The Persimmon Tree

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It's a hit!

Fantastic Book. Took me a while to get to it but I found the story engrossing and enthralling from the first page. This is the best Bryce Courtena... (show more)

Fantastic Book. Took me a while to get to it but I found the story engrossing and enthralling from the first page. This is the best Bryce Courtenay book I have read since The Potato Factory. Brims with historical research and shimmering characterisations coupled with a love story that makes you go all discustingly mushy... It adds a perspective to World War Two that I have never really read much about and that is the perspectives of the Javanese and other Asian nationals under Japanese occupation - far too often there is a Eurocentric obsession. Unashamedly a love story it is superbly crafted and well worth the read. I am very much looking forward to the sequel "Fishing with Stars." I have given this book five stars and it is very much well deserved. Read it peoples! (show less)

 

 

by John Richard O'Sullivan

No, it's a flop!

This is only the second Bryce Courtenay book I've read (White Thorn being the other). I'm a little puzzled why and how I've managed to complete th... (show more)

This is only the second Bryce Courtenay book I've read (White Thorn being the other). I'm a little puzzled why and how I've managed to complete the entire missive. I enjoyed White Thorn largely because of Courtenay's ability to provide an insightful, albeit entirely romanticized and fantastic, view of growing up in Africa. This one however has somehow engaged me despite the purple prose, the eminently predictable outcomes, the atrocious 'written' accents of the American characters, the implausible achievements of the main character, and the stereotypical portraits of the various races in the novel. The Australians are rugged bushmen of great courage and determination. The Yanks are tough little buggers with little regard for authority. The Japanese are introspective Zen masters with a penchant for tremendous cruelty. The Chinese are hated and greedy merchants who are motivated solely by commercial interest except when influenced by the stunning kindness of the book's heroine. The Dutch, hell at this point I can't even remember how they fit into all the racial profiling of the book. I guess one needs to think of this in the context of the 1940s but surely there are better ways to communicate fundamentals of character on an individual basis rather than the broad brush of national characteristics.
Come to think of it...that aspect of the book has pretty much turned me off.
If you're seeking something a little more erudite and involving than a superhero comic then get this book. If you're seeking truly enlightening and engaging material go elsewhere. Almost anywhere else in fact. (show less)

 

 

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  I loved this book... i found it really hard to put down and as a result it took only 3 days to read =D I found his writing captivating... this was the first one of his books ihad read... and at only age 15 i wasn't very easily captivated by such things... annas devotion took my breath away... until recently i didnt know what it felt like for the one you love to leave... now i do, and he nailed that part... all together it has been the best book i have read in a long time. and i cant stop read... (show more)

  I loved this book... i found it really hard to put down and as a result it took only 3 days to read =D I found his writing captivating... this was the first one of his books ihad read... and at only age 15 i wasn't very easily captivated by such things... annas devotion took my breath away... until recently i didnt know what it felt like for the one you love to leave... now i do, and he nailed that part... all together it has been the best book i have read in a long time. and i cant stop reading it, ive read it about 10 times already... i love the history associated with it...i believe he knows enough about a womans heart and soul to have pulled this story off well... i felt that he has underestimated his knowledge of women ... this book deserves 5 stars... so thats what i give it (show less)

   

  by Anonymous User on Mar 04, 2009 at 08:08AM

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  I really liked this book, Bryce Courtenay has once again out done himself, and has proven to us why he is such a brilliant writer! The Persimmon Tree was such as wonderful read, I enjoyed every page of this enchanting novel, from the first page down to very last! It would have to be the first book for me where the main character is a guy, even though Anna has a strong presence, Nick is the one telling the story! It is set during World War II, where Nick, whilst travelling through Indonesia me... (show more)

  I really liked this book, Bryce Courtenay has once again out done himself, and has proven to us why he is such a brilliant writer! The Persimmon Tree was such as wonderful read, I enjoyed every page of this enchanting novel, from the first page down to very last! It would have to be the first book for me where the main character is a guy, even though Anna has a strong presence, Nick is the one telling the story! It is set during World War II, where Nick, whilst travelling through Indonesia meets a beautiful dutch girl by the name of Anna, but like most love stories it never is smooth sailing. The two have to part for fear of being captured by the invading Japanese troops. During their time apart they each have endure loss and heartbreak, and and it is many years before they see each other again! (show less)

   

   

  by Tamara Van Hees on Jun 26, 2008 at 12:56PM

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