Four Fires

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 29 hrs and 5 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.

©2013 Christine Courtenay; 2010 Bryce Courtenay (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"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)

extraordinary in every respect

I have listened to hundreds of books from Audible but the narrator of this book is the best I have ever listened to bar none. Great writing and great narration equals a truly delightful experience.

I Have Become a Bryce Courtenay Fan!

I listened to "The Potato Factory" and "Tommo and Hawk" and was fairly hooked on Bryce Courtenay. Four Fires proved to me that Mr. Courtenay is consistent in his ability to deliver well-developed characters and an intricate story every time!

Excellent!

"The Power of One" and this book, "Four Fires" are in the same league. I really enjoyed the storyline, the character developement, the drama, & the humor that Bryce Courtney brought to this book! It was excellent.

Another Fabulous Book by Bryce Courtenay

I have enjoyed every book I've ever listened to by this author. This is another family saga, a story of a struggling, but very persistent Australian family throughout a period of about 50 years. A lot of history, a wonderful group of characters. Their matriarch, Nancy, is a woman after my own heart! Indomitable, outspoken, outrageous, clever, talented, free wheeling, loving and the beacon that drives all of her children to succeed. Yes, I loved this book. Highly recommended. The world has lost an exceptional author with Mr. Courtenay's passing.

One of the best

Any additional comments?

This make me laugh, this make me cry.... just a wonderful book with charming Australian narrator

Bryce Courtney does it again!

A heartfelt story of a hard working family standing by each other thru love and war.

Engrossing tale

A little slow at the beginning until you get to know the characters and fall in love with them, then I couldn't stop listening even though its long. Sometimes readers doing regional accents are so thick I can't understand them but this reader does a great job sounding authentic but clear. Great insights into a little written about period in Australian history.

Love everything Bryce Courtenay does!

As with all of the other Courtenay books I've read, this one was also phenomenal. The storyline was very engaging, characters likable, and there is always a wonderful moral to his stories. This one had me engaged until the very end. What a wonderful writer Bryce Courtenay is, weaving a full, rich, colorful book every time!

Humphrey Bower is a super narrator for these books, love his accents.

Never Tire of Bryce Courtenay

Given how long his stories are, it's a good thing.

Review requires three more words.

Australian Epic with my favorite narrator

I've downloaded the unabridged audible version of almost all of Bryce Courtenay's books. The primary reason is that Humphrey Bower is one of my favorite audible book narrators. He makes a story come alive with his uncanny ability to change accents, and even makes me believe I'm hearing a woman's voice. As for the story-- this one is very epic. I had just finished listening to "Jessica" which is one of the saddest stories I've heard in a long time. With this book, I found the Maloney family to be fascinating. Nancy, as the feisty mom, is a woman I grew to admire as the fought to make sure her kids were given every opportunity to make something grand of their lives. She wanted them to have a better life than she did. Rough as she was, around the edges, I admired her devotion to her children. I've noticed a repeating theme, with the author's books-- the Christian characters are often portrayed as hypocrites, and misguided in what Christianity is all about. I notice this, because I'm a Christian. I won't get into my religious beliefs/views, except to say that not all Christians are hypocrites. So, it saddens me to see a rather unfavorable view of Christians...though, I have no doubt there are plenty of evil people who go to church. Moving on... I'm a bit of a girly-girl, so I have a tough time reading about war and torture and gore. So, when Tommy finally reveals the story of his time as a prisoner (and this is not a spoiler, because you know it's coming), I found his story to be like a train wreck. I wanted to look away) albeit, fast forward. Yet, I listened to it. It's heart-breaking, to be reminded about prisoners of war, and the suffering they endured. Yet. we need to be reminded.
I'm sad that Bryce Courtenay has passed away, and there will be no more of his books to read/listen to. I've never been to Australia, so his stories are my armchair to traveling the world. Well done, Mr. Courtenay. Thank you.