Four Fires

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 29 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2001 Christine Courtenay, a recording of the book published by PenguinBooks Australia Ltd. (P)2001 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"A superb storyteller." (The Times)

"Humphrey Bower, speaking as Mole, delivers every possible nuance and emotion of his character's story, and shows a startling aptitude for other dialects as well. Close family friends and enemies include surviving Polish Jews, an East Indian healer, an Irish Catholic priest, Japanese prison camp soldiers, and many others. All of them, young and old, male and female, spring to vivid life in Bower's versatile voice. Narrative passages and dialogue elicit tears and laughter by turns, without a minute of boredom in the 30-hour production." (AudioFile Magazine)

The Great Australian Underdog Story!

This is a classic australian underdog story - warts and all.

Bryce Courtnay is probably Australia's greatest author. He is an immigrant and fittingly this story is full of characters both "5 generation aussies" and people who have adopted Australia as their own.

His story tells of Australia as it is in the 50s and 60s. The friction between people who follow different churches. The statement on how aboriginals are considered lower than human beings. Touching glimpses of Auschwitz survivors living in rural Australia. People impacted by various wars and impact on families.

In it all, Bryce's candor and ability to weave an engaging story shines through. The story is about the Moloney family who are the lowest of the low in a rural backwater and practically nobodies. They barely survive working as garbage collectors, the father's a drunk and a convict, the mum's a feisty overweight woman and the 4 kids are all from different fathers - yet the story is not predictable. Through their varied stories Bryce pulls together a mosaic of Australian people that is engaging, brilliant and satisfying.

Great book and narrator

If you loved "Unbroken" you will love this. It is a great book read by a fabulous narrator.

Bryce Courtenay's characterisation is brilliant

Would you consider the audio edition of Four Fires to be better than the print version?

Yes, I read THE FOUR FIRES years ago and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, the narration made a huge difference in this audio edition. Bryce Courtenay is a master at characterisation, and a talented actor reading the stoy brought the characters to life in an amazing way.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters are real, interesting and quirky.

Which character – as performed by Humphrey Bower – was your favorite?

The character of Nancy is a real crowd pleaser, and Humphrey Bower brought her to life brilliantly - as he did with the other characters too. Mrs Rika Rey also deserves a mention. His accents are fantastic and his timing perfect.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The power of family makes it possible to overcome any obstacle.

Any additional comments?

Although few books can measure up to Courtenay's THE POWER OF ONE, I think THE FOUR FIRES captures something of the incredible ability this author has to create characters that are real and with whom the reader can sympathise. Some of the characters are larger than life, which makes this book very entertaining. It is funny, touching and well-researched. My only criticism is the epilogue, which I think distracts from the overall work. But since it's right at the end, it's not a big problem.

Must read for a Historical novel lover.

Would you consider the audio edition of Four Fires to be better than the print version?

The narrator is so good if you have bad eyes like I do you won't need the print version. You will love it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked everyone in the family. This family really sticks together and at the same time you get to listen to some of the history of Australia. Since that country started a lot like ours I have always been interested in it. Must read for a historical novel lover like I am.

Which character – as performed by Humphrey Bower – was your favorite?

This is a good narrator. I have loved him since I listened to the Power of One.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The author has a way of making the characters come to life. There are so many places for despair and triumph it is hard to stop reading it.

Courtney strikes again!!

the history was crazy and the story poor everything together I want to read everything Courtney had ever written. he's the best!!

Excellent! Endearing, witty and raw. Must read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Walking with the Maloney family was heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking. Many times I laughed out loud. Learned a great deal about Australian war history and human endurance.

A great family story!( A story of a family)

If you could sum up Four Fires in three words, what would they be?

I am loving all of Bryce's books. As a fellow adman I am jealous and appreciative of his command of storytelling. Nice mix of moral, interest and, of course, all the wonderful Aussie and S. African turns of phrase and expressions. Makes me feel dumbs a box of hair :)

Humphrey Bower is the new king of narrators.
He rivals and surpasses in some ways Scott Brick and John Lee.
Amazing with accents, characters and emphasis

The Courtenay books are the best I have listened to in years! And I have 2 accounts listening to about 5 a month while super commuting.
You will love
Enjoy!

Excellent allround

Where does Four Fires rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Up there with the Life of Pi

What did you like best about this story?

Written from the son s voice a great tale /tales of tragedy and triumph , and all in one family

The mood was not heavy despite the storyline
The narration was so wonderful

What about Humphrey Bower’s performance did you like?

Made the story resonate both lyrically and creatively , wonderful voice

If you could take any character from Four Fires out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The mum , she would have a few great tales of her colourful life

A great story

More for Australians than anything else. This is small town Australia, warts and all. Loved the performance, loved the story.

Bryce Courtenay: Four Fires

I only recently heard of this author, alas, when he passed away. One thing that impresses me about him is that his writing career developed late in life, which can be an advantage, as an author then brings a lot of experience and wisdom to his work. Clearly he loves Australia, and has a deep understanding of how its people and environment "work" together.
Four Fires tells the story of the poor but extremely hardworking Malony's. It is told in the voice of Mole, the young son of Tommy, a war-damaged former POW of the Japanese, and Nancy, the plain-spoken and determined mother. The story is quite complex and follows the careers of all the Maloney children as a great Family Saga kind of story. What makes it of special interest to me was seeing how subtly the author showed how Mole grew to maturity, eventually coming to a greater understanding of his father's life and genuine good points, even though as a child he mostly thought of him as the village drunk and petty criminal. This is a story about love -- the kind that lasts through very hard times and bitter disappointment, not just for individuals but for communities. It's about people helping each other in surprising ways. It is, perhaps, about an era that is passing away as communities change so rapidly, but I am very, very glad that Bryce Courtenay caught that particular post-World War II moment.
A word about the reader: his Australian accent was not overwhelming and contributed to the story. If he had problems pronouncing the spattering of Yiddish words (one of the important characters is a Jewish refugee doctor) it is easily forgiven, for we are seeing life through the eyes of Mole, and he may well not have quite heard the words right, either.
This was a work that was hard to leave off until its end. It definitely encourages me to read other books by Courtenay.