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)

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.

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!

Awesome

Great book! Narrators was also great! Kept me interested from beginning to end. Highly recommend.

Best of the Series

Of the series of three books, The Potato Factory is a solid 4-star while the two sequels are average 3-star books. The first book reads much like a Dickens novel especially the first half plus set in London. It is a nice story with villains you love to hate but enjoy following. The second and third installments are more formulaic and too politically correct in some ways. They are worth listening to if you want to continue the story into the next generations. The narrator is fantastic in this series.

The Best

Of the zillions of books I have listened to this one is by far my favorite. The narrator is great. I loved reading about the real Ikey Soloman after I finished the book. I loved it so much I am ordering the other two books in the trilogy.

Bravo.

I found this book by mistake! I typed into Audible "New Zealand" and saw that the second book in this series had the highest ratings under my NZ search... so I took a chance and listened to all 3 books. I loved them all. I loved the history, the fictional characters, and most of all I was astounded by Humphrey Bower's AMAZING versatility in terms of accents and voices. This is a brilliant AUDIObook thanks to him. Don't get me wrong, I still would have enjoyed all three books if I had read them, but Bower's voices and accents are like nothing I have ever heard come out of one person in one audiobook.
I LOVED the 1st & 2nd books in their own right. I liked the 3rd book, and needed to read it just to know the end of the story, and I have no regrets. Courtenay doesn't mind dragging his characters through hell and back in order to tell this historical amazing story of England, Australia, and New Zealand. Being an American who has spent significant time in all three countries I found it exciting, educational, and, do to his strong character development, I was also emotionally invested. I was devastated when characters were hurt and jubilant when something good happened to them. And this emotion was heightened due to Humphrey Bower's amazing characterizations through accent and intonations.
Bravo, and thanks to both Courtenay and Bower for making these three books a great experience for me, and I can only say that I am sad that the saga is over.

Shortens the car ride

A fun story - bit silly to have Dickens, Artful Dodger show up - but I understand the reference, even though the attempt to mimic Dickens' atmospherics is strained at times.

It sounds like I am alone in my assessment of the narration - the droning, whiney voice was hard to deal with. Also could not help noticing that there was the same "once-size-fits-all" voice for each upper class Brit, and the voice of Ikey is straight from Fagin's in the "Oliver" musical.So I would recommend for the car ride - otherwise stick to "Oliver Twist" and "The Fatal Shore".

Educational & Entertaining? Yes, very.

I enjoyed this book very much. It has a good story and wonderful characters. It moves at a good pace and there were never any dull moments. This is the second book I've listened to read by Humphrey Bower. He does voices so good that between the writer's description and Bower's voice I felt I could see them clear as day. Great book!

Incredable literature

Great story honesty, survival and triumph of wonderful people. In the true spirit of love and respect it tells of the greatness and the darkness in much of our English and Jewish ancestry. Love the work of both the author and the narrator.

The Potato Factory

Wow. Quite the story. I'm sure it would have been a brutal era in which to live. (I'm glad I didn't.) Some bits very graphic but they only convey the harshness of those times. Interesting story. Narrator does an excellent job with male and female voices. Even a little singing involved. REALLY enjoyed it. Now going on to book #2 in the series.