The Persimmon Tree

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

It is 1942 in the Dutch East Indies, and Nick Duncan is a young Australian butterfly collector in search of a single exotic butterfly. With invading Japanese forces coming closer by the day, Nick falls in love with the beguiling Anna van Heerden.

Their time together is brief, as both are forced into separate, dangerous escapes. They plan to reunite and marry in Australia but it is several years before their paths cross again, scarred forever by the dark events of a long, cruel war.

In The Persimmon Tree, Bryce Courtenay gives us a story of love and friendship set against the dramatic backdrop of the Pacific during the Second World War.

©2007 Bryce Courtenay. By arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia).; 2013 Bryce Courtenay. By arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia). (P)2007 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"The ultimate international bestseller." (The New York Times)

"When the Japanese invade Indonesia in 1942, 17-year-old Australian Nick Duncan escapes by sailing a yacht across the ocean. It's a harrowing journey made manageable, in part, by Nick's hope that his new love, Anna, is safely on her way to Australia. Unfortunately, Anna is stuck in Indonesia, a prisoner of the Japanese. Humphrey Bower's narration makes it a pleasure. His skills should be a model. He reads with anticipation, so that a line written as a laugh or a sob is read as a laugh or a sob without being overdramatized. His characterizations reveal personality and motive, and hold steady throughout the book. And his pacing keeps us interested even when the plot is predictable." (AudioFile Magazine)

Incredible!

Again, Bryce Courtney never disappoints! This is truly a gem of a saga. So many rich details and wonderful characters. And on this journey you learn history. What more could I ask for ? The narrator is one of the best and I would read any book he narrates. I’m going to listen to the next one in this series and may reread some of the ones I read many years ago!!

Terrific story loaded with insights

Enjoyed both characters stories and the ending was perfect. A lot if history woven in each story. My opinion, the Michener of Australia

awesome! wide range of place, time, culture, voice

wide range of place, time, culture, voice. Sad to hear it end. I will be visiting more titles by this author.

What a brilliant story.

One of Bryce Courtenay's greats. I rushed to listen to it every day, when I could. Absolutely stunning. All aspects of life.

Wonderful, start to finish.

The writing and the narration combined to create a fabulous sweeping story. As an American, the story told from Australia’s point of view was interesting. It’s a book everyone should enjoy at least once.

Learning love and life

A beautiful tale of a young man learning that life changes and the best way to experience it, is to go with that flow. Finding love, finding ones self and the journey. Beautiful written and excellent narration.

Please make a movie from this exquisite novel

an unforgettable love story of a time
when real men and women were unafraid to be normal!

historical intrigue

a good mix of WWII and how it effected other countries, mixed with relationship stories

Great read

So sad this author has passed. Really brings to light what happened in
World War II. The narrator was fabulous.

Beautiful Story

Any additional comments?

I thought this book was beautifully narrated, and I loved the story. I learned many things about WWII, and it was interesting hearing a perspective from a country other than America. My only complaint is that I think it ended too abruptly. Actually, I could have handled the ending if there had been a sequel written to fill in all the information that was left out at the end; for example, Anna's story is so compelling and yet we never find out what happened to her after she fled into the mountains or what made her decide to establish the business she undertook after the war; nor does the author reveal their journey on the boat as she goes through heroin withdrawl. I think it would have made the story much richer at the end, as Nick's story was not nearly as interesting or dramatic, although I enjoyed hearing about him too.