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)

The BEST of Courtenay

I have been an audible member for 4 years and have listened to over 1000 books since my job keeps me traveling so much. This is the first review that I have written. I have listened to all of Courtenay's books and enjoyed all of them. However, Four Fires is in my opinion the BEST. As for the narration as always there are no words to express how wonderful Humphrey Bower is.

His very best!

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the intriguing characters, the humor, just everything about this book. Nothing else can be added about Humphrey Bower - he brings the pages to life. I could listen to Humphrey Bower read a telephone book.
I have read most of Bruce Courtenay and I agree with other reviewers, this is his best.I didn't want the story to end. Another feature I enjoy about Bruce Courtenay is that he teaches the reader - I learned a lot about forest fires. Fascinating.
This is a "must listen" book. Why Audible didn't give it front page headlines is mystifying.

A Bonza, Ripper Yarn, no worries! (See comments)

You really do need to be inside the Australian mind for this tale because it is so rich in colloquialisms and no 'dictionary' to turn too, for the ear that is not in tune with our vernacular, this could be a challenge. If you do have the ear, well me ol' mate, she's just a beudy! (See what I mean?) For those on the fence, try it in any case, you may miss a few bits but it should still bring a tear or two.

A fantastic story enhanced by the performance!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would and have done already.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mole Maloney for sure! The story was told through his eyes.

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

Mrs Rika Ray. She was fantastic. Bower did a great job of all the characters.

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

Tommy Maloney-be great to talk to him about his experiences!

Awesome

Would you listen to Four Fires again? Why?

A great story engaging story that educated the listeners at the same time about fires, war and the tragic effects.

What did you like best about this story?

all the characters had their own stories that fitted well into a great novel the narrator Humphrey Bower does a powerful job of portraying each character

endurance pays off

What made the experience of listening to Four Fires the most enjoyable?

Most interesting visit to the Australian life.

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

.

Any additional comments?

This audio book has it all. Story moves on and characters are strong thanks to narrator.

Charming & Poignant

It took a while to get into this book, but after a couple hours I was quite taken with the unique, spirited Maloney family and its cast of funny characters: Father Crosby, Mrs, Rika Ray, the Suckfizzles. Humphrey Bower as narrator is superior as always.

Informative

I learned allot about different aspects of the Australian bush fires and native growth. The hardships of the war - so sad. Allot of laughter also - great book

ONE IF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EXPERIENCED!

Loved all of it! The writing style, the way the story was constructed, the characters, the humpr, and the spectacular narrator. The people and their experiences became real to me and will stay with me.

Almost Perfect

This is the second book I've listened to by this author and like the first I was surprised at how easily I was pulled into the lives of the characters. If I read a summary which gives barely a clue, or if I hear it's about 'one family's struggle' - I usually pass but this writer truly makes it worth the read. Also not usually a fan of war writing but this is done so well (as it was in Brother Fish) and its only a portion of the lives of the Maloney's. Mr. Courtenay turned a genre I avoided into something I enjoyed and learned from. The rest of their lives in a small town was very entertaining and inspiring. The only drawback for me was the ending which felt rushed. The narrator was just fantastic and great with different voices - just perfect.