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Jessica  By  cover art

Jessica

By: Bryce Courtenay
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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Publisher's summary

Jessica is based on the inspiring true story of a young girl's fight for justice against tremendous odds. A tomboy, Jessica is the pride of her father as they work together on the struggling family farm. One quiet day, the peace of the bush is devastated by a terrible murder. Only Jessica is able to save the killer from the lynch mob - but will justice prevail in the courts?

Nine months later, a baby is born...with Jessica determined to guard the secret of the father's identity. The rivalry of Jessica and her beautiful sister for the love of the same man will echo throughout their lives, until finally the truth must be told.

Set in the harsh Australian bush against the outbreak of World War I, this novel is heartbreaking in its innocence, and shattering in its brutality.

©2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Ltd

What listeners say about Jessica

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

No light reading!

I have read or I should say listened to most of Bryce Courtenay's novels - the last three in sequence of reading were "Four Fires", "Whitethorn" and most recently "Jessica". Courtenay's books are powerful, stimulating and at times quite funny. In "Whitethorn" and to a lesser extent, "Four Fires", good triumphs over evil. Not so in Jessica; evil prevails. "Jessica" rates up there with Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'urbervilles", but Hardy's heroine never encounters the depth of human depravity and corruption so endured by Jessica. Courtenay attacks racism head on, sometimes with ridicule, sometimes with humor and always vividly exposing the cruelity and inhumanity of the state departments, in this case, Education and Aboriginal Affairs. The Church also does not escape the biting criticism of the author's pen.
At the risk of being too negative, I point out that there is a strong bond created between Jessica and the aborginal, Mary, a bond that endures a lifetime. The two lawyers, one who is a drunkard and the other a young idealistic communist, are both endearing, intelligent and principled.
One other reviewer who did not have much good to say about "Jessica" claimed that the ending was "silly". I don't think so. Life happens sometimes that way.
One final note: what else can be said about Humphrey Bower. He is utterly amazing, so many characters brought to life by Mr. Bower.

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36 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Jessica is a hidden gem!

Bryce Courtenay was unknown to me until my niece told me about his "Power of One". Jessica is his 4th book I've read (listened to) and was just as richly detailed and filled with characters unique and complicated as previous reads. Jessica's story takes you out of contemporary times and sets you down in the middle of 1914 Australian bush country. The detail of the landscape and Jessica's spirit and drive will be with you long after you finish. For me Jessica is one of those books that are hard to follow - once you finish it and want to begin other books they pale in comparison. Other Bryce Courtenay books I loved and would put in my top 10 best loved/most enjoyed are "The Power of One" and "Tandia." Review written by Robert's wife Denise

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Celebration

Bryce Courtenay describes in vivid color the life of Jessica. She has many experiences that will make you cry and others laugh or smile.

Story opens circa 1914. Jessica lives with her evil and manipulative mom and older sis and loving dad. Their home is in the Bush country of Australia.

I ways celebrate a new Bryce Courtenay novel. And Humphrey Bower, in my opinion, is the very best narrator. Each character has a distinctive voice. And that makes the novel that much better.

This novel is very hard to put down and will haunt me for a very long time. Definitely will listen again.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A compelling story

My best friend, an Australian, recommended this book to me. I started listening to it and couldn't stop. It is an extraordinarly compelling book, and Jessica is a character I will never forget. She lived her life strictly according to her standards, and she never deviated. I have no idea how a man could possibly write about such an extraordinary female character. It is the first book I have read by Bryce Courtenay, and I cannot wait to read the rest of his works. This is a book that I am certain I will listen to many times in the future. I highly recommend this book. The narrator, Humphrey Bower, is absolutely marvelous, and I will attempt to listen to all the books he has narrated. A job exceptionally well done!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Don't let this review dissuade you...

I am grading on a curve. I have come to expect a five star book from Courtenay and while this book is worth the download and listen, it's not as strong as his other work. The narrative arc gets lost in the last third of the book and he gets heavy handed in his advocacy for the aboriginal peoples of Australia. It's a fine cause and would have worked in the larger theme of "seeking justice for the most vulnerable" if only Courtenay hadn't gotten bogged down in writing what reads like a court transcript.

... and while I am picking nits, as much as I love Humphrey Bower's narration of other Courtenay books, this project would have been better served by a female voice, as all the main characters are women and the emotional plot line centers on women's sensibilities.

If all that makes you want to pass on this one -- don't. Bryce Courtenay's worst book is better than many authors' best.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Well-written and excellent narrator, but very sad

I love Bryce Courtenay as an author and the prose of this book is often very beautiful and vivid, as I've come to expect from him. The narrator is also excellent, keeping the various voices and accents consistent and reading with feeling. So why three stars? I just didn't enjoy the story very much. [Warning: Minor spoilers.] The heroine of the book is a strong, likable woman. As the story moves forward, one bad event after another befalls her. I really wanted her to catch a break at some point, but for the most part the story starts out depressing and stays sad all the way through. I've heard conflicting reports of whether it's based on a true story or not. Either way it's a remarkable tale of human perseverance in a harsh world. I am not one of those people who needs every story to end happily with the bad guys brought to justice and the good guys rich and content, but there is very little happiness in this book from start to finish. If you don't mind that kind of thing, it's a well-written and narrated book, but ultimately it just kind of bummed me out. Incidentally, if you stumbled across this book without first reading The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, I would HIGHLY recommend you go read that one instead.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Sigh. Doesn't live up to Courtenay Standards

I've become a huge fan of Bryce Courtenay, have read three of his other books and didn't think he had it in him to bomb, but he did with this one. First book that I've listened to in a long time where I skipped whole passages-- 30 minutes at a time and didn't miss a thing. I feel like this book is a rubber band that he stretched and stretched till he could no more, agonizing detail, ends up being so tediously wrought that my sympathy for all the characters simply evaporated. Once again he does a good job of integrating social issues, literacy in the text but not as subtly as in his other books. Not sure what he was up to with this one but I kind of feel like someone told it that it must be x number of pages and rather than simply doing his usual great job of telling a story, he kept looking at the page numbers and saying-- oops gotta make fifteen pages out of the description of this dog's death...

I'm not going to stop reading Courtenay, his other books are too good but I'm going to read other reviewers' words more carefully from here on out! No real redeeming qualities to this Courtenay work.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging story

Bryce Courtenay's novels are the benchmark of a great listen. Coupled with Humphrey Bower's narration - his stories are hard to beat!
I love how all his stories seem to intertwine with his other books!
Entertaining! Wonderful characters! Absorbing!
You won't be disappointed!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A triumph

How can a nice guy like Bryce imagine such evil characters & deeds? One of his his best (although, hardly uplifting)!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Strange Read

This book delved deeply into some areas that were just not engaging while leaving other more interesting aspects of the story virtually untouched. It left me rather dissatisfied with the entire book and wondering if I want to chance another Courtney book. However, the narrator is the absolute BEST and I've listened to more than 100 audiobooks.

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7 people found this helpful