The Persimmon Tree cover art

The Persimmon Tree

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Persimmon Tree

By: Bryce Courtenay
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.99

Buy Now for $24.99

About this listen

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.

©2007 Bryce Courtenay. By arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia).; 2013 Bryce Courtenay. By arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia). (P)2007 Bolinda Publishing 20th Century Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Imperial Japan Singapore Solider

Critic Reviews

"The ultimate international bestseller." (The New York Times)
"When the Japanese invade Indonesia in 1942, 17-year-old Australian Nick Duncan escapes by sailing a yacht across the ocean. It's a harrowing journey made manageable, in part, by Nick's hope that his new love, Anna, is safely on her way to Australia. Unfortunately, Anna is stuck in Indonesia, a prisoner of the Japanese. Humphrey Bower's narration makes it a pleasure. His skills should be a model. He reads with anticipation, so that a line written as a laugh or a sob is read as a laugh or a sob without being overdramatized. His characterizations reveal personality and motive, and hold steady throughout the book. And his pacing keeps us interested even when the plot is predictable." (AudioFile Magazine)
All stars
Most relevant  
This book had me in tears on more than one occasion. An author that can produce raw emotion like that is a genius in my opinion.

Sad but beautiful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Bryce Courtney, well, what can you say! Brilliant writer, great story line, interesting characters, funny and witty. Narrator Andrew Bower is superb, swapping effortlessly from each character with the accent, personality and feeling all balanced together to create a genuine relationship with each and every character in this book.

Very pleasant listening to this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
historical, romantic, emotional, and captivating this book has it all. Narrated by the talented and versatile Humphrey Bower, this cleaver story is well worth listening too.

another fabulous Bryce Courtenay story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I am looking forward to listening to book two.

Great yarn. Well performed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the story although the Cruelty at it's worst ,just because of greed over land and the colour of one's skin, was hard to listen to. Humphrey Bower triumphs as always!!

The Cruelty of the Human Race!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book found it hard to put aside until I could listen again. besides enjoyable story very informative, about life in the islands during WW11

thoroughly enjoyed this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Throughly enjoyed this clever hat-tip to our Pacific history. I'm sad that it's over! Highly recommend!

Gripping

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have loved every Bryce Courtenay book I’ve read. This is the first one I have listened to on Audio book and the longest audio book I’ve listened to. The story kept my interest at every moment. The Narrator is one of the best I’ve ever listened to. His character voices were brilliant and helped me keep track of who was who in the story. Are there awards for Audio book narrators? This guy should win one for sure!!

Bryce Courteney never disappoints

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Persimmon Tree was a fantastic book! The narrator was brilliant! I'm stoked with the whole experience!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this story although I didn’t like the ending.
Jumping fifty years didn’t quite do it for me.
The narrator had a voice that any Australian would love.
The hero and heroine were strong and worthy characters.
Their life stories were scary and tragic but they never gave up on each other.
The best by far that I have read by Bryce Courtenay.

A Classic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.