriguing

Anna's confrontation with the Japanese guards who came to take her away.

The accents and the language

No, I loved coming back to it.

Absolutely fabulous! The narration was fantastic and the story engaging! Don't let the length of this audio book put you off, you will enjoy every minute of this story!

There are thousands of books set in World War II, but I would bet that there are none that like The Persimmon Tree.

Is it a book set in WWII that happens to contain a love story?
Is it a love story about how experiences can change young love that happens to be set in WWII?

Courtenay has done a good job of combining the love story with essentially two separate stories about Anna and Nick while they were apart and trying to survive war with the Japanese. The book bounces back and forth between Anna and Nick and except for the beginning, where they met, and the end, where they reunite, their lives have no real connection other than their pledges to each other before they parted.

Courtenay has obviously well researched the world Nick and Anna were placed in and the framework is rooted in history. The portrayals of Japanese military and the Javanese population are not always flattering, but they appear to be realistic.

Humphrey Bowers reading is top notch and adds to the enjoyment. He handles the different accents well and the characters are, for the most part, distinct.

This was my first Bryce Courtenay book and it will probably not be the last.

already have, It's well written, moves fluidly, has historical info, and just really excellent.

This is a beautiful story, very well told. Warning listening to this story is addictive. It is best suited for a voyage, where have time to savor this delicious tale.

Absolutely, overall amazing performance of a very solid story, i listened to the 24 hours or so in less than 3 weeks.

Tied for two Kevin Judge and Teal, he added the necessary comic tone for such a story of sorrow and survival

I literally loved his ability to express cultural differences through speech, What a talented individual

Both and more than 1 or 2 times, very difficult to do

Listen to this book, dont read it, you are going to miss out on an incredible performance.

This book had me enthralled the entire time. I loved hearing how the characters grew and changed and about their trials and tribulations. A wonderful story!

The story of Nick and Anna's love for each other.

When Nick pops the Japs with his machine gun.

Nick

When Anna and Nick meet again after many years of separation.

Read the Power of One and now The Persimmon Tree. Can't wait to get into another audio book by Bryce Courtenay.