The Persimmon Tree

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

A sweeping saga from Bryce Courtenay, Australia's most popular author.

The Persimmon Tree opens in Indonesia in 1942 on the cusp of Japanese invasion and the evacuation of Batavia (Jakarta) by the Dutch. Seventeen-year-old Nicholas Duncan is on holiday there, in pursuit of an exotic butterfly known as the Magpie Crow. It's an uncertain, dangerous time to be in Indonesia, and Nick's options of getting out are fast dwindling. Amidst the fear and chaos he falls in love with Anna, the beautiful daughter of a Dutch acquaintance, and she nicknames him 'Mr Butterfly'.

To assist in the escape, Anna's father gifts Nick his prized yacht, Vlermuis, to sail to Australia. Singapore has just fallen, the Japanese have made it to Sumatra, and the waters are dangerous. Vlermuis is not long out of Batavia when Nick is forced ashore for repairs. He witnesses the bloody execution of shipwrecked Allied soldiers by natives, and while burying what's left of the bodies, Nick notices one wounded soldier has escaped death, and he carries him back to his yacht.

The rescued soldier is a lower-class Irish Catholic American called Kevin Judge. He has no sailing experience, but he assists Nick in navigating through some dramatic storms and the two form an unlikely and lifelong friendship.

©2007 Bryce Courtenay; 2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2007 Bolinda Publishing

Formulaic

What did you like best about The Persimmon Tree? What did you like least?

After having read several of Courtenay's novels I concluded that he had developed a formula that became very pronounced in this book: An unlikely hero humbly ambles through one (often unbelievable) adventure after another. Always self deprecating, our hero consistently wonders why he is being awarded medals, women, riches, etc. that he insists he doesn't deserve.

I also did not like the treatment of the female characters in the novel. They are flat and predictable. Courtenay's mothers are always the same crochety, auto-didactic crone, the love interests (and there are many in this book) are equally anticipated: they are beautiful, intelligent, hard-to-get, but are always willingly (and sometimes manipulatively) conquered by our humble hero. It was particularly funny to me that all of the female characters who meet our hero fall in love and manage to "service" him EXCEPT the main love interest, Anna, who even after living through the Japanese occupation of Java, manages to remain a virgin until she is around twenty-six years old (and a heroine addict who owns a "brothel") and is reunited with our hero. Yeah, right.

Another problem with the book is its redundancy. Courtenay repeats himself frequently.This book was written when the author was seventy-four years old. Listening to it was like listening to the fantasies of an old man. If you want to really enjoy Bryce Courtenay at his best, listen to the Power of One and Tandia or The Potato Factory Trillogy.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I have all of Bryce Courtenay's books on my wish list and have already listened to half of them (there are several). I will probably listen to the others because, in the end, Courtenay tells a good story, and the history he covers is very interesting. Also, his books are long, and I love really long audio books. But for now, I need a break so I am finishing the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. After that I will listen to A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.

Have you listened to any of Humphrey Bower’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Humphrey Bower is a good reader who is capable of a range of accents and voice levels, however he uses the same voices for each ethnic character he tackles. He used the same black American accent for both the character of Jimmy in Brother Fish and Joe in The Persimmon Tree. Courtenay constantly rails against racism in his books, but his writing contradicts the message as his characters embody unflattering stereotypes. Adding to the problem, the characters in The Persimon Tree were particularly flat. Once you've listened to several of Bower's readings of Courtenay's books the issue becomes annoying.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Any additional comments?

If you haven't read this one, don't bother. While the historical aspects are interesting, the story is ridiculous.

Great story

Loved it! A factual and insightful look into the war. The story was gripping and i couldnt stop listening.

Intriguing saga

So, I loved the narrator and learned quite a lot about WEII in the Pacific Theatre. The story revealed so much about the war I’d never understood or even heard before. It was well woven but the ending was too fuzzy and I am ok with being left with questions, but this was so unlike the rest of the book that it just felt awkward and not well planned...I highly recommend the book, so much to discover and enjoy!

Highly recommend, intriguing

I quickly became involved with the characters and story lines. The author doesn’t lose you when the focus switches between characters.

The narrator does a wonderful job and has a pleasant voice. I have listened to him before and enjoy his many voices and accents, none seem strange as can happen to some narrations.

Innocence and integrity

I love a long listen with well-developed characters. Nick is a wonderful hero. Anna is so strong. The narrator has a lovely voice.

Beautiful

Great story. Slow start. Once you get through the first little bit you'll be hooked.

Too much sex

This seemed to be a marvelous story. But sex just became too important. Too unreal

Great Book

What did you like about this audiobook?

Well presentation of a great story

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

Yes, even though my interest was already great because I lived in Southeast Asia for years many years ago.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

Yes, with great accurate details

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

No complaint with the narrator.

a long story you never want to end

Would you listen to The Persimmon Tree again? Why?

I will listen to this book again because I couldn't absorb all the really fascinating details within the book one time around.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Persimmon Tree?

...the twist and turns about prejudice in a small village during WW2 in the Phillipines and how it is acted out.

Who was the most memorable character of The Persimmon Tree and why?

Nick the main character, was most memorable. He is the "narrator" and is a young guy having totally new life experiences; how he views them is so fun to read.

Excellent listen.

Where does The Persimmon Tree rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book ranks in the top 10 percent.

What did you like best about this story?

Although a love story, it is also historical fiction. A good combination. I do not want to ruin the story by saying too much about the plot. I could not wait to see how the story would unwind and was not disappointed.