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Bryce Courtenay

    14. srpen 1933 – 22. listopad 2012

    Tento autor zkoumá hluboké, často náročné aspekty lidské zkušenosti. Jeho díla se ponoří do témat přežití, vzdělávání a hledání identity, zasazena do rozmanitých a někdy drsných prostředí. S osobitým stylem, který kombinuje syrovou upřímnost s hřejivým humanismem, autor nabízí čtenářům cestu do světa formovaného odolností, vlivem mentorů a nečekanými zvraty osudu. Jeho psaní je svědectvím o síle ducha tváří v tvář nepřízni osudu a o trvalém dopadu lidských vztahů.

    Bryce Courtenay
    Whitethorn
    Tandia
    The Potato Factory Trilogy - 1: The Potato Factory
    April fool's day
    Four Fires
    Hlavou a srdcem
    • Hlavou a srdcem

      • 485 stránek
      • 17 hodin čtení

      V poutavě napsaném románu vypráví autor ústy chudého anglického chlapce o poměrech v Jihoafrické republice během 2. světové války a těsně po ní. Jižní Afrika se v tomto období jeví exotickou nejen svou přírodou, ale i vztahy mezi lidmi. Není lehké, zvláště pro dítě, zorientovat se správně ve všech antagonistických skupinách. Černí Afričané nenávidí bílé kolonisty a ti jim oplácejí stejnou mincí, Búrové, první kolonisté, zase nenávidějí Angličany a všichni svorně nenávidějí Němce, třebaže někteří Búrové tajně fandí Hitlerovi. Šarvátky mezi těmito skupinami jsou na denním pořádku. Pro hrdinu knihy je všechno o to těžší, že nemá otce. Jeho životním štěstím je setkání s boxerským šampionem, který se stává jeho vzorem a chlapec stejně jako on chce v životě vítězit, ale čestným způsobem.

      Hlavou a srdcem
      4,4
    • Four Fires

      • 1068 stránek
      • 38 hodin čtení

      A story of the power of love and the triumph of the human spirit against the odds In a small town like any other small towns around Australia live the Maloneys. They are a fifth-generation Australian family of Irish Catholic descent who are struggling to reach the first rung of the social ladder. The Maloneys are a family you won't forget: a strong mother, a father broken by war, three boys and two girls, one of whom has an illegitimate daughter. Each of their lives is changed forever by the four fires – passion, religion, warfare and fire itself. 'Not since writing The Power of One have I felt this close to a book.' Bryce Courtenay Visit brycecourtenay.com

      Four Fires
      4,3
    • April fool's day

      • 648 stránek
      • 23 hodin čtení

      The author of The Power of One tells his most powerful and passionate story yet--the true story of his son's life and death from AIDS at the age of 25

      April fool's day
      4,2
    • Ikey Solomon is very successful indeed, in the art of thieving. Ikey's partner in crime is his mistress, the forthright Mary Abacus, until misfortune befalls them. They are parted and each must make the harsh journey from 19th century London to Van Diemens Land. In the backstreets and dives of Hobart Town, Mary learns the art of brewing and builds The Potato Factory, where she plans a new future. But her ambitions are threatened by Ikey's wife, Hannah, her old enemy. The two women raise their separate families. As each woman sets out to destroy the other, the families are brought to the edge of disaster.

      The Potato Factory Trilogy - 1: The Potato Factory
      4,2
    • Tandia

      • 920 stránek
      • 33 hodin čtení

      Tandia is a child of all Africa: half Indian, half African, beautiful and intelligent, she is only sixteen when she is first brutalised by the police. Her fear of the white man leads her to join the black resistance movement, where she trains as a terrorist. With her in the fight for justice is the one white man Tandia can trust, the welterweight champion of the world, Peekay. Now he must fight their common enemy in order to save both their lives.

      Tandia
      4,1
    • Whitethorn

      • 692 stránek
      • 25 hodin čtení

      From Bryce Courtenay comes a new novel about Africa. The time is 1939. White South Africa is a deeply divided nation with many of the Afrikaner people fanatically opposed to the English. The world is also on the brink of war and South Africa elects to fight for the Allied cause against Germany. Six-year-old Tom Fitzsaxby finds himself in The Boys Farm, an orphanage in a remote town in the high mountains, where the Afrikaners side fiercely with Hitler's Germany. Tom's English name proves sufficient for him to be ostracised, marking him as an outsider. And so begin some of life's tougher lessons for the small, lonely boy. Like the whitethorn, one of Africa's most enduring plants, Tom learns how to survive in the harsh climate of racial hatred. Then a terrible event sends him on a journey to ensure that justice is done. On the way, his most unexpected discovery is love. Visit brycecourtenay.com

      Whitethorn
      4,1
    • Jessica

      • 608 stránek
      • 22 hodin čtení

      'A superb storyteller ... it is impossible not to be impressed by Courtenay's talents' - The Times JESSICA is based on the real life of a remarkable young Australian woman who defied the conventions of her time. She had a stubborn streak and the courage to act out her convictions ... in spite of the consequences. This compelling, sweeping story is her personal fight for justice against enormous odds, and a testimony to the power of the human spirit to triumph over adversity.

      Jessica
      4,1
    • The Persimmon Tree

      • 711 stránek
      • 25 hodin čtení

      The Persimmon Tree is unashamedly a love story. I've always wanted to write one but until now have been afraid to do so. The reason is simple enough: most men in my experience have very little idea of what really goes on in a woman's heart or head. Now, at the age of 74, I just might know enough and have sufficient courage to write on the subject - the way of a man with a woman, of a woman with a man.My story is set in the Pacific, although not in the paradise we've always been led to believe exists there. It is 1942 in Java and the Japanese are invading the islands like a swarm of locusts.I have tried to capture the essence of love - how in a world gone mad with malice and hate, it has the ability to forgive and to heal. As it is in this story, love is always hard earned but, in the end, a most wonderful and necessary emotion. Without love, life for most of us would lack true meaning.Sincerely,Bryce Courtenay

      The Persimmon Tree
      4,1
    • When Mary Abacus dies, she leaves her business empire in the hands of the warring Solomon family. Hawk Solomon is determined to bring together both sides of the tribe - but it is the new generation who must fight to change the future.Solomons are pitted against Solomons as the families are locked in a bitter struggle that crosses battlefields and continents to reach a powerful conclusion.

      The Potato Factory Trilogy - 3: Solomon's Song
      4,1
    • Brutally kidnapped and separated in childhood, Tommo and Hawk are reunited at the age of fifteen in Hobart. Together they escape their troubled pasts and set off on a journey into manhood. From whale hunting in the Pacific to the Maori wars of New Zealand, from the Rocks in Sydney to the miners' riots at the goldfields, Tommo and Hawk must learn each other's strengths and weaknesses in order to survive. Especially in their last, worst confrontation between good and evil. Brilliantly evoking a time of struggle and triumph in the young colonies, Bryce Courtenay has created an unforgettable tale of the enduring bond between two brothers.

      Tommo and Hawk
      4,1