My Christmas book is finally finished--all 666 pages of very small print. My 5 star books all hit my heart and emotions but this one earned 4 for many reasons. Taking place in early 1800's starting in England with a actual character from history, the author weaves a story involving people in the lower levels of humanity; Ikey Solomon (he was the real man), the fence, his street urchins, the whore houses--the scenes that had I lived then I hopefully would not have known. Ikey schemes got him shipped off to Australia to the penal colonies--along with his wife and his accountant, Mary Abacus.
All of this is history of which I was unfamiliar so the details were fascinating as were the characters whose solutions to their problems were clever and daring.
Man's cruelty to Man, the lowly place of women, the sad treatment of the Australian Aborigines were all an integral part of the story but all of this was elevated by the courage of the characters to rise above the challenges.

I'm a bit undecided with The Potato Factory by Bryce Courtenay.

Yes, there's no doubt that Bryce Courtenay is a great writer. He has the ability to make you believe that you are experiencing the same things with the characters whether its in the streets of 19th century London or the colonial outpost that was Van Damien Island and even projecting sympathy towards the lowest scums of English society. Also, the way he sets up the background of the story is nothing short of perfect, you know each detail has been meticulously researched it was almost like I was reading a very interesting history book about how people lived in that time.

I was there, I bought the story however after the first quarter of the novel I started to have an ominous feeling that I wasn't going to love this book. Boredom came first; Courtenay tended to repeat and rattle on about unnecessary facts explaining every minute detail. Although at times it is interesting, it does get annoying after a while hence the next dilemma. I started to get annoyed that the story was never going to finish because it kept diverting into these other random facts and story lines. There was a point that I really felt that I was reading a completely different book! I understand that there was a next chapter to the story however I believe that Courtenay should have just finished telling the story between Ikey, Mary and Hannah before he dives into the next book. Furthermore, the ending seemed abrupt and rushed like he realised he run out of time or any more paper.

Although the next book does seem interesting, the book was a disappointment especially since it had so much potential in the beginning.

My second attempt at a Courtenay, and will be my last. I just don’t like his writing style or the way he goes about telling a story. Initially I was intrigued enough to see where the story went, but as with ‘Power of One’ the long-winded writing got the better of me. This felt like some sort of ribald dark comedy, with falling on bosoms and getting tangled in skirts, amongst gang rapes and beatings; a smattering of Dickensian darkness with the antics of Richardson’s Pamela. Skipped ahead after 130 pages, but found nothing to entice me to stay.

3.5/5 stars.

Gosh - I can see why this author was popular back in the day. He wrote an incredible story that at times was harrowing and shocking but also left you feeling smitten and hopeful.

He writes an English/Scottish/Irish/jewish accent so well, you can really hear the accent through the page. I love the tidbits of slang he used. As a reader you got a good sense what it was like being a convict on the ships to Australia and the colonisation (genocide) of Aboriginal Australians. A short history lesson without being too grappling to understand.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but the first half of the book at times was incredibly dry (for me at least) and it was hard to push through. I am thankful that I did because everything was wrapped up and tied in a bow and all the little tidbits made sense in the end!

3.7 stars (ik that’s not how rounding works but I’m flooring it so it’s 3 now)

TLDR review:
Superfluous

Long winded review:
As many middle-aged Australian women had promised, as they seem particularly infatuated with the author - perhaps even more than his oeuvre, Courtenay delivered moments of striking literary excellence and emotional depth. His scenes and narratives were imbued with such poignant gravitas that I found myself profoundly unsettled, a pervasive disquiet engulfing my entire sensibility for days on end, occasionally compelling me to succumb to tears as I read. Conversely, there were passages that elicited immense joy and laughter, prompting me to eagerly devour each page to follow the unfolding adventures. On other occasions, the unexpected twists and turns were so startling that I found it necessary to momentarily close the book and take a contemplative turn about the room, grappling with the sheer magnitude of the revelations I had just encountered.

The rest of the book was such a fuckin slogggggg to get through Jesus Christ. What a shit read (80% of the time).

Bryce Courtenay is an incredible storyteller!! His characters jump off the page and the settings are so vividly described you feel as though you have seen them with your own eyes!!

There was one particularly strange turn in this story, which I didn't like, but Courtenay twisted it into a couple of more characters that were amazingly entertaining to read about.

I'm rather torn between this being a very average book, most appealing to those whom love history, and a very good book, appealing most to those whom love a creative re-write of history.
I don't know much about the details regarding Isaac Solomon, Australian History, and poverty conditions of Victorian British Imperialism so I'm sure much is lost on me. That said the level of detail Courtenay includes is either brilliantly researched or utterly fantastic fiction.

The constant violence, particularly against women, children, and minorities is dismaying. Mostly because my modern sensibilities tell me its appalling but, probably , completely accurate.

I kept putting the audio file away then coming back to it - the narrative never succeeding in holding my attention, possibly due to my subject matter ignorance - But back to it I consistently came.

I'm glad I did as it finished spectacularly, securing my readership for the second book.

Lately I have been on a Bryce Courtenay reading marathon. After just finishing April Fool's Day I wanted to read more from this author that has touched my life, particularly with his first novel The Power of One. That is definitely "absolutal" on my favorite list.

In the preface to this novel Courtney writes:
"These were dark times, bleak times, hard times, times where a poor man's life was regarded as less valuable than that of a pig, a poor Jew's far less valuable even than that. That Ikey Solomon's life could have happened as it did in fact, allows my fiction to exploit the ability of the human spirit to transcend the vile tyranny of which humankind has proved so consistently capable. In these terms Ikey Solomon was a real-life hero and my fiction cannot possibly do him justice."

I realized after reading this that I was in for quite the experience of a fictional account of "Fagan" from Dicken's Oliver Twist. I was somewhat prepared for filth and squalor and it definitely was in abundance.

Bryce Courtenay is an impressive researcher, and little did I know how much I didn't know. I was transported from London which is part one in the book to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). This was a first experience for me reading about England's penal colony. I was engaged in the story. Many of the characters are absolutely reprehensible and I must confess that the sordid and sagacious details were taxing. I questioned why he included certain "lurid" details that I didn't think enhanced the story line and the book would have been better without them. However, with that said, Courtney had reeled me in and I wanted to finish and know what he designed for these characters (which are rich and remind me so much of Dicken's masterful ability to create "forever" literary heroes and villains).

There are some poignant sections that will stay with me. Not wanting to write any spoilers, just let me say that "hands" hold great significance for me with this book. Helping hands, hurting hands, stealing hands, loving hands, deformed hands - they are all there.

By the time I was seven hundred pages into this novel, I was ready to be "free" from all of the injustice and political corruption. I wish it had been shorter. While I will read the next book (by the way this novel and it's sequel are the two best sellers in Australia I read), I need a break away from squalor and filth for awhile.

I was surprised at the distinct similarities between Bryce Courtenayand Jeffrey Archer. Neither popular and prolific author started writing until they were in their fifties. There are numerous similarities and in some remote ways this novel reminded me of Kane and Abel.

Sixteen hundred pages plus pages say that I do like this author's style and ability. The Power of One remains my favorite (unquestionably) and I would rank this novel The Potato Factory a four plus if I could. Neglected to mention that I did listen to about a fourth of the book and the narrator is excellent.

Although I took a long while to read this book and I thought it started out slowly, once I got into it I could not stop reading it, and finished over 600 pages in three days all the while reading three other books at the same time! It reads to me like a Dickens novel, set in the same time period (and with Mr. Dickens himself making an appearance!), although I think the action happens in a much faster manner than in some of the Dickens novels. The sense of time and place is really strong, and the characters are well-developed. I can't remember, though, ever rooting for the criminals to succeed like I did in this book - lol - although there are several that the reader loves to hate, as well. The story of Ikey and Mary and Hannah is mesmerizing, with all of the twists and turns of fate and their own strengths and weaknesses. The whole story is a testament to the class structure of the whole world which transcends time and place, and definitely exists in our world today, as do the personalities of the characters, both good and bad.
I didn't realize until just now that there are two sequels, and I will definitely be reading them. I can see why Bryce Courtenay is a much celebrated author.

This sat on the book shelf for many years after having read a few of Bryce Courtney’s novels i.e. The Power of One, Tandia, Mathew Flinders Cat and The Story of Danny Dunn. The Power of One was brilliant but each subsequent novel became a bit of a challenge and I felt that Bryce Courtney’s novels were about a quarter too long.

The Potato Factory presents what appears to be a thoroughly researched account of the real life character Ikey Solomon. Knowing where the factual Ikey leaves off and the fictional Ikey begins would be of interest and I wonder also how the descriptions of the cruelty and human traits are embellished for the novel. A lot I would hope.

I enjoy historic fiction and I enjoyed this book. Notwithstanding the above I have given this novel 4 stars. I look forward to reading ‘Tommo and Hawk’ and ‘Solomon’s Song’.

It took me some time to get into this one. Everything about this book is so descriptive. About a quarter in it finally hit, I couldn’t stop reading this soap opera drama. My Australian husband recommended I read this series. He read it when he was much younger and thought it would be a good history lesson of sorts about Australia through this historical fiction series. If you’ve started and can’t get into it, hang on!! I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

Loved this book! This is now the 3rd book I have read by the author and I plan to read more. The first I had read was "The Power of One" which is a truly marvelous book, after that I read "The Persimmon Tree" which was a slow and plodding disappointment to me. And so I came to this book on my Kindle and had no idea what to expect. What I got was a book that held my rapt attention, a book that was a super fast and interesting read, a book that includes two characters that also appear in Charles Dickens book Oliver Twist, and a whole lot of really great history on England, the British legal and penal systen, and Van Diemen's Land, which is now known as Tasmania.
We follow the fortunes of Ikey Solomon (Fagin), a young street urchin in London (The Artful Dodger), Bob Marley, Ikey's estranged and vengeful wife Hannah and her children, Mary Abacas who is truly Ikey's love of his life and who turns from prostitute to business woman when her fortunes turn, and one of the great characters I have ever come across who is eventually known as Sperm Whale Sally!
This is an eventful book that follows the fortunes and misfortunes of Ikey and how he gets in and out of trouble, along with the journey of Mary who is a mathematical whiz with the device that gives her her last name. We follow them through all sorts of adventures in London and then when they all eventually are banished to the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, and how this trio act and sometimes interact on the island.
It is a wonderful read and is the first of a trilogy, the second being Tommo and Hawk, and for me this was a wonderful and enjoyable read.