The Persimmon Tree

I really liked this book. It gave me a perspective of the Pacific theatre of WWII that is not easy to understand. The book is really two stories in a very long book. One story is a coming of age story of Nick Duncan, an eighteen year old butterfly collector who because of his experience in the jungle and knowledge of Japanese is eventually recruited as an Australian coastwatcher.

First though he meets and falls in love with Anna a half Javanese/dutch knockout...and that is the other half of the story detailing her life in Java under Japanese occupation. With the exception of some stories in this book the war is a bit sanitized but you meet some really interesting characters (Little Bloke for one) and their stores are well interwoven to show more the main two characters.

For a long book (about 700+ pages) I thought the plot moved along well though I thought Anna's involvement with the Japanese general started to drag a bit towards the end of her section of the book. The last 100 pages or so seem anti-climactic to me. It ties up loose ends but it was in a then-he-did this...then-he-did-that...he/she-helped-here...he/she-would not help-here.

That aside it was a very satisfying read...no real complaints show less

Very entertaining and engaging story of a young man (butterfly collector turned soldier), who falls in love with a Dutch/Asian young woman at the start of the Japanese invasion of the spice islands. A coming of age, mixed with explicit events of the war and love lost, love found.

Described by the author as a love story, I would describe it more as a coming of age story because the subjects of the love story are parted in the first 100 pages and we read of their two separate stories throughout the book.

One of the more interesting aspects of the story was the transformation Anna went through as she became a courtesan. I was somewhat surprised at how accepting she seemed of her circumstances. As with every Courtenay novel, I enjoyed the story, the characters and the amount of detail included.

I bought this novel with the expectation that I would like it, after reading two other of Bryce Courtenay's novels, [b:The Power of One|122|The Power of One (The Power of One, #1)|Bryce Courtenay|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388184360s/122.jpg|649656] and [b:Tandia|19435848|Tandia|Bryce Courtenay|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924771s/19435848.jpg|1329245]. 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 show more War in the Pacific.
This is a great novel, one that I would recommend to anyone that is looking for an inspiring love story. show less

Bryce Courtenay became one of my favourite authors after I read his first novel "The Power of One", but I must confess that I went off him after reading "Tandia'.
I am delighted to say that "The Persimmon Tree" has really put him back on my bookshelf!. The Persimmon Tree is a love story with lots of action (?) thrown in. The characters are plausible except for Nicholas who, at the age of 17, is so capable of doing anything and everything that he is a superhero!
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, even at my second reading of it.

I listened to the Audio version of this book (as with all Bryce Courtney's books - it was very well narrated by Humphrey Bower)

While I really enjoy Bryce's work - I find it a good reflection on life - He does have the habit of lecturing the reader at times. The second half of the book - almost need not be there. The basic story is of a man and his two loves. The first half of the book is set mainly around Anna and her experiences in Japan during the war, and her attempts to come to terms with this. The second half is a bit of a lecture on behalf of the green movement. While I have no objection to green issues - they are vital - it does seem a bit of a lecture that we are being given.

Oct 17 2009: Another great book from Bryce Courtenay. The story is set in the Pacific during World War II and is about love, friendship, and the loss of innocence (in more ways that one). One can always count on Bryce Courtenay to paint a vivid picture with the books he writes. He gives you a real feeling for the places he writes about and the characters he creates. It's a big book (845 pages) but I read it within a week.