The Potato Factory

The Australian Trilogy, Book 1

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 23 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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, one legitimate and the other bastard. As each woman sets out to destroy the other, the families are brought to the edge of disaster.

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

Critic reviews

"In the tradition of Charles Dickens, Courtenay creates a unique cast of characters from the outset of this epic novel....Humphrey Bower's performance is a marvel...making this one of those rare books with a sweep of characters the readers come to care about deeply." (AudioFile)

Best narrator ever.

If you could sum up The Potato Factory in three words, what would they be?

Best narrator ever!

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

Mary

If you could rename The Potato Factory, what would you call it?

Defeating the Odds.

Any additional comments?

Humphrey Bower, in this series, is the best I've ever heard. He came out with the best and sometimes funniest voices. At times I was rolling with laughter.

Fabulous

Rich and earthy and enhanced by superb performance - a must listen! Bryce Courtenay is now on my favorite author list.

Amazing Historical Fiction

Would you consider the audio edition of The Potato Factory to be better than the print version?

Only listened

What other book might you compare The Potato Factory to and why?

Hawaii and Papillion - the excitement of a new beginning in Hawaii with the misery of prison as described in Papillion.

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

Mary - her perseverance was amazing; hard to think of another character similar.

If you could rename The Potato Factory, what would you call it?

I could suggest any number of clichés, but "Misery" needs to be included in any other title.

Any additional comments?

This was a great book. I found it very interesting that the author, Bryce Courtenay, has created much of the on-line related documentation tied to the English prison ships. He did a great job of researching the facts surrounding this topic.

Why do I care how you take your tea?

Many reviewers have compared this book to Dickens. I wasn't looking for Dickens. I was looking for a very compelling story, which this had potential to be. Unfortunately, the book headed south for me after the first half.

There are many authors who get very descriptive in the details. One of my favorites is Diana Gabaldon. She really puts you in the moment. I some how find myself imagining the sprawling meadow sprinkled with a very detailed account of some yellow flower. It adds to the experience of the book. And in this novel, buried under far too many descriptions about how each character takes their tea (and pretty much everything else), there is a really good story. I just didn't want to work that hard to find it.

I was not bothered by topics of race, religion, sex or overall very disturbing, graphic violence, but it is worth noting for those with a stronger moral reading compass than I. These things for me invoked emotion that made me vested in the characters outcome, and eventually made it possible for me to get to the end of the book.

The book did start out great. The story does pull you in rather quickly, but I can't help the feeling that the last 3 hours or so, was just fluff combined with a meandering need to complete the book. I wish the book had ended as strongly as it started.

A couple of audio specific things to consider: 1. The narrator does speak a little quicker than I was accustomed to, but I was able to adjust to the faster cadence after a few minutes. 2. The prologue goes on for a while and comes close to spoiling some of the suspense of the story. I recommend skipping it and if you haven't gotten tired of tea descriptions by the end, go back and have a listen. 3. They split the sections in really inconvenient places. It's like someone took a calculator and said, "Yep, that's a third... ." 4. It's harder to skim with audio, and this is definitely a book I would have wanted to skim over some details. 5. On the plus side, there was a bit of singing. Who doesn't like singing? 6. Was it me? Or did Ikey sometimes sound like Jack Sparrow?

This is one of my all time favorite books!!!

Any additional comments?

This book is worth every minute!!! Excellent!! I put this book into the category of The Nightingale, which is my all-time favorite of all times!!!

A Marvel!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Potato Factory to be better than the print version?

Bryce Courtneys epic tale brought to life: a mastery of narration! Humphrey Bower's extensive knowledge of the different accents and his ability to give each character a distinctive voice make this book a pleasure to listen to, adding a further dimension to the print version

What did you like best about this story?

The history of Australia and the convicts who came here has never been more captivating. It leaves the reader wanting to know more about this pivotal point in English and Australian history.

What does Humphrey Bower bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Bower presents us with a living link to Courtney's web of intermingling characters who sometimes shock us and always endear themselves to us.His descriptions of people and places are raw, real.....

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I could have listened to this all at once!

Any additional comments?

A thoroughly enjoyable book - will definately be dowloading the entire trilogy!

Exciting meal! Expect a little racist indigestion

This book definitely had much to keep me on the edge of my seat... adventure, plot twists and turns, interesting and clever characters, and lots of cultural and historical context with respect to Australia's beginnings, which I admittedly know little of. On the other hand, there seems to be an insipid racism running through the story. The main male character is a Jewish thief known for his greed, selfishness, miserly behavior, slovenly appearance, and no emotion or passion for those closest to him or for humankind in general. His Jewish wife appears little in the book but is portrayed in a similar negative racial stereotype -- she cares most about money. On the other hand, the main female character is a poor, white, non-Jewish maid turned prostitute, who is smart and morally worthy despite her criminal behavior. Most books that are fun and exciting to read have characters all over the moral spectrum, but I think this author's choices end up feeding into racist stereotypes that perhaps could have been avoided -- with different decisions about ethnicity or some more attention to the oppression and denigration that Jewish characters experienced at the hands of non-Jews during this era. As easy to swallow as his rich and exciting plot was, the book's problems left me with a little psychic and emotional indigestion and reluctant to try out the two sequels to the opener of his trilogy.

Pick this one!

Three initial lives woven together, I had a brief moment of wondering where this was going but once it got there, wow! Loved these characters, each was developed so beautifully. The story was set in the seedy underbelly of England and later Australia as it was conquered. Will continue to look for books from this author!

Awesome!

Best use of credits in a long time. Hated to finsih this 20+ hour read. Excellent narration to accompany a saga that pulls you in right from the beginning. This is a great story about the lives of 3 innertwinned from young adults over the next several decades. I've found some Bryce Courtenay material slow and tedious but this book kept me wanting more from the very beginning.

Complex, yet beautifully easy listening!

If you could sum up The Potato Factory in three words, what would they be?

addicting, real, gritty

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Potato Factory?

Mary's journey to Van Demon's land by boat

What does Humphrey Bower bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Accents for each of the characters. Humphrey's melodious voice made the story weave together in a lovely way.

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

Both! It made me cringe at times, but that's what makes it real.

Any additional comments?

Excellent listen! Highly recommended. what a great intro to Audible.