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Kings in Grass Castles
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Publisher's Summary
When Patrick Durack left Ireland for Australia in 1853, he was to found a dynasty of pioneers, and build an empire of cattle-land across the great stretches of Australia. His grand-daughter, Mary Durack, with a profound sense of family history, has rebuilt the saga of the Duracks, a saga that is the story of Australia itself, huge, pioneering, and tremendous in concept.
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Average Customer Ratings
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4 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars16
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4 Stars4
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2 Stars1
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Performance
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4 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars13
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4 Stars6
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3 Stars2
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2 Stars1
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Story
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars16
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4 Stars4
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1 Stars1
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brian Treloar
- 20-04-2016
Total enjoyment
Beautifully read and what a cracker of a tale.
The reader made you feel like you were actually there .
Thank you very much.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Marita
- 26-02-2019
A real insight into our Australian history
I found this book hard going, but well worth the effort. As an audiobook, I soon got confused about who was who, and where was where. It also lacked any real emotive connection with the characters. Basically it is a chronicle of events over the life span of one man. The reading was mostly the sound of a memoir, but the reader was brilliant at the character accents. A tough gig to read a chronicle of events. On the upside, what an inspiring story. The book has changed my understanding of Australian history. Those Irishmen were true pioneers, courageous and generous and bold. Also some food for thought on the indigenous issue. The title - brilliant. Kings in Grass Castles - their kingdoms blow away with every drought or flood, but those brave families never gave up. A heritage I never really appreciated.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- David Holmes
- 16-02-2016
Reader Cannot Salvage Poorly written story
The reader was professional and made a seriously sentimental and overwritten story at least endurable. But I cannot recommend this Audiobook, which I stuck with to the end, because the writing is in serious need aggressive editing and a sorting out of fact from fiction. I have written a review for the book, which I read in tandem with the Audiobook, on Amazon and Goodreads.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Paddington
- 30-04-2013
disappointing
I wanted to read this story because I had visited the Durack homestead at the Ord River in the Kimberley Western Australia and because I recently met a young man who is a descendant of the Durack family. They were a remarkable Irish pioneer family. However, this particular account is sadly dreadfully tedious and boring. It covers far too much detail like a family diary.
Much of the detail is not really required to provide a good account of the family sage. Too many suppositions are made to interpret the early Durack's thoughts.
This in the only audible book I have found boring. I was determined to listen to the end but it never improved. I hope that someone with writing skill can redo this particular story and concentrate on a shorter span of their saga. It would be a tale worth writing in a more entertaining and readable style by a talented writer.