Book Of The Week

The Sunday Age

Sunday December 14, 2008

Patricia Maunder

FISHING FOR STARS

By Bryce Courtenay

Penguin, $49.95

Bryce Courtenay adds a soupcon of environmental issues to his classic mix of drama, sex and historical detail. Patricia Maunder enjoys his latest Christmas door-stopper.

For years now, a big, new Bryce Courtenay novel has appeared about a month before Christmas and, just as inevitably, they sell very well. It's because his books offer good summer-holiday reading, and his latest, Fishing for Stars, is no exception.

Its language is uncomplicated, the historical detail fascinating, the main characters intriguing and, at 600 pages, there may be no need to take more than one book on your getaway. Courtenay makes easy reading, ideal for sitting on beach towels and banana lounges, when there's no need to hurry or overly tax the grey matter (so if you only enjoy subtle, complex books, even on holiday, forget it).

Fishing for Stars is the sequel to his 2007 novel, The Persimmon Tree. For those entering the story with fresh eyes, there are generous slabs of summary about what has passed before. However, to get full value, it's preferable to have read the predecessor (so if it's a long holiday, even better, as The Persimmon Tree runs to 700 pages).

What happened to the two key characters in the first book, during and just after World War II, is fundamental to their story in this one. After serving in Australian Naval Intelligence, Nicholas became a successful businessman in the Pacific islands. Anna moved to Melbourne where she became a high-class bondage mistress, having literally learned the ropes under the Japanese occupation of her homeland, now known as Indonesia.

The story picks up where The Persimmon Tree ends, after the long-anticipated, but troubled postwar reunion of Anna and Nicholas. Fishing for Stars follows the next 30 years, mostly in chronological order, mostly through the eyes of Nicholas, but occasionally augmented by tales from those close to him.

Primarily, that's Anna, who uses tips from her influential customers, as well as her own substantial intellect, to become very successful in numerous business enterprises. However, this story is in large part a love triangle, and the other woman close to Nicholas is Marg, a former flame in naval intelligence who is prominent early in The Persimmon Tree.

Fishing for Stars presents Anna and Marg as the yin and yang of Nicholas' heart, for while they are both beautiful, intelligent and driven women, as the story progresses their aims are shown to be fundamentally opposed. Anna has a voracious appetite for business success, while Marg grows increasingly passionate about the environment.

They are like two sides of the same coin, including in the bedroom. The psychologically damaged Anna's attitude to sex is a cornerstone of the story, and presented with an earnest, even scientific openness. However, that's sometimes undermined when sex-scene playfulness borders on silliness, and even occasional gratuity. (Was the explicit description of what those porn postcards depicted necessary?)

Detail is something Courtenay obviously enjoys, from the presentation of dialect (even when translation is then required) to the brand of someone's pen. I started wondering whether the repeated references to Toyota cars, Kirin beer and Qantas planes were advertising. Probably not, given there was also an Ansett plane, and other pedantic details such as the coffee pot being the kind that holds two cups, and gin and tonic being made with gin, tonic, ice and lime.

However, beyond these buzzing flies of irrelevance, there's extensive cultural and historical detail - obviously the result of substantial research - that genuinely engages.

The middle section, set in Japan, occasionally reads like a learned non-fiction work about the subtleties of Japanese culture and the inside workings of the yakuza. This will be enlightening for all but the most well-informed reader. The use of Japanese terms can, however, become self-conscious when translations litter the page, even for something as widely known as udon being a type of noodle.

The final section focuses on environmental issues, and for several pages reads like an only slightly fictionalised version of the Green Party's rise in Tasmania and the saving of the Franklin River. Bob Brown even has a few things to say in this docu-drama. An interesting and at times emotive recap.

Such well-researched historical and cultural detail creates a vivid, believable world, and we're also led (more deeply than in The Persimmon Tree) into the internal lives of some colourful, well-drawn characters. Fishing for Stars is not a page turner - no need to delay fixing yourself that gin and tonic - but has just the right level of intellectual and emotional stimulation for a relaxing holiday read.

© 2008 The Sunday Age

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