This book was made even more special as I lived around where the Four Fires was based and I could relate to the area and the story. What a powerful book!!

The story of the Maloney family, a fifth generation Australian family of Irish Catholic descent, commences ten years after the end of WWII. Living in a small Australian town and collecting the garbage to make a living, makes it difficult for any Moloney to be accepted.

The voice of Mole, the second youngest, takes us through the stories of Nancy his mother, Tommy his surrogate father, Mike and Bozo his brothers and Sarah and Colleen his sisters.

The author uses the four fires of passion, religion, warfare and fire itself to endear this family to the reader. Only little Colleen has WWII veteran and petty thief Tommy as her father. She was born after he returned from his horrendous time in Changi prison and witnessing other dreadful Japanese atrocities. He is a surrogate father to the other four children who all know that their mother Nancy loves them very much and is not ashamed of having them under the various circumstances in which they were born to different fathers.

Nancy is a strong willed “collapsed” Catholic, as voiced by Mole, who manages to raise a resilient and strong family with the help of immigrant Jews who become close friends and Mrs Rika Ray an Indian neighbour befriended by the family when Mole saves her life in a fire.

Jack Donovan the local policeman and Mrs Barrington-Stone the Australian President of the CWA, befriend the Maloney family even though Tommy the husband is a binge drunk and petty criminal.

The 770 pages of this book resounded with me as a child of the fifties and beyond. Hard work and going without is common place for the whole Maloney family but it is also filled with the passion of love, humour and Mole's special way of recounting the family story. There were sections I wanted to re-read because I enjoyed them so much.

Bryce Courtney is an outstanding Australian author and has never disappointed me.

This is a hard one to rate. It took me nearly a month to read. There were some great bits and emotional parts but there was also a lot of fluff. I think it could have been cut down a heap and not lost the story. I was confused by where it suddenly jumped at 90% but it all tied in together.
I knew nothing of the war with Japan and both it and the German stories were hard to read. On the other hand the dressmaking parts were boring other than the history. That is what I liked the most about this book. The ending was actually predictable in a way.

The Maloney family is the lowest of the low in the small town of Yankalillee. Nancy Maloney is the big woman in daisy floral dresses that keep her brood together. She wants them to reverse the snobbery of the town from the Protestants against them as an Irish Catholic family. It's difficult to do they collect garbage. Tommy, her husband, is the father to some of the children. He's also a petty thief and drunk.

Sarah is top of the class at school and she wants to become a doctor. The boys all have their talents. Mike is a whizz at embroidery, sewing, and designing clothes. Bozo has his team of dogs doing tricks for money. He likes boxing, and you'd never guess where he could go with that, providing Nancy approves. Mole is the one to carry on the firefighting tradition started by his grandfather and carried on by Tommy, who takes him out bush and educates him in bushcraft. The youngest girl in the family is Tommys' child.

This is a Bryce Courtenay Aussie yarn. I love the family dynamics. It's a book that takes a bit of getting into as I was wondering who was going to get killed, as often happens in his books. I was delighted with the ending. Love wins out.

This is a loooong story, but to my mind could have continued. Courtney weaved an epic family saga that kept me glued to audible. Yes, audible. Without the magic of Humphrey Bower the book would have been less. A wonderful experience all round.

Love Bryce Courtenay and all his works. Four Fires follows Mole Maloney through his very roller coaster life in rural Victoria.
From Bronze medals, bottoms-wiping certificates and taking on universities this book is just a true joy to read.
Always remember take the spoon outta the sink.

I really wanted to love this, but I didn't. The author created fabulous characters and a great plot but the way it has been told ended up, in my opinion, being clunky. The amount of time spent on telling a back story would have been easier to read if the author had used different literary devices such as having chapters narrated by a different character. The characters and storyline were good enough that I pushed myself to finish it. To be honest, I am not passing this book onto anyone else to read.

I normally am not a fan of historical fiction - but this was recommended to me. First Bryce Courtenay book - although appears long (~1000 pages), kept me engaged. I enjoyed learning about the Maloney family and how they changed and grew over the years. This is in my "to read again in the future" pile.

It was thought provoking. The personality of each character and every single detail of their entire life makes it seem like you are part of the family and going through their struggles.

When you finish the book and you look at what it started you can actually see how much everyone changed and grew as a person.

I highly recommend this book.

I have read many of Bryce Courtenay's books and thoroughly enjoyed them all, but this one is so very special! A brilliant read about an Australian family - their escapades, love and humour - under all types of trying circumstances! Such cleverly written work, by such a talented writer!

Never disappointed with Bryce Courtney.

Those, especially Australians, who would like a greater understanding of the Vietnam war will want to read Four Fires.
Courtney has also given a brilliant depiction of life in a small outback community. Like all of Courtney’s books it is an entertaining and enjoyable read.