Fishing for Stars

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Nicholas Duncan is a semi-retired shipping magnate who resides in idyllic Beautiful Bay in Indonesia. Grieving the loss of his wife, Anna, he is suffering for the first time from disturbing flashbacks to WWII, the scene of their first meeting. His other wartime lover is the striking Marg Hamilton, a powerful Australian political player still close to Nick.

Encouraged by a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Specialist, Nick sets about writing his life, drawing us into the compelling tale of the life he has lived since his war-hero days, building a shipping empire, and loving the women who inspire him.

©2008 Bryce Courtenay. By arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia). Christine Courtenay (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"The right level of intellectual and emotional stimulation for a relaxing holiday read." (The Sunday Age)

'"Thrilling" (The Gold Coast Bulletin)

'"...certain to join its predecessors on the bestseller lists." (The Launceston Examiner)

'"The wait is over" (The Sunday Tasmanian)

Not one of Courtney's Best

What did you like best about Fishing for Stars? What did you like least?

As always, Humphrey Bower's does a masterful job of bringing the story to life, but unlike other Courtenay books this one never really grabbed and held me. It felt like Courtenay wasn't sure where he was going with this one. At several points I was tempted to abandon the book but trudged on to a so-so ending. Glad this wasn't the first Courtenay book I listened to as I would likely have passed on his other very excellent books.

The worst of Courtney's...

I'm a big fan of the author's, but this book was a struggle. The characters are annoying and I really ended up hating them towards the end, plus, there's some perverse justification for heroin, which is a complete fantasy co concocted from someone who obviously doesn't know much about it, as well as a weird version of throuple (what, there aren't enough men in the world for the characters to dite over the same one?) ... I just couldn't root for Anna, as she in my opinion, was just a traumatized annoying brat, always getting her way from the main character, who seemed just a pushover. I'm disappointed and couldn't wait to finish this book.

Butterflies

Fantastic narrators, complex life shared in a warm compassionate manner. Many thanks to the author and his staff.

Wish there was a trilogy

Loved both these books particularly Humphrey’s narrating - intriguing story that keeps current and weaves in history

Stellar read

This is the fifth book I have read by this wonderful author and I am at the point where if I am not sure what to use a credit on I can always go to a Bryce Courtenay book and don't even need to see what it's about and know that it will be a marvelous read. This was very much the case with this book. It is just shy of 23 hours long and I wish it could have been twice that long since I enjoyed it so much. Humphrey Bower did a fabulous job as the narrator as well.