The persimmon tree is a symbol of life, a heartwood that will outlast everything man can make . . .
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.
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So this took me nearly a month to read, but I was savouring it.
I LOVED this story, it was vivid and rich and highly detailed. It had a heaping serve of emotion and characters to die for.
Anything that centres around World War Two has pretty much won me from the start, but I hadn't really read much Australian fiction on the topic, and knew even less about Batavia (modern day Jakarta) and its part in Australia's military campaigns.
Rife with political intrigue, love both fulfilled and unrequited, this was my first Bryce Courtenay novel and most certainly not my last. Particularly given how this novel ends, which is meant to encourage you to pick up book 2 of the duology, Fishing for Stars. Yes, Bryce Courtenay does series. I had no idea prior to this.
Another thing I'll say about the writing is that it's a lot more sexy than I thought it would be. Many a woman tantalises young Nicholas Duncan, which is what brings me to the four star rating.
I decided to drop a star because I really started to dislike Nick by the end of The Persimmon Tree. I felt like he became a bit of a philanderer and was a little too free with his "love." Nick loved every woman he was with, and even one he wasn't with. I just felt it was a betrayal to Anna who had a World War Two that was vastly different and inherently more damaging than Nick's. - Samantha (QBD)
Guest, 22/03/2017
