Four Fires
Encyclopedia
Four Fires is a novel written by Bryce Courtenay
. It was first published in 2001.
There are four fires of our dreaming
The bushfire of our land's renewal
The war fire of good men killing
The soul fire of a different God
The fires of a consuming love
The novel focuses on the Maloney family, who live in country Victoria
. It also deals with many major events and issues in Australian history, as seen through the eyes of, or experienced by, the Maloneys. These include feminism
, bushfires and PTSD. The story covers a time period from the late 1940s to 1999.
convicts, he is technically the head of the family, although only two of the children were fathered by him. A born 'bushie' who fights in World War II as a Corporal
in the Australian army, he is captured after the fall of Singapore
. He survives years of hell as a POW and barely survives the Death Marches from Sandakan
to Ranau
. Back home, physically and psychologically damaged, he alternates between bouts of alcoholism
, prison terms for petty theft and 'going bush'. He is a respected bushfire fighter. After telling his horrific wartime story, which he has never told before, to his son Mole, he commits suicide
.
Nancy is the mother of the family, physically and mentally strong and unafraid to stand up to anyone, even her social 'betters'. In Tommy's (frequent) absences, she runs a garbage
business under contract to the shire
council. She regards herself as a 'collapsed catholic'.
Sarah is the oldest child. A brilliant student, she is accepted into medical school
, but becomes pregnant and has to fight to be admitted. She graduates with honours and sets up a medical practice in her home town.
Michael aka Mike, a closet homosexual, has artistic talents and learns the fashion trade in Melbourne. Unable to find a way to promote his unorthodox designs, he moves to London and becomes a major part of the fashion world during the 'swinging sixties'.
Bozonik aka Bozo, has boxing
talent and, as a protege of the town police sergeant, wins a bronze
medal at the Rome Olympics. He joins Nancy in the garbage collecting business, expanding it eventually into a major trucking and passenger transport concern.
Peter aka Mole is the narrator of the novel. He is Tommy's favourite child and learns bush lore and bush fire fighting from him. He joins the army and serves in Vietnam
as a sergeant/warrant officer. He is decorated for saving an officer (Murray Templeton, the father of Sarah'a daughter) from certain death under heavy fire. A brilliant student, he obtains a degree and a doctorate
and becomes a university lecturer. Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
, then unrecognised, he collapses mentally and is treated semi-successfully by his childhood sweetheart, Anna Dumbrowski, now a respected psychiatrist. They later marry.
The fifth child is 'Little' Colleen, Tommy's second biological child.
.
Morrie and Sophie Suckfizzle, aka Moishe and Zofia Zuckfizzleski, a Jewish couple who survived the concentration camps in Poland and Germany. Morrie is a former surgeon
who requalifies and becomes a respected gynaecologist.
Father Crosby, the local Catholic minister, who goes head to head with Nancy regarding her family morals, but is ultimately reconciled with the family.
Kapurika Raychaundhuri aka Mrs. Rika Ray, an Indian-bron herbalist
, ayurvedic healer and midwife who delivers Sarah's daughter, Lucy Tempelton Moloney. She joins Bozo in the family business.
John Crowe, a childood friend of Tommy and shire mechanic. He becomes a business partner of Bozo. He is killed in a horrific bushfire.
Lucy Barrington-Stone, wife of a wealthy grazier and pillar of the Country Women's Association
. She makes it her personal mission to get Sarah admitted to university.
The novel takes place throughout Australia and in Vietnam, Thailand
, Fiji
, America, Poland and Italy
. Real life figures such as Dawn Fraser
, Muhammed Ali and Josef Mengele appear in the novel.
ABC Interview with Bryce Courtenay
Bryce Courtenay
Arthur Bryce Courtenay AM is a South-African-born naturalized Australian novelist and one of Australia's most commercially successful authors.-Background and early years:...
. It was first published in 2001.
Background to the novel
The title is derived from a quote (unspecified, but possibly of Indigenous Australian origin):There are four fires of our dreaming
The bushfire of our land's renewal
The war fire of good men killing
The soul fire of a different God
The fires of a consuming love
The novel focuses on the Maloney family, who live in country Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. It also deals with many major events and issues in Australian history, as seen through the eyes of, or experienced by, the Maloneys. These include feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, bushfires and PTSD. The story covers a time period from the late 1940s to 1999.
Plot
The Maloney family live in a Victorian town, Yankalillee, in the Wangaratta-Wodonga area. The family is in many ways dysfunctional, but they are also fiercely loyal to each other and their friends and supporters. They start the novel far down the social ladder, but strive to rise up it, in spite of those who seek to keep them down.The Maloney family
Tommy; a descendant of Irish CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
convicts, he is technically the head of the family, although only two of the children were fathered by him. A born 'bushie' who fights in World War II as a Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
in the Australian army, he is captured after the fall of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. He survives years of hell as a POW and barely survives the Death Marches from Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
to Ranau
Ranau
Ranau is a district as well as a town in the East Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo and it is situated in the West Coast Division of Sabah...
. Back home, physically and psychologically damaged, he alternates between bouts of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, prison terms for petty theft and 'going bush'. He is a respected bushfire fighter. After telling his horrific wartime story, which he has never told before, to his son Mole, he commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Nancy is the mother of the family, physically and mentally strong and unafraid to stand up to anyone, even her social 'betters'. In Tommy's (frequent) absences, she runs a garbage
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
business under contract to the shire
Shire
A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
council. She regards herself as a 'collapsed catholic'.
Sarah is the oldest child. A brilliant student, she is accepted into medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
, but becomes pregnant and has to fight to be admitted. She graduates with honours and sets up a medical practice in her home town.
Michael aka Mike, a closet homosexual, has artistic talents and learns the fashion trade in Melbourne. Unable to find a way to promote his unorthodox designs, he moves to London and becomes a major part of the fashion world during the 'swinging sixties'.
Bozonik aka Bozo, has boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
talent and, as a protege of the town police sergeant, wins a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
medal at the Rome Olympics. He joins Nancy in the garbage collecting business, expanding it eventually into a major trucking and passenger transport concern.
Peter aka Mole is the narrator of the novel. He is Tommy's favourite child and learns bush lore and bush fire fighting from him. He joins the army and serves in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
as a sergeant/warrant officer. He is decorated for saving an officer (Murray Templeton, the father of Sarah'a daughter) from certain death under heavy fire. A brilliant student, he obtains a degree and a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
and becomes a university lecturer. Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
, then unrecognised, he collapses mentally and is treated semi-successfully by his childhood sweetheart, Anna Dumbrowski, now a respected psychiatrist. They later marry.
The fifth child is 'Little' Colleen, Tommy's second biological child.
Supporters and friends of the Maloney family
'Big Jack' Donovan, local police sergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
.
Morrie and Sophie Suckfizzle, aka Moishe and Zofia Zuckfizzleski, a Jewish couple who survived the concentration camps in Poland and Germany. Morrie is a former surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
who requalifies and becomes a respected gynaecologist.
Father Crosby, the local Catholic minister, who goes head to head with Nancy regarding her family morals, but is ultimately reconciled with the family.
Kapurika Raychaundhuri aka Mrs. Rika Ray, an Indian-bron herbalist
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
, ayurvedic healer and midwife who delivers Sarah's daughter, Lucy Tempelton Moloney. She joins Bozo in the family business.
John Crowe, a childood friend of Tommy and shire mechanic. He becomes a business partner of Bozo. He is killed in a horrific bushfire.
Lucy Barrington-Stone, wife of a wealthy grazier and pillar of the Country Women's Association
Country Women's Association
The Country Women’s Association of Australia is the largest women's organisation in Australia. It has 44,000 members across 1855 branches. Its aims are to improve the conditions for country women and children and to try to make life better for women and their families, especially those women...
. She makes it her personal mission to get Sarah admitted to university.
The novel takes place throughout Australia and in Vietnam, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, America, Poland and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Real life figures such as Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle....
, Muhammed Ali and Josef Mengele appear in the novel.
External links
Bryce Courtenay- http://www.brycecourtenay.com/index.asp
ABC Interview with Bryce Courtenay
- http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1630548.htm