Brother Fish

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 31 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of The Power of One comes an inspiring human drama and war story 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. Jack McKenzie is a harmonica player, soldier, dreamer, and small-time professional fisherman from a tiny island in Bass Strait. Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan is a strong-willed woman hiding from an ambiguous past in Shanghai. Larger than life, Private Jimmy Oldcorn was once a street kid and leader of a New York gang. Together, they reap a vast and not always legitimate fortune from the sea. Narrated by celebrated, award-winning actor Humphrey Bower.

©2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty. Ltd

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Literary Fiction

Terrific story: don't be put off by the name!

The further I got into this book the more I loved it and hung on every word. I have to admit the title put me off. I wondered what sort of book could be called “Brother Fish” but I was soon to discover it was a most entertaining and interesting one!

It is a great example of Bryce Courtenay fabulous story telling ability. The narration by Humphrey Bower was excellent. He is very easy to listen to and as an Australian I did find his Aussie accent charming if somewhat exaggerated. Nevertheless it was a delightful depiction of a young man from a rural isolated island.

The story is fascinating with aspects life in the Korean War, a tiny island off the coast of Tasmania, the USA for a black orphan boy and Shanghai over a period of about 80 years. These were all beautifully woven together. I was sorry when it finished but the ending was a good one!

Great Book!

I downloaded this book on a whim and was quickly caught up in a wonderful story. The building of characters takes place throughout. My only regret was coming to the end. I didn't want to leave this interesting group of people.

Epic Story

This book is awesome!! I almost gave up on it during the first part download when the writer went on an on about the Korean war. Am so very glad I continued. The author has put together the lives of 3 people in such depth. And as he continued through their stories, they just came alive. Now that I'm finished, I find myself thinking about them! The reader did an excellent job on narration especially given the various accents. Excellent listen.

Excellent, as usual for Bryce Courtenay!

I have listened to many of Bryce's books, all excellently read by Humphrey Bower. This has to one of my very favorites! The Persimmon Tree was the first one I listened to, and it was outstanding! I then listened to the follow-up, that wasn't quite as good, as I hated the ending. Tandia was good.

I have to say that the ending to this one brought tears to my eyes for a very long time!

So many great characters, the horrendous atrocities of the Korean war, that was going on when I was born.

The concept of good overcoming adversity, the very strong female characters- I LOVED this book!! I was SO sorry when it ended!!

After you read The Power of One, and The Persimmon Tree- read this one for one of the best of Bryce Courtenay. I am SOOOO sorry that he is no longer with us, in order to continue to write these incredible historical novels in order to bring much of the history of wars during my lifetime to mean so much more to me than my classroom experiences!

A very Australian Story

What did you love best about Brother Fish?

It sometimes touched my heart, sometimes repulsed me, sometimes annoyed me and other times made me laugh.

What did you like best about this story?

Nearly all the experiences felt real and believable.

What about Humphrey Bower’s performance did you like?

Lovely range of accents, pitch and tones.

I will miss these three characters.

I feel like they are MY old friends. I loved this book! Some of my most favorite characters that I've ever read. As long as it was, I hated ( and yes, cried ) when it ended.

Engrossing

This is one of the best downloads in my two years as a member of Audible. Although the battle scenes were somewhat graphic and overlong, they set the stage for some amazing events. The character development is superb. I loved the reader as well as he was amazing in his ability to do Australian, British, Irish, and American accents.

Fantastic!

I am a fan of Bryce Courtney (The Power of One is a tremendous book). Like his other novels, this one starts out with very dire circumstances, and the characters develop into admirable human beings. The book bounces backwards and forwards in time, but it makes sense as the story evolves. Bryce Courtney does a great job of tying up the loose ends on his numerous story lines. I like Humphrey Bower as a narrator, except his American accent (which is almost painful). This book took a bit to grab me, but once it did I was totally engrossed. There is a female character in the book who absolutely captivated me. If you listen, I am sure you will identify her. Enjoy!

Wow! Great book and narration

The characters, settings and emotions of this book are expertly built and told. I credit this audiobook as much to the author as the narrator. The characters are flawed, likable, human and so very real. The ability of Bower to cover such a vast array of characters and vernaculars is amazing. This book has jumped to one of my all time favorites ranking up there with Follett's Pillar of the Earth.

Not a story but a first rate tale

This book is as other Bryce Courtenay's books - a very good read, with various points of view from his protagists, well researched, and just plain interesting. The narrator is my very favorite. As for the "unchristian" statement in another review, I think the reviewer was pretty off base and perhaps should stick to fairy tales.