The Story of Danny Dunn

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Simultaneous release of the latest novel from Australia's best-selling author. Likened by the author to Frank Hardy's Australian classic, Power Without Glory, with pubs, gambling and political corruption taking centre stage.

The Dance of Danny Dunn is an Australian family saga centering on a working-class family of publicans who make their first mark in Balmain in the 1930s. In that decade, two opportunities existed for boys of Balmain, a working-class Sydney suburb: to be selected into Fort Street Boys School or to excel as a sportsman. At just 16 years, Danny Dunn has everything going for him: brains, looks, sporting aptitude - and luck with the ladies. His parents run The Hero of Mafeking ('Maffos'), the favourite local watering hole, and the whole of Balmain is proud of Danny's sporting prowess. His mother, though, steers Danny towards a university education; but with just six months of his degree to go, he signs up for the AIF, driven by a desire to serve his country and plain wanderlust.

Danny serves in South-east Asia, spends three and a half years as a POW, and returns a broken man, embittered and facially disfigured. He has told no one of his return, and as he sails towards the Balmain ferry terminal, he knows his life in beloved Balmain will have nothing to do with the life he led before the war. He is scared and overwhelmed by the need to sort himself out, to find out who the hell he is....

©2013 Christine Courtenay; 2009 Bryce Courtenay (P)2009 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Too much......

I grew up in Sydney and experienced Balmain as it was emerging in the 60's as a very trendy, expensive suburb, inaccessible to most working class people. Danny Dunn grew up there when it was very , very different (the opposite in fact), so historically it was fascinating listening to this tragic story.
Toward the end though, Danny just had too many things go right, too many things go wrong to allow his story to remain solidly real. I love Bryce Courtenay's writing, his detailed emotive, personable characters, but this story was just a little over the top for me. (Plastic surgery in the 1940's must have been very crude)

Excellent. A Masterpiece!

I have listened to many of Courtenay's books but I liked this the best. The Power of One gets a great deal of attention but I think it pales in comparison to this, or The Potato Factory. I found this book to be a great way to spend my time and truly LOVED it.

Not one of his best

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

NO! Too long and eventually bored me to tears.

Would you be willing to try another book from Bryce Courtenay? Why or why not?

I've read most of Bryce Courtenay's books and enjoyed most, but not all of them.

What about Humphrey Bower’s performance did you like?

I think Humphrey Bower is one of the BEST narrators to be found at Audible.

Was The Story of Danny Dunn worth the listening time?

Up to a point. Too often Courtenay rambles on way too long. This book would have been complete and wonderful at about 2/3rds.

classic Courtenay

I know it's probably a bit formulaic, morally upstanding, handsome good guy, faithful bright woman at his side, but the story is told so well. I don't mind at all. Quirky cast of characters. Love the narrator.

Historical Review of Balmain & Australia 1st World War - 1970

This is a fascinating story of life in Balmain & Australia from the 1st World War to 1970 told through the eyes & lives of Danny Dunn & his family.

Overall, I enjoyed the story & the history lesson, although, in some areas there was a little too much detail. This caused the story to become bogged down in those areas of the book.

I did find the story concentrated more on the negatives in our country's history & I can't help but wonder if the author carried a certain amount of bitterness for what ever reason. I also don't think that Helen would stand by for so long & allow Danny to be so verbally vicious with his beloved daughters while representing, pro bono, the wives who suffered from domestic violence & following his experience at the hands of the Japanese in the POW camp.

The narration was good with the exception of the voices, especially the female voices which did not ring true & were portrayed as very butch. The exception was the voices of the two older Jews which were often very funny.

More Brilliance from Bryce and Bower (with a flaw)

I came to Bryce Courtenay's books because of my admiration for Humphrey Bower's voiceover work so I'll mention that first. Bower is the best voice artist since Mel Blanc recorded the Looney Tunes characters. His flexibility and mastery of accents is unparalleled. He turns any book, especially dialogue-rich works like Bryce's into a "move in your head."

Watch out: Spoiler Alerts.

Bryce is a capable writer who masterfully brings his characters to life. Their strengths, weaknesses, and personalities are vivid and relatable. I've listened to and enjoyed several of his 20+ and 30+ hour audiobooks and they will take you on a long, wonderful ride.

That ride is always enjoyable up through the end—where, I suppose to make some statement about harsh realities—the main character usually dies (unless there's a sequel or two in which case the main character dies at the end of the final book). Jessica, Danny Dunn, the Potato Factory books—all of them lead to the same result. Though the journey is worth it, I have to wonder whether this might have been Bryce's way of getting his head out of one group of characters so he could focus on writing another book.

The Story of Danny Dunn is well-told, but at the end, the fate of his daughter and Danny's final rowing trip just don't feel necessary or even particularly realistic. Bryce's bold statement about the effects of PTSD on combat veterans would have been just as powerful—or more powerful—if everyone didn't crash and burn at the end of the story. I suppose we're meant to ponder the seriousness of the problem by experiencing the loss of characters we've come to love in the story. Whether the problem is PTSD or political/racial injustice or heroin addiction, BC resorts to the same tactic of killing off his protagonists to make us "feel bad about the problem."

While these problems really DO kill people, most real-life victims struggle on with their demons through good days and bad. Bryce Courtenay, in what seems like an attempt to wash his hands of characters he's finished with, misses an opportunity to end with that oh-so-authentic juxtaposition of struggle and hope. Is he serving the reader or serving himself?

As I said, this is good writing and I've read most of BC's books. I Just find myself growing tired of investing 30 hours in a great story only to have the author shatter it at the end so he can write the next one.

The end of this book ruined it.

I have given five stars for every Bryce Courtenay book. He is a brilliant writer, and I love his books. This one was a great story, but it is like he just lost it at the end, and the daughter overdosed on heroin and the father killed him self and they were winners before that. I could not understand the complete change at the end. Still a brilliant writer.

Great Performance of a Messy Book

The central character often acts way out of character. The big drama scenes are very contrived and not believable. Too much over the top nastiness comes out of ole Danny. Absurd at points. The editor should have called for a rewrite.

Humphrey Bower delivers a great performance save for the singing.

Oh Danny Boy!

As an Irish Australian with family in Balmain I found this book compelling. Typical Bryce Courtenay with detail so intricate you can almost smell the scene.
Bryce brings to us another collection of characters with whom we laugh, cry and ride their individual emotional roller-coasters. listen out for the hilarious description of the Egyptians by Half Dunne (Danny's father) as he enthralls the pub patrons with his interpretation of how mummies are prepared (I had tears rolling down my cheeks and almost had to pull the car over)
Top Marks Mr Courtenay.
I never enter a posting without acknowledging the Narrator - Humphrey Bower is the best in the business - If you require an easy listening style combined with a gambit of character voices that doesn't require you to exhaust your imagination then look no farther than Humphrey Bower, he is such a talented individual...so much so that I search for books using the narrator as the keyword.
Ed

The story of Danny Dunn

I downloaded this particular book after hearing the author Bryce Courtenay interviewed on the radio. It sounded great. I have enjoyed other books that he has written. It was a great story, with a very unexpected ending. The author has a talent for being able to describle something or someone in such a way that it comes alive to the reader. My only criticism is that these descriptions can become a bit long winded and tedious.