The Persimmon Tree

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

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)

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.