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Whitethorn cover art

Whitethorn

Written by: Bryce Courtenay
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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Publisher's Summary

From the author of The Power of One 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.
©2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty. Ltd

What listeners say about Whitethorn

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perhaps better than the power of one but different

this book although I must admit may have seemed nearly identical to the power of one/ tandia has proven to have been different in a great way. the narrator Humphrey had as usual nailed the accentuation that I would never have achieved had I read it with my eyes. Awesome!

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Too Close to The power Of One

While this was an entertaining read, having read the Power Of One some years ago, I struggled to really like this novel. I think Courtenay took the exact recipe for this previous best seller and tried to recreate the epic tale. It was however, a little too close to his previous novel in almost every detail. Set in Apartheid South Africa, young clever Eglish boy with the odds stacked against him, loves a black south african and therefore cannot tolerate the injustices perpetrated against them by the white mainly Boer south african: who are portrayed as absolutely brutal. Both characters grow up to to become lawyers and right an injustice from childhood. Both characters even find puppies they must rescue and hide and who become their best friend. I wondered many times while reading this novel why would a publisher publish essentially the same novel with small details and names changed? And of course not as much boxing. Humphrey Bower is absolute gold

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Power of One V2.0

If you are looking for a book nearly identical to the Power of One its a great book. The similarities between the two books are abundant. If you haven't read the Power of One read it instead. Still an enjoyable listen.

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