The Persimmon Tree (The Persimmon Tree, #1) by Bryce Courtenay

The Persimmon Tree (The Persimmon Tree, #1) Reviews

• 
  Matt

  A long-time fan of Bryce Courtenay, I turned to this piece that takes the reader out of some of the usual locales used by the author to tell a war-time story that will reverberate for many. Nick Duncan and Anna Van Heerden meet while living in Java, within the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). Nick’s passion for butterfly collecting is only one of the things that draws Anna to him, though they are but teenagers and cannot know what love truly means. By 1942, Asia becomes a significant theatre of war and Java is no longer a safe place. The Japanese are on their way with hopes of conquering everything in their path. Nick is entrusted with the Van Heerden’s boat and asked to sail it to Australia, where Anna is promised to meet him at the end of the war. Nick prepares to depart, discovering his own adventures before he sets sail, watching some of the Australian troops slaughtered on a beach before Nick saves a young American. Kevin Judge tells him all about Chicago during their adventures to Australia, where Nick has distant family and a passion to enter the fray with the Australians against the Japanese forces. Back in Java, Anna and her family try to make an escape ahead of the Japanese invasion, but are unable to leave the country. Saddled with taking care of her alcoholic father, Anna tries her best to see the bright side, but the Japanese arrival is nothing but complete horror. Anna is chosen by one of the Japanese colonels to join him for meals, conversing as they dance around the fact that she is a prisoner in her homeland. However, there is a plan for Anna, one that includes a life she could not have expected. When she is commissioned to become a geisha, Anna accepts her fate and undertakes the rigorous training of sensual (sexual) binding and erotic massage, perfecting the art. Telling herself that she is still pure for Nick, as her ‘pearl has not been broken’, Anna is devastated when a new leader seeks to turn her into a common whore. Taking matters into her own hands, Anna sends the Japanese out of the country with an indelible mark and seeks a way to get to Australia. Part three of the book returns to Australia, where Nick is in combat, fending off the enemy as best he can. He worries about Anna and wonders if he will ever see her violet-blue eyes again. His time seconded to work in a covert capacity does not go unnoticed, allowing him to learn a great deal about the war, life in the military, and the strains of love from a distance. However, his final goal, to locale Anna, will come with a price. Another brilliant piece by one of my favourite authors. Bryce Courtenay can spin a story and keep the reader enthralled for hundreds of pages. Recommended to those who love Courtenay’s work, as well as the reader who enjoys war tales with a twist.
  
  Bryce Courtenay is perhaps one of the only authors whose books I could read over and over without tiring, While I vaguely remember reading this book over a decade ago, nothing much, save the rope tying, stuck in my brain. There is so much to digest here and I could not help but love all the details. The story’s pace flows so well that the book’s length mostly vanishes as the reader finds themselves hooked by the narrative skills on offer. Nick plays a great protagonist, as his backstory and character development are equally strong, permitting the attentive reader to learn so very much. The situations in which Nick finds himself challenge the reader to discover the lengths to which his character will go to make a mark on those around him. Contrasting nicely is Anna, whose upbringing differs so much from Nick’s, but with a story that rivals his. Anna finds herself having to mature at a quick pace, while she is tossed into many a situation that requires fast thinking. Courtenay’s symbolic use of the persimmon tree throughout is masterful and does describe Anna so effectively. These parallel narratives work so well together as well as on their own, keeping the reader wanting to know more (thank goodness for a sequel!). The handful of other characters who grace the pages of this book add flavour to an already rich narrative, while also providing the reader with some insight into difference perspectives of the larger story. Courtenay does this so well and leaves the reader only to pine for more. The story was amazingly detailed and provided a view of World War Two both from a perspective about which I have read little (The Pacific Theatre) and through the eyes of the Javanese, with a peppering of Australia as well. There is so much history embedded within the masterfully crafted narrative, which opens the door to so much interpretation. While I would not normally take the time to comment on audiobook narration, the wor by Humphrey Bower here was some of the best I have ever had the privilege to hear. I have listened to the audiobook renditions of all Courtenay books and Bower takes the lead in almost all of them, bringing accents to life and narrative passages to a bel level of understanding. While I know some people prefer holding a book (or e-book), I cannot say enough about the audio versions of Courtenay’s work! I was so pleased with the stories and themes developed throughout this piece. I will be reaching for the sequel as soon as I can post this review (yes, the audio!).
  
  Kudos, Mr. Courtenay, for giving me something amazing to read and reminding me how sad I am that we lost you years ago!
  
  Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
  
  http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
  
  A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge:
  https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
• 
  Janice

  Second Review- Read Jan 24 - Feb 2, 2021: 4 stars
  
  Nine years after my first read, I'm obviously in a different frame of mind. I can't keep the 5 star rating. I enjoyed Anna's story better than Nick's. I enjoyed Anna's character better than Nick's. She had depth; he was superficial - and wordy. Good grief but he was full of himself. Why did I not catch that the first time around?
  
  One thing I have to mention is the overuse of the "n" word. I understand that it was only the one character and it was representative of that character in the late 1930's, but it was so peppered throughout that man's discourse that it really bothered me. I cringed every time I heard it.
  
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  First Review - Read Jul 8-20, 2012: 5 stars
  
  Finally! I have found a book to break the 3-star slump I seemed to be in.
  
  I have found a new author and new narrator. Bryce has a lot more novels to discover, and Humphrey Bower brings many of them to life with his fabulous command of accents.
  
  The story has a little bit of everything. It is a romance, but not a mushy tale, of two young people separated by war when the Japanese invade Java. Nick sets sail for Australia expecting to meet Anna there. Anna, gets caught behind enemy lines and learns to do whatever she needs to do to survive. Nick, because of his command of the Japanese language is recruited to Intelligence in the Navy and stationed at Guatemala Canal.
  
  Will they survive the war, and if they do, will their love for each other survive?
• 
  Aileen

  I actually listened to this book on my iPod. I downloaded it from Audible.com. The reader is really talented. He does every character with his/her own voice and accent. It's very easy to listen and follow. The story is good also; full of historical detail and an engaging plot. It's a long novel that felt almost like three separate books. The narrator, Nicholas Duncan, tells his own story and also the story of his love-interest, Anna van Heerden. It was a little jarring to hear Nicholas (Nick) tell Anna's story with such detail when he was not there to experience it. It took me a while to get over this, but eventually did and enjoyed the story nonetheless.
• 
  Victor

  I haven't done it yet, but will find mild pleasure in burning this book. And I won't feel like a Nazi.
  
  I could only get 100 pages into this 600 page novel. From the heights of "The Power Of One" it just seems to me that Courtney has dissolved into ugliness.
  
  A character, who you hope will be discarded very quickly within the novel is developed into a theme. A character who cannot speak English clearly (he speaks guttural slang, and is laboriously developed as a half-wit), is sad, downtrodden, subject to an orphanage (as per the real life Courtney) and to mild encounters with pedophilic Catholic brothers.
  
  While "The Power Of One" spoke of a story that brewed for many years, this novel unfortunately lacks soul. Speed reading through the latter sections of the book, and the acknowledgments at the end, the tributes Courtney gives to his research fellows are probably well founded, because the novel reads like a formula written documentary of the atrocities of (stereotyped) Japanese soldiers as they concurred vast stretches of the South Pacific during world war two.
  
  What is ostensibly sold as a 'love story' is nothing of the sort. Love requires depth and yearning and a solid bit of anticipation and reflection. The characters in this novel are almost cartoon like in their development, and those introduced to the primary protagonist within the Novel in the first 100 pages are simply crass.
  
  Courtney said in an interview that he is fast approaching 80 and wonders how many more novels he can pump out; presumably at the rate of 1 a year as he has for the last 15 years. I say, better that you write one book in 15 years and let it be good, than deliver this trash.
  
  Read the acknowledgments. Courtney hired a linguist to offer advice on something. What, how to tell us in guttural and uncultured American slang that Haddock smells like "a whore's pussy"? Thanks Bryce, a really nice piece of work mate. Love it.
• 
  Cass

  It is 1942 and Nick Duncan is a butterfly collector, but a really manly one. He is shy, but in a really manly sort of way. He has never spent much time around woman, but in a manly sort of way. He can sail a yacht through a hurricane, in a manly sort of way.
  
  This stuff is typical
  Bryce Courtenay. The writing and story is interesting enough to get hooked, but I did lots of eye-rolling, particularly as the main character was introduced. It really made me want to vomit, this is
  The Story Of Danny Dunn all over again.
  
  His main characters are always without fault, they are the model of good looks, manliness, intelligence, skill, everything. They are sickeningly flawless, and they have skills that are really implausible, being able to sail a boat with such little experience, being a crack shot and killing dozens of enemy combatants with a double head/chest shot that left all the other soldiers in awe of him. *Gag*.
  
  I think the most ridiculous aspect of the whole novel was the ongoing guilt he felt over not burying some bodies properly, and feeling like a coward for not coming to the aid of men being massacred. This is typical Bryce Courtenay heavy handedness, in order to show that his manly manly man is still soft at heart we have to show him behaving in a completely over-the-top manner. In this case we see him on a beach performing the last rites for a group of men just massacred by local tribesman.
  
  The saving grace of the book was that it was mostly told from the viewpoint of the female love interest, and that was an incredibly interesting story. It had the potential for a love-triangle, but the author shied away from that. One of the driving aspects of Bryce Courtenay novels is having is main character being so awesome that no woman would ever want to turn from him. So while the main character ended up with three girlfriends at the same time, the main love interest had to remain pure an untainted, thus proving her virginal status while again reminding us how much of a manly man Nick Duncan (our main character) was.
  
  Did I throw up yet?
• 
  Ace

  Is there nothing Nick Duncan can't do? He's a wizz at school, a natural war hero, pulls chick's with just a smile and more more more. As usual with Bryce Courtenay, this is a big book, a huge story and a full cast. Never a dull moment, even for a butterfly collector.
• 
  Robert Delikat

  This is another one of those times when I agree with both the positive and negative reviews of a book. With a greater than 4 star rating, clearly the positive ones outnumber the negative. However, I always try to read the lower scoring reviews of any book I’m interested in to glean something valuable possibly missed by the popular audience. If you have not read it and are interested in this book you already enter with a preconception that you will probably enjoy reading it. I suggest that you read the negative reviews.
  
  I have read many of Bryce Courtney’s books. With the talented Humphrey Bower reading/performing any book it is hard to go wrong especially when he teams up with this author. But I think this particular book was not either’s best effort. What is surprising to me is that The Persimmon Tree is not one of the author’s earlier books written at a time (2007) when perhaps his writing skills were less finely honed.
  
  While I don’t agree with many of the negative reviews for their stated reasons, personally, I think the writing itself of this book is at best only mediocre. I’ll almost always bump up a book’s rating because of good writing even if I’m not crazy about the story/plot itself. This lacked both of what we find in Courtney’s earlier works.
  
  Bottom line, while the book is not for everyone, particularly if you are offended by some of the S&M sexual content (I was not), many will probably enjoy it. I cannot say this book was bad nor can I say it was good. I can say that it is not of the calibre of Four Fires. It’s at best only 3 stars for me.
  
• 
  Donna

  This book started out as a 4 star book. It's historical fiction in the WWII years and since that is usually a tragic topic, I loved the author’s use of humor. It was no doubt funny.
  
  The cover is absolutely beautiful. It screamed chick-lit to me and the cover even stated that it is a love story. I don’t dispute the love story claim, but you could tell it was certainly written by a guy. The male main character was just way too perfect. He always gets the girl, is always in the right place at the right time, always has the girls fall instantly in love with him, happens to just fall into a prestigious intelligence job with the military, just happens to win medals, has other military units all requesting him, he is always important in every conversation, girls just pine after him, just happens to have everything go right, always comes out on top and on and on. It screamed, “MALE FANTASY” loud and clear. He was just a glorified cad.
  
  The main female character was also written in this male fantasy way. Her only goal in life was to get back to her teenage love (which had only existed for a couple of days before they were separated). She was perfectly subservient and perfectly strong when he wanted her to take control. It was just weird. He clearly did not deserve her.
  
  I have a habit of watching commercials and then I try to determine if they were written by a room full of testosterone or estrogen; some are way more obvious than others. Even though the author’s name is on this book, and it is clearly a male name, it was also blatantly obvious in every aspect all throughout this book.
  
  So bottom line ... this was not chick-lit; it was more like bro-lit, if that is even a word. It certainly fits here.
  
  And I give it 3 stars because it was more “wishful thinking” than historical fiction. But it definitely was humorous, different and entertaining when I wasn't rolling my eyes.
  
• 
  Jimba

  The Persimmon Tree was a good read and I think Courtnay is back in form, although it does have its flaws. The book was well researched and I enjoyed the Clavellian-style use of history to beef up the story - it being just as much a character in its own right. I found the characters a mixed bag: on the one hand I thought Courtenay nailed a few supporting characters spot on; on the other hand, however, I felt that Courtenay got a bit carried away while grooming the protagonist to the reader: there was nothing this young boy could not do and I wondered weather this young man was the budding young Macgyver. By insecure default, I instantly took a disliking to him, hijacking Courtenary's narrative, creating my own where this intrepid adventurer came to a sudden end... involving a Javanese Tribe and a piece of string.
  
  I found the epic voyage from Indonesia to Fremantle a chapter too long. The American passenger's ill-constructed American drawl made me seasick, and when Courtenay began talking boat-speak, I could only assume that in his mind we were all one-eyed seafarers with parrots on our shoulders and a tatoo of "Peggy" on our forearms, instead of the ignorant reader. "A-hoi me matey, a fyne chapter it wasn't...arrrh".
  
  
  For me, with its few flaws, it was still a solid read, keeping those stop-start train rides to work somewhat more bearable, and the cute Asian lass sitting opposite me all the more interesting. Courtney nailed the history; he nailed the story line, which was strong and consistent; he nailed the antagonists and when our young protagonist got nailed, well, he nailed that too. I kinda guessed how this love story was going to end, and I was right. Nevertheless, a good book, one that any Clavell fan would enjoy.
  
  Arrrrh....
• 
  Britany

  WWII, Japanese invading and taking hostages in Java, Nick Duncan an aussie butterfly collector, and beautiful Ana, the blue eyed Dutch Javanese.
  
  The Persimmon Tree goes back and forth between Nick and Ana's stories. They were separated during the war and you basically have to wait close to forever to figure out if they will EVER reunite or not.
  
  Unfortunately, I got to a point where I didn't care about these characters, I didn't believe in the love story and frankly found it mostly unrealistic. Too drawn out, and filled with stories that did not, IMO add to the plot.
  
  Relieved to finally be done with this one. Was hoping the ending would redeem it, but sadly it did not.
• 
  The Cats’ Mother

  I didn't enjoy this as much as I expected to - it's hard to pinpoint why - the story felt disjointed - his story, her story, then his story again, with large chunks of time missing. Neither main character was particularly believable, and the idea that a love forged in a few days could last all those years apart - particularly given Nick's subsequent behaviour, was just silly. I did like the supporting characters, particularly the Indonesians and the US Marines.
  I don't particularly like war stories, but it did teach me a lot about the war in the Pacific that I didn't know.
  It was pretty long, which is why it took me ages to start, but it's in the Top 100 so I was determined to read it eventually, and also to return it to it's owner, who'd given it 10/10. This was the first Bryce Courtenay book I've read, and there are several others that I do still want to read, but I might wait a while. I'm not sure about his writing style - maybe it'll grow on me.
• 
  Josh Taylor

  Terrible. Reading the book summary again I wonder why I thought I should read this... In hindsight, I was sucked in by the very good review rating on Amazon (which I use in addition to Goodreads' rating) and my love for epic, historically based fiction, probably stemming from my read of
  Shōgun by James Clavell.
  
  Alas, I quit this one a little over halfway through, an extreme action I rarely take with books. I usually push through knowing that sometimes a book starts slow and then redeems itself later. Plus I'm a perfectionist/completist. Not this time. By the time I stopped, the explicit "love" scenes (and seemingly written by a 14 year old boy rather than a 70+ year old man) and plodding pace because of a constant wasting of vast stretches of words on minutiae, had signaled me that it was time to quit. By this point I had no interest in what was going to happen, both because the plot took forever to develop and because almost all the characters were either annoying, unlikable, or empty. Not to mention the protagonist was childishly too good to be true and came across as a hero for a TV movie.
  
  The only thing that made this story feel like a real piece of fiction were some of the revelations and deaths of people during Anna's portion of the story, which was clearly the stronger part. Looking back, the parts of the story following Anna were by far superior to the parts following Nick and I probably would've have finished the book eventually if she had been the only focus of the novel. But then, it would have been a different story altogether.
  
  I have to say it again: this book PLODDED through details of everyday life and events that did very little to advance the story. And rather than the wordiness of some of the classic great writers, it read like a soap opera script writer was trying to make his mark.
  
  Ugh...
• 
  Diane

  Relieved my sister of this great honking huge (852 pages!) paperback before she even had a chance to read it. Courtenay is the author of the wonderful The Power of One set in South Africa, where he was born. The Persimmon Tree is set more in his adopted country of Australia where he has lived for years. It is the story of two star-crossed lovers during the second world war. Nick is the son of a Australian missionary who has spent most of his career in Japan and Indonesia. Anna is the daughter of a rich Dutch land owner and a Javanese woman. One of the many, many things I learned while reading this book is that the Dutch controlled Java for over 350 years prior to WW II when the Javanese kicked them out with the encouragement of the Japanese who then just took over themselves. I can't help but think that Courtenay could of used a really good editor but it would have been a very tough job deciding what to leave out and maintain the historical authenticity. Courtenay put a huge amount of research into this novel as well as some interesting characterization. Recommended, especially for second World War buffs.
• 
  Charmaine Elliott

  A consummate storyteller, book lovers have been robbed of a great author with the passing of Bryce Courtenay. This has to be one of the most enjoyable books I have read (listened to) in a long time. OK, so our hero suffers from the same goody - goody-ness and fantastical fabulosity as the hero in The Power of One, but if one skims through those cringy parts, this is a great story. Anna is a wonderful character and the tripping from Java to Australia, with the Japanese lurking in the background adds excitement. It is impossible to miss the humour in the exaggerated weak, bullying, alcoholic character of Piet van Heerden. The narrator of this audio book is beyond excellent in assuming diverse voices and accents. Informative, educational and interesting The Persimmon Tree is long, yet could be longer. Unlike many books where the last page comes as a relief, in this case one longs for the next book in a three part epic.....Highly recommended
• 
  Jasmine's

  A heartbreaking story of lost love and struggle to stay alive during the WWII in the Pacific Islands and Australia.
• 
  Letty De kroon

  I almost stopped reading this novel after completing Anna's story. For the sake of complete-ness I finished reading Nicholas' story also - I'm glad i did because that was a far sight better than Anna's story. Unfortunately Anna's story is somewhat unbelievable because it is written in so much intricate and often horrific detail by the character 'Nicholas' and there is no way he could ever know the full extent of what she went through. Because it is interspersed with occasional commentary from Nicholas, you are reminded often enough that it is Nicholas writing the story. Even if she did tell him every little detail it just doesn't seem to be believable - he wouldn't be able to recall from day to day, hour to hour or the personal feelings she felt. Perhaps a 'fly on the wall' approach would have been better.
  Anyway, the other problem i have is that initially the dutch are portrayed in their worst light (i have dutch heritage so at times it made me squirm), then the javanese tribes, and the chinese entrepeneurs, and then the japanese and all the horror of their entire race are laid out bare. i think it's a terrible thing to stereotype each race to such a degree. It's unfair to group an entire race like that and a bit of individual blame rather than race blame wouldn't go astray. Individual blame was only done for the australian people when at the end of the book the 'white australia policy' was portrayed as being a complete beauracratic/government decision and the australian people (in this case, the returned soldier, and decorated war hero, main character, Nicholas) were embarassed and against the whole idea.
  The Persimmon Tree has the makings of a really good book with the time and setting and structure of the book - her story, his story and then come together at the end. But for me the story went too far, was a bit too far fetched making it unbelievable.
• 
  Dee

  This book has actually been sitting on my TBR shelf for about a year and a half now, so I figured it was about time to read it (plus there was the incentive that it fit into a challenge category here on Goodreads). I found it to be a typical Bryce Courtenay book, lots of vivid detail that makes you feel like you are experiencing both Nick and Anna's time during the way without leaving your bedroom. Although, it was a bit disconcerting when he used the vocal speech of Kevin Judge (who is a "Yank"), but you couldn't really place where in the US he was from, if I recall it was Chicago, but this stylistic technique is also used by him in other books, so it wasn't as disconcerting this time. My other complaint is that the book just seemed to end...I know that there is a sequel to it, but the ending here was just weak (without going into any spoilers). I would recommend it, however, I say have the sequel on hand and ready to read, so that can see what happens to Anna and Nick. I have to wait to get my hands on a copy.
• 
  Linh

  April 10, 2010
  The mere size of this book made me avoid it, leaving it sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust for 6 months. It was a bit hard to get into at first as I imagined this daunting task of reading a giant book and let's face it, a giant book about love seems a little excessive. It turned out to be a tremendously interesting story spanning across an ocean and a war. It showed many contrasting views of the Pacific War; the view of a Japanese Colonel, an Australian Lieutenant fighting for America, an innocent Dutch-Indonesian girl and everyone around them. The humor behind Nick's actions, especially when it came to dropping the little bloke to catch a butterfly was witty and wonderfully written. The part that I found most interesting was the exchange between Anna and Konoe-san. It was a beautifully written clashing of the swords, a subtle and polite struggle of power. With that said, I still felt that the book was a tinge long for what it covered and often had to put it down for the day.
• 
  Zelmer

  I bought this novel with the expectation that I would like it, after reading two other of Bryce Courtenay's novels,
  The Power of One and
  Tandia. I wasn't disappointed. The plot is simple, two young people fall in love and then are separated by events beyond their control. In the case of Nick Duncan and Anna van Heerden, it is the approaching Japanese army that separates them. Both of these young people are great characters, both growing up and losing their innocence as they try to survive the horror of the Second World War in the Pacific.
  This is a great novel, one that I would recommend to anyone that is looking for an inspiring love story.
• 
  Jo

  Wow! What a wonderful experience, listening to this long and gripping story. I picked it because I was interested to discover more about the Japanese war in Indonesia and the setting of Dutch colonialism, and it was recommended to me. It fulfilled my interest, but so much more, and I would wholeheartedly encourage others to read it and give this story the hours it deserves without hurrying it. The audio narrator brought every character to life brilliantly, even across gender and language barriers, and enabled the story splendidly. It was fascinating watching these two young people grow and change through the course of the war and beyond, all that they discovered about themselves - and what they lost in themselves as well - as they learned how to survive. I loved this and have bought the sequel, which I will tackle next year. 😊
• 
  Lina

  What a great story teller! Courtney draws you in... , I felt like I cared for the characters even though the 50 shades of grey moments towards the end of the book really baffled me! I felt for Anna, she was so strong yet fragile, wise beyond her years and always a sense of purpose. I can just imagine what it must have been like in those days for her, the daughter of a half Dutch half Asian union. She is an island on to herself! I also enjoyed the references about the history of the Japanese occupation and how it affected the locals. Nicholas was also very endearing, I felt like he had given me a pass to witness his transition from being a boy to a man. I will definitely explore more of Courtney's books.
• 
  Amber

  This is the fourth Courtenay novel I've read, and the worst so far. But so far as I know, a bad Courtenay novel is... still pretty good. I rated it 3 stars, which for me, means it was enjoyable and worth reading, but ultimately forgettable. But even when the story is forgettable, Courtenay's a hell of a storyteller.
  
  My problems with it are the same as a lot of other reviewers mentioned. Neither Nick nor Anna felt all that real to me, nor did their love story seem that compelling. They were two good-looking kids who met at the ages of 18 and 16, were attracted to each other, declared themselves “in love,” as teenagers are prone to do at the drop of a hat, and then were torn apart by war for the next three years. While they thought about each other, their main focus was on surviving, and for Anna, avoiding being raped by the Japanese. At the end of the war, they were two very different adults.
  
  The story is told in three distinct parts: Part 1: Anna and Nick meet in 1942 Java, then have to flee Java ahead of the Japanese invasion. Nick sails a 39-foot sailboat from Java to western Australia, while Anna goes with her father on a boat evacuating Dutch refugees. Part 2: Anna's story. Part 3: Nick's story.
  
  Parts 1 and 2, which make up the first 60% of the book, are quite gripping. Nick's daring flight on the sailboat rechristened “Madame Butterfly” is a classic adventure with the obligatory all-night storm where Nick has to desperately man the rudder for 30 straight hours and try not to capsize the boat. Spoiler alert: he survives.
  
  Anna's story is a blow-by-blow takedown of the sexual violence that accompanies war everywhere, and which the Japanese are infamous for institutionalizing. I didn't love the narrative device of having Nick tell Anna's story for her, but I forgot about it quickly enough as her story got under way. Aside from just surviving, Anna's constant fear is being forcibly sent to the army brothel where local women are raped up to 30 times a day. As it is for all women, her beauty is both curse and blessing. Had she not been exotically beautiful – an unusually tall, light-skinned Javanese woman with striking blue eyes – she never would have been noticed and might not have been targeted at all. But once she was targeted, her rare beauty sheltered her from the worst and allowed her bondage to be at a far more refined level than the “toilet girls” who are forced to service any soldier who walks in. Anna is more akin to an expensive, highly trained geisha who provides extremely... specialized services to just one high-ranking Japanese officer who is basically her owner.
  
  Despite all this, it's not IMO as “trigger-warning-worthy” as you might think. Anna's fear of sexual violence is quite reasonable and is ever-present, and several times she's overtly threatened with being sent to the brothel if she doesn't cooperate with the particular fate that's been selected for her, but there are no graphic scenes of horrific things happening to her or any other women. It's just that you know it's going on somewhere off-stage and you're reminded of it from time to time. Just when Anna's story culminates and we're dying to know what's going to happen to Anna next, her story ends and we move to Part 3.
  
  Nick's story, once he reaches land in Australia after fleeing Java, is the weakest aspect of the book. He joins the Australian navy and goes off to war. He does soldier type things and in typical Gary Stu fashion, it turns out he's really good at soldiering. Several attractive women find their way into his bed, and he seems as intent on losing his virginity as Anna is on keeping hers. (Which made me mad, but I'm mad at the world for its insane obsession with female sexual “purity,” not at Courtenay for telling it like it is.) Nick's story is kind of a meandering diary of the south Pacific war without much plot, and maybe that's just the nature of war. He gets shipped around the south Pacific, war stuff happens to him, and eventually the war ends.
  
  The editor in me wonders how much better this book might be if Anna's story and Nick's story were sliced up and told in alternating chapters so the reader gets more of a sense of what was happening to each of them at roughly the same time. It would also help make Nick's story less of a slog.
  
  There's a very unsatisfying denouement relating Nick's efforts to find Anna after the war and what happens when they reunite. Considering they're both radically different people now, I expected much more of a process where the new Anna and Nick get to know each other and find out if they can fall in love again as war-weary adults, but no. It just ends.
  
  Audio Notes: Humphrey Bower is stellar as usual and continues to be one of my favorite narrators. He is a genuine master of accents, and there are a lot of different ones in this story.
• 
  Gabe Segal

  I could give this book a rating from three to five stars depending on my mood. Having read the bulk of Courtenay's work, his archetypical protagonists, which once left me inspired and yearning, have now become predictable and I'm incredulous to their impeccability.
  However, Courtenay knows how to tell a story. His works of historical fiction provide the reader with an enjoyable story to help digest the historical details. These stories have helped me to attach individuals to the statistics of war.
  I feel like in much of Courtenay's other work, the story is separated into several distinct parts. It seems Courtenay allocated different amounts of time, attention, and care to different sections of the book. All I will say about that is I wish Anna was more intertwined throughout the entirety of the novel, there are about 500 pages in the middle of the book where she seems forgotten.
  As I approach the end of Courtenay's catalogue, I experience a unique sadness in knowing that there will be no more Bryce Courtenay books for me to read. I am grieving in reverse. Cheers.
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  Janet

  I have to give up on this one. I listened to the audiobook version and the narration is excellent. The story really appealed to me as I have an interest in Indonesia, Dutch colonialism, Japanese culture and Australia. However I don’t think I can continue to listen as I am
  increasingly bothered by the disparity in the way Anna and Nick are portrayed, particularly in relation to sex. Anna goes to great lengths to protect her “pearl” of virginity, ultimately risking her own life and the lives of others to remain ‘perfect’ for Nick. Meanwhile, Nick, who ‘loves’ her, is in bed with Marge, who he also ‘loves’, after which he declares himself truly a man i.e. he has been perfected. The double standards are jaw dropping.
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  Isabella

  Rating: 1 star
  
  I am feeling harsh tonight and though I originally thought I'd give this 2 stars, I'm giving it 1. It was just boooooooooring. I would have 100% DNFed it if it wasn't for its large page count and the readathon.
  
  I finished this yesterday and I forgot what happened. It was told in first person by a dude in WW2 who was obsessed with this women. Then there's a Japanese man? And the girl becomes a sex slave? Or something? Or almost does but for some kind of philosophical reason of the general guy? And there's something about Australia? I don't really know. Read it if you want. Or don't. I don't care.
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  Anne

  Excellent book and the narrator was phenomenal!
  
  
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  Becca Guillote

  The power of one is one of my all time favorite books. This one does not compare, but it is pretty good in its own right. I got a bit jaded with the main character’s sex obsession, but I loved Anna’s story and her as a character.