"April Fool's Day" by Bryce Courtney
Audiobook read by Humphrey Bower
Reviewed 04 March 2021

I first got into Bryce Courtney on one of my early trips to Australia with Matthew Flinder's Cat and loved his writing style. I've read several of his books since, in no particular order. After you read one book of his, they start to sound a bit similar. But this one is different, very different.

Firstly, this story was not based on fiction; it is a story about the author's son Damon who was born a hemaphiliac and suffered a great deal of bleeds throughout his life. He needed several blood transfusions and from one of them, he contracted the HIV virus. After a serious wisdom tooth removal surgery that went badly, his HIV status turned into full blown AIDS. Damon was lucky enough to find a loyal girlfriend who stayed with him to the ever end.

On the last page (p. 666), Celeste wrote: "...love is an energy - it can neither be created nor destroyed. It just is and always will be, giving meaning to life and direction to goodness. Our live will never die." Young and true love of this kind is rare to find. Damon was very lucky to have such a determined, strong and loyal person by his side. Damon is quite an inspiration, too. I found that he was very impressive with his goals in life, never showing any hesitations or blame for his illnesses.

Although Damon's story is truly tragic, he will always be remembered by me. When he stayed in the gay clinic, Damon met a gay man named John who served for the army and his parents had no idea her was ill or gay. Bryce had talked him into inviting his parents to visit. When they finally do, they didn't even sit close to John or look at him, but instead were disgraced to learn that their son was gay and had contracted the HIV virus as a result of unsafe homosexual practices. After they left, John had committed suicide. That part made my cry hard.

I loved that Bryce clarified that AIDS was AIDS, not matter how a person got it. Having contracted the HIV virus from gay intercourse does not make it any different from having contracted the HIV virus from medical treatments. The stigma around HIV was just bad and during those days of the 90's, the ignorance of people made them not understand how to properly deal with the health issues. But unfortunately, having an AIDS patient who was mental and bleeds easily was out of many doctor's realm of expertise during that time.

Bryce Courtney's writing in this book was raw and very personal. After reading this book (and also listening to the audiobook), I feel as though Bryce, Damon, and Celeste were part of my extended family. I know that Benita's perspective was given towards the end, but I wonder how much more she could have added to the story if she her point of view was given more freely. She sounded like a very angry individual after all that has happened to/ with her youngest son. I stopped to wonder how a death of a child could effect a marriage.

I've recently read Courtney's very last book "Jack of Diamonds" and recall him thanking his wife Christine, so somewhere along the line, he must have remarried. I heard about this book and could not wait to read it. It did not disappoint at all! This is by far, my favourite book of Mr. Courtenay's. It was a very well-written and interesting story of an exceptional young man, whose legacy will live on through many of the people who knew Damon personally and those who got to know him through his story.

This book is overly long and tedious in its level of detail. I understand that it is an attempt to make sense of the death of a greatly loved son, but 639 pages filled at times with the minutiae of serious illness does become a challenge to finish.
It is also somewhat dated now, but does serve to show us how things have changed in both attitudes to, and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Hopefully for the better.
(This review is of course not meant in any way to belittle what the family went through, and my admiration for people who are prepared to share such intimate details of their personal lives)

This book is incredible. So sad and tragic, be prepared for lots of crying. Learned so much about blood and illness. Really wish it was a work of fiction

作者的兒子戴門因血友病, 長期輸血, 在人生中的不知道第幾次輸血時得到了愛滋(後來上網查一下, 原來在1983年醫療體系發現, 原來有一群血友病患因為血液製劑問題得到愛滋, 台灣也有五十幾例).
血友病友本來就很辛苦了, 又得到愛滋病, 光這兩句話, 應該就搏得一把同情淚了. 書中戴門的勇敢(也曾沮喪)、當時醫療體系的高高在上的態度、外界對愛滋的異樣眼光, 共同組成了這一則我們過去不知道的故事!

Amazing, life affirming and a MUST read. If you want to read more of my thoughts I wrote a blog post about the book https://ethnabrave.wordpress.com/2017....

Wow! I know my eyes are still red from crying as I finished this book this morning before heading to work. Obviously that was not a good choice but what do you do? This is a book so full of courage and love that my words won't do it justice.
Bryce Courtenay writes his son's story of growing up as a haemophiliac who acquires AIDS from a blood transfusion during the time when AIDS was just hitting the news in the states. Damon grew up in Australia so no one really new what it was all about until it was too late and it was already in the blood banks.
Damon's attitude thoughout his 24 years of living with thousands of blood transfusions and an endless amount of sickness of one form or another is amazing! When he is in his late teens he meets Celeste, another teenager and the love that grows between them is one you just don't hear about. She becomes his world and he becomes hers.
This book took me through many emotions, including sadness, but it was also an inspiration in so many ways. I highly recommend it.
Bryce is one of my favorite authors and even though this was a true story (non-fiction is just not my favorite)he always weaves a tale that sweeps you up and draws you inside.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay is one of my favorite books of all time, but since he's not big in the U.S., it's difficult to find other books by him. I found April Fool's Day in a used book store, and was excited to read it.

This was a great book, but not in the traditional sense. It's got the same great story-telling feel that Power of One had, but it's completely different because this is the true story of his son Damon's struggle with haemophilia. To stop his "bleeds" he needed regular blood transfusions to stay alive, which ironically ultimately killed him as he contracted HIV from one.

Some parts of this book were tough to read, and I had to put it down a few times and take a mental break. The effects of Damon's diseases were so awful and the thought of watching a family member go through that was pretty terrible. It's amazing to me that Bryce Courtenay was able to write this book with all the painful memories it must have brought up.

I almost feel like the title of his debut novel "The Power of One" would have been more fitting for this novel. Despite the horrible fortune dealt to Damon from the moment he was born with haemophilia and later AIDS, he never wanted to be a burden on his family or his girlfriend Celeste. He faced each day with a positive outlook and always believed he could beat his diseases eventually and made huge plans for his future, and he never complained about the immense pain he was constantly enduring. He had an inner strength that is rare for anyone, let alone someone who was dealt such a bad hand.

Overall, a great story. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is very sensitive as the story is very honest and the effects of the diseases were disturbing. It will change your outlook on people suffering from AIDS and make you thankful for having your health, something we all take for granted every day.

APRIL FOOL'S DAY is a very sad but true story,

Bryce allows us into his own personal reality, (worts an all) ... I'm in awe how Mr Courtney expresses our Human conditions of love sadness loss and joy in his writings and it warms my soul to think there is an abundance of compassion out there ! ... A homage to the late and wonderful story telling of Bryce ( he can so eloquently write in words what most of us have difficulty understanding as a feeling ) ... A wonderful life and what a way to honour his own Son ... truly Heart warming he is to the written word what Nina Samone was to Blues and Gospel.

Rating - 9.7

Fantastic emotional voyage that is both inspiring and depressing; Bryce is one of the best writers I have come across and you can feel the love between Damon and Celeste

Celeste's love for Damon is one unparalleled and is inspirational for those that are devoted to this concept - tragedy was the norm for Damon yet his love conquered all

Thank you Bryce Courtney for sharing this with me and the rest of the world. You opened your home, life and family and educated me with the realities surrounding Aids.

I believe this book helped make me a better person and will touch any heart who chooses to read it.

xxx

A good book. I found it a bit repetitive in the middle, beginning and end very powerful. Provides amazing insight into what those with Damon’s illness suffered through - quite horrendous - along with the insensitivity of the medical profession, at times, in remembering they are dealing with people not just their afflictions. Worth reading