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The Tree of Man

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The Tree of Man

By: Patrick White
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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About this listen

An extraordinary story about a couple’s experience of moving into the remote Australian wilderness.

Stan Parker, with only a horse and a dog for company, journeys to a remote patch of land he has inherited in the Australian hills. Once the land is cleared and a rudimentary house built, he brings his wife, Amy, to the wilderness. Together they face lives of joy and sorrow as they struggle against the environment.

©2019 Patrick White (P)2019 Bolinda Publishing Classics
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This is as close as prose can get to poetry. The beauty and power of the imagery herein are arguably unrivalled by any other author. if you respect language and the art of literature then you simply must read this.

Must Read

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"The Tree of Man" is an Australian classic, but it's only "Australian" in the sense that War and Peace is a "Russian" classic.
It's not an easy read: there is not a wasted word, and you need to read thoughtfully every second to catch all of the rich scene White is depicting.

But it's a rich fruit cake of a book, a lively and thoughtful picture of human lives, where the "exciting" events - war, bushfires - are interesting for what they mean to people and do to people.

This audio version is well done, though the reader does not fully match White's genius, and this jars occasionally, but few readers could do better, I expect. Hearing The Tree of Man makes it markedly more approachable for me at least, and I wish I'd come across this earlier.

A wonderful book enhanced by a good reader

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Truly one of the greatest books ever written. I have not encountered a story that has ever understood humans so deeply.

The Definitive Australian Novel

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I cried like a baby for Stan. This is a bold fair-dinkum story told very well.

So Australian. So wonderful.

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downloaded because I'm a big fan of the narrator and it had good star rating but maybe I should listen to it one sitting. had its moments

very hard to follow when listening to in parts

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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.