ARM

OK but not his best - Second time I read this

Revisado: 02-23-17

When I selected this book , I had not realized it was part of a series and I had previously listened to "Only Time Will Tell"
(which I had loved).

My first objection to this book was that the familiar voices of the characters from "Only Time . . . ." were now totally different which distorted the image of their personalities in my mind's eye.

Second, the long, drawn out chapters of the board meetings were not easy to get through.

What Archer comments about Nelson Mandela is totally unacceptable in today's world and the hero Mandela turned out to be for the South African people; although it might have been acceptable at the time the book was written.

Finally this brings me to how totally snobby and stuffy and out of touch the English upper class are (or were).

My grandparents come from that society - definitely not my pride and joy.

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Fabulous!!

Revisado: 10-12-16

have now also watched endless YouTube's of their Olympic race. can't wait for the movie

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Tragic yet we'll written

Revisado: 10-07-16

this is the most difficult review I've had to write. it was not easy to accompany the author through the horrors of his own childhood; the seemingly insurmountable obstacles he and his family faced; his persistence; his eventual success and yet the sacrifice of having to leave his family behind knowing the conditions they had to face in order to pursue his dream. Saddest of all, it's another example of man's inhumanity to man; and yet I couldn't stop reading it. My compliments to Mark for having the courage to re live the nightmares onto paper.

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Struggled to finish

Revisado: 02-20-16

the first half of the book I loved. The second half drug on and on and he spent too much time focused on how his childhood had affected him. I love Courtenay's books but this one was a disappointment and it was too similar to his first one; "The Power of One"

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The Best

Revisado: 01-31-16

Not sure who I love more; Bryce Courtenay or Humphrey Bower but one certainly can't be without the other. Four Fires is the best so far. Couldn't stop listening. so many scharacter stories masterfully woven together. I laughed ; I cried and I despaired at the atrocities of the Japanese and the multi generational affects PTSD has on families of victims. At one point I was so distressed I had to stop listening and wasn't sure I could come back and finish it. I'll never look at a Japanese the same way again. Courtenay relies on his team's intense historical research and accurate detail.

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struggled to finish

Revisado: 01-08-16

I love Bryce Courtenay and more so Humphrey Bower but some psrts drug on and on with disappointing conclusions. Were it not for Mr Bower I would have given up.

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In the beginning I almost return the book

Revisado: 09-24-15

i have mixed feelings about this one after falling in love with "Tandia" and "The Power of One. "
I did not like the beginning and don't even remember why or why i kept listening but soon i found I could not put it down. What a story teller! Bryce has such a way of weaving in the magic of the native traditions and the injustices by the bloody white supremacists. i am not proud of that part of my English heritage. The story is heart breaking from beginning to end but I'm so glad i didn't stop reading. Get the tissues out!

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Too ĺong

Revisado: 09-08-15

Really enjoyed the first 40 chapters. A relaxing, feel good story. Many places where I thought it was a good place to end but it kept dragging on and on and getting less and less believable. 10 chapters too many. Great narrators though and that's key!

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DISAPPOINTED

Revisado: 08-11-15

Nice story. Poorly written - amateur. Narrator did not do it justice and did not have a good voice

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what a history lesson!

Revisado: 07-30-15

What is apartheid anyway? Yes, I was that ignorant! Throughout my life there was regular reference to it and Nelson Mandela on the news but that was in Africa, what did I care? Then I saw a brief portrait of him in my favorite "true story fairy tale" Invictus and I fell in love with this hero but oh was there yet a lot to learn!
It wasn't until I chanced on two of Bryce Courtenay's books: " The Power of One " and "Tandia" that I realized how little I knew and it became urgent to learn what apartheid and the History of South Africa was about so I researched S.A. history books. I wanted not too brief to really learn anything or one too long that I'd lose interest. La Pierre's book was perfect. it's hard to call a book that tells such a sad story 'fabulous'. It's well researched, beautifully put together and so well narrated by Rudnicki. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know about S.A. It had to be emotionally difficult to write and even more so to narrate. My hats off to you gentleman. I wept, I laughed and several times had to stop listening for days at a time because I'd be so emotionally impacted that I could not sleep and my heart was so heavy with shame; shame that I could belong to a race of people capable of such savagery; not just for a day or a season but for over 340 YEARS!

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