Solomon's Song (The Potato Factory, #3) (2024)

Bryce Courtenay is one of those authors who have made a life-long impact on my reading journey. Courtenay’s many books have touched on a variety of topic, all of which prove enriching and impactful. Courtenay chose to write an epic story to thank his adopted homeland of Australia, told in three, long novels. He concludes his trilogy, using his powerful way with words and a multi-generational exploration of the Solomons. Filled with themes and key characters in early Australian history, the story finally pushes past the date of federation, when Australia stood on its own, while still under the auspices of the British Commonwealth. This is not only a story about a number of characters who fill the pages, but of a country seeking to leave its infancy behind and stand independent. Brilliant seems too watered down a word for Bryce Courtenay’s efforts.

Picking up soon after the last novel ended, news comes that a body has been discovered in the harbour and the identification makes it seem to be Tommo Solomon. Mary and Hawk make their way to the coroner’s to identify the body and make the needed arrangements. As she is getting on in age, Mary requests—demands—that Tommo’s daughter be sent for, having moved to New Zealand to become a nurse. Hawk agrees to go find her, following the rumours that Hinetitama has fallen onto hard times. A ‘half-caste’, Hinetitama has her Maori roots, but is scorned in a country that still wishes to subjugate those they have colonised. When Hawk brings her back, he is able to convince Hinetitama to live and spend time with her grandmother, who wants nothing else than great-grandchildren before she dies.

In an effort to ensure this happens, Mary works her wiles on the one man who has held Hinetitama’s heart, the Dutchman Slabbert Teekleman, though he is anything but an upstanding gentleman. Bearing two children, Ben and Victoria, Hinetitama soon falls into the bottle once more and disappears, leaving Hawk to act as surrogate parent. Mary’s death also shakes the family to the core, but her choices ensure that the brewery is left in good hands.

It is around this time that the other branch of the Solomon clan reemerge, headed by David, who kept a life-long hatred of Mary for what she did in ruining his mother’s marriage to Ikey Solomon, head of this entire family. A business conglomeration does little to settle the score, though the Solomons are joined together in business, alternating power of the massive Solomon-Teekleman company, depending who is in possession of a majority of the shares.

Fast-forwarding out of the nineteenth century, Australia has been able to stand on its own and emerges ready to play a significant role on the world stage. When the winds of war begin to blow, and with David Solomon ready to die, his grandson, Joshua, emerges on the scene to serve in the military. Alongside Joshua, his cousin, Ben, is also ready for the military commitment, sent to battle under the auspices of fighting for King and country. Courtenay uses this decision—Australia’s Commonwealth commitment to the War—to serve as the major theme of the book. Ben leads a company of soldiers into training and eventually onto the European front, where they meet many an adventure and brutal bloodshed. So many young men, the premiere stock of future Australians, leave to fight for Britain’s interests and end up strewn across the battlefield. Ben served his country well and the story turns into a war novel, exploring the key battles of the Great War.

Bitter that he is watching those around him die, Ben is vilified by senior military officials, while Joshua is kept safe in England. All this comes to a head when they meet on the battlefield; two men serving the same country, but whose lives could not have been more different. It is here that Courtenay injects his most powerful storyline, as the Solomons must either bury their past, or use the animosity to fuel yet another skirmish, while Europe is torn apart. A brilliant end to the trilogy, Courtenay does things in this novel that I cannot begin to elucidate clearly. A master storyteller with a passion for his adopted Australia, it is a novel—and series—that should not be missed by any with a passion for inter-generational tomes.

I have long been a fan of Bryce Courtenay and have a great love of novels that explore inter-generational development within a family. The writing throughout the series is outstanding and places the characters in key situations against the backdrop of history to shape the narrative in many ways. There are a handful of key characters that shape the story at different points, perhaps none more so than Hawk and Hinetitama in the early portions and Ben in the latter segment of this massive tome. The struggle to shape the Solomon name is a task that neither Hawk nor Hinetitama could have expected would rest on their shoulders, but they do it so well. No one is perfect and no family is free from fault, but these two exemplify the pains of being minorities in a land that is still trying to find its feet, using horrible racism to fuel their individuality.

As I have said in the reviews of the other pieces, racism is rampant, though I think it serves to explore the pig-headedness of a new country and these two characters have faced a significant amount of the physical and verbal abuse. Ben Teekleman is a Solomon like no other, who chooses to rise above it all and serve his country without reservation. Courtenay depicts him as a strong, young man who does not get involved in the politics—familial, national, or racial—of those around him, but prefers to make a difference in the lives of those in his sphere. What Ben sees, especially when he is shipped to Europe, cannot be described with ease in this review, but readers who enjoy war history or depictions of the daily situations of soldiers will lap up much of the narrative.

There are a handful of other key characters throughout, fuelling key aspects of the Solomon family feuds and the struggles to shape Australia in their own image. Courtenay is known for his powerful themes and this book does not differentiate from that, though anyone looking for a novel about the niceties of people or their interactions with others should look elsewhere. There is little that leaves the reader feeling warm and fuzzy, but the narrative is so full of passionate storytelling that it should not be dismissed. All three novels have been stellar in their delivery and Courtenay’s best works that I have ever read.

Kudos, Mr. Courtenay, for a powerful novel and dominant trilogy as you explore the rougher side of life in and around Australia.

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I'm 20 pages away from being done and I am so sad- I want to stop reading. I won't because I have to know how it ends. I wish I could ask why his characters all go through hell- how good things don't happen to good people. But really I know the reasons, becuase it doesn't happen often enough in real life. His tragedies are so devastating- but these events explain the molding of a person and her dynasty. I'm grateful for this author for enriching my life and taking me to places I could never have imagined otherwise.

Finished it- and I can't say I expected the last 2 pages... wow! I guess this was the best ending for the last book in the trilogy- but wow..... Gosh I love Bryce!

Solomon's Song is the third book in the Potato Factory trilogy by Bryce Courtenay.

It continues on directly from where Tommo & Hawk left off in the previous book. It starts in Sydney Town with Tommo hunting down Sparrer Fart for the death of his brother Hawk's beloved Maggie Pye. A body is found washed up on the shore, and is required to be identified, the body is found headless, and is wearing a Maori medal around it's neck, and Tommo's wallet in the pockets of the clothing. Mary and Hawk are called into Alexandria morgue to identify the body, and Mary confirms it is in fact the body of her son Tommo. It later becomes apparent that Tommo had devised a clever plan and had found and murdered Sparrer Fart, but changing the identity to his own at the very last minute, which prevented further investigations being made.

Tommo has retreated to New Zealand, where his daughter resides and has been raised by the Maori chief. Hawk follows Tommo to New Zealand, and is there with his brother in his last days before Tommo's passing, the wound in Tommo's head making Tommo extremely ill and causing the passing of his final days.

Hinetitema, Tommo's daughter is now 21, she is very strong willed and stubborn just like her father Tommo. Hawk tries to convince Hinetitema to come to Auckland to meet her Grandmother Mary Abacus. Hinetitema will have nothing of it, as she wants to be a nurse, and continue to reside in New Zealand and assist the poor.

Hinetitema is working as a Nurse in New Zealand and succumbs to the effects of alcohol, hawk on one of his annual visits to New Zealand discovers she is missing, and finds her a mess, he cleans her up and brings her back to Hobart with him. Mary and Hinetitema get along famously even though both women are very similar in personality and extremely stubborn.

Mary is getting quite elderly and is desperate for a heir to take over The Potato Factory, with Tommo passed and Hawk' without a partner, her only hope is in Hinetitema. Mary sends multiple suiters for Hinetitema to consider, none of them are of interest to her. Mary makes a risky move and arranges for a former flame of her niece's to come to Hobart, he is an alcoholic and a card shark.

The move pays off for Mary and Hinetitiema and the Dutch man, marry and conceive two children Ben and Victoria.

20 years later and Ben has gone to Gallipoli with the Anzacs and becomes and Victoria is learning the business of the Potato Factory under the guiding hand of her Uncle Hawk.

This is a must read story for every Australian. Bryce had detailed the story of Gallipoli in a clear heart-wrenching descriptive, you feel like you are there with the soldiers and hoping not to die. Make sure you have a book of tissues on hand when you read this book.

An outstanding story and deserves 10 stars. This is a book that stay with you for eternity.

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Solomon's Song is the third in the Australia series by Courtenay. I started with this one because it concerns Gallipoli, a subject I'm slowly becoming an expert on. Even though it is the finale of the series, it hasn't destroyed my desire t0 read the rest, as soon as possible.

The series concerns two families, connected and competing, from the colonization of Australia (actually Van Dieman's Land - Tasmania) to the year 1916.

I had to read half the book before the Gallipoli section started, but it was that first part that made me want to read the rest of the series. Abacus Mary, a transported convict, has built an incredibly successful brewry in her time on the island. Her two sons are expected to take over, but, through many machinations, only one becomes involved. Mary's two great-grandchildren are the focus of this section of the trilogy.

It's nearly impossible to begin to explain the relationship between and among the families. But the ownership and managing of the factory are the important aspect. Ben, the great-grandson, however, volunteers with Australia's best to fight in WWI for the Mother Country and show her and the world what top-notch soldiers the Australians are.

It's not completely unknown, but extremely rare, for me to cry while reading a book. I can't remember the last one. But Courtenay approaches much of the actual fighting at Galllipoli through letters from Ben to his sister Victoria. It's a marvelous way of reporting the stupidity, the ridiculousness and the totally unnecessary deaths incurred during the operation. (I guess you can tell my opinion on the invasion.....) When Ben, convalescing on a hospital ship writes to Victoria about the fates of his company, mates who would die for each other (which happens to pretty much all soldiers who fight together), the tears ran down my cheecks and I could hardly read. This is how affecting the idea of writing through letters was.

This may not be a good review since I haven't said much about the story and what actually happens and why you should read it, but it's an attempt to explain how much this entire book touched my heart.

three stars for most of the book was ok... ending... was awful. I mean after a trilogy??? no epilogue? terribly unsatisfying...

for those who say I have no imagination... this is true... that is why I paid good money for a fiction book.

I really enjoyed the first two books of Courtenay's Australian Trilogy. In The Potato Factory and Tommo and Hawk the reader really got to know the main characters (Ikey, Mary, Tommo, Hawk) and had an understanding of each charcter's development. In this last book not only are Tommo and Mary dead, I feel like Hawk is lost in this book and replaced by Victoria and Ben, which I never really felt I got to know. These characters had bits and pieces of former characters, but with not as much depth and originality. The beginning of the book and the development of Ben and Victoria growing up is rushed and then the war is drawn out (although this is the part of the book I enjoyed the most.) Joshua would have been an interesting character to focus on more, but his part was lacking. The book seemed unbalanced to me and after reading a total of 1400 pages of this trilogy I was not sad to see the end. I just felt a lack of closure, especially with Hawk and the Potato Factory, which defined Mary as a strong female character.

I didn't realize this was the third (last) book of a trilogy, an epic historical saga about Australia, ...well, partly. A good portion of this book was devoted to the battles at Gallipoli which were excellently presented through correspondence, where the horrors of war are quite clear.

There are a lot of characters and a lot of dynamics between them, which kept my interest
Very good writing, but I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read the first two of the trilogy.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this trilogy, such an amazing story filled with historical detail, I reckon every Australian should read it to learn a few things about the birth of this nation. The last book was a bit different, as the story brings us closer to the horrors of war and the suffering of men serving in it, but nonetheless beautifully written.

I have never felt the need to leave a review but with this I feel I must. I am quite new to Bryce Courtenay books but have been working through them lately. I leave the review on this title because it has left a mark on me that will never leave. Simply breathtaking in its telling and horrific in its conclusion. My advice to anyone wanting to "read" Bryce Courtenay. Get the audio books. The narrator "Humphrey Bower" is a master of his craft. You do not hear a narrator, you hear the characters. He can tell a story in any accent from around the world. I have never heard narration this good. I implore everybody to try Bryce Courtenay and Humphrey Bower. They will educate and entertain you in equal measure. From The Power of One to Brother Fish with everything in between, these are beautifully told with astonishing narration (audio). If I could give ten stars for these books I would. When I have finished a title and tell myself they can not get better, I start a new one and low and behold it is another triumph. Sorry to go on but these must be read or listened to.

Solomon’s Song, by Bryce Courtenay. Narrated by Humphrey Bowers, produced by Bolinda Audio, downloaded from audible.com. This is the third in the Potato Factory trilogy taking place from about 1840 to 1916 in Australia.

Humphrey Bowers is worth the book. I think these books are ones that would not have been as good if not narrated by Bowers. In this third book, we go on with the two families, the Solomons, and the Tinklemans. Courtenay is particularly good at writing war narratives, and he spends most of this book dealing with WWI and the Australian regiments that fought in it. There’s one thing I don’t like about Courtenay’s books, at least this trilogy, they all end sadly. I won’t say more as it would then include spoilers, but the end of each book is very abrupt, and the reader feels as if there should be another book to tell you what happened next.

Outstanding trilogy

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Bryce Courtenay would have to be one of my all time favourite authors.

His writing really is second to none. What a gift!

Listening to the audio version was AMAZING. Humphrey Bower is a top-shelf narrator. You rock, mate!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy. But what was that ending!? Hence 4 stars for me, not 5.

This epic story set in Australia and New Zealand starting in the late 1800's and ending in 1918 was a really good read. I loved the characters and learning more about the Australian 'personality'. The ending was sad, but not unexpected. I learned quite a bit about WWI and the part the Aussies and New Zealanders played in it.

i cried on the train xx

loved this series of books about Early settler life in Australia. This book covers the Australian side of the second world war and the continuing saga of the divided Solomon family.

The Saga of the divided Solomon family continues.From Sydney in 1861 to the battle fields in France in 1916, fueled by hatred, the family moves forward through history. Tommo, Mary,David,Hinetitama leave us and we move forward with Grandfather Hawk,Ben and Victoria on the side of goodness and Abraham and Joshua on the side of evil.. For me this book is the story of Tommo's grandson,Ben Teekleman, "The Click" platoon, and the development of the fighting Anzacs (Australian, Tasmanians and New Zealanders), and their part in WW1. From their training in Egypt, to the horrific battle on the shores of Gallipoli, to the hospitals in London to the battle fields in France, Ben and his mates, (through letters home to Hawk and Victoria)describe, in ugly detail, life as an Aussi soldier. I met the love of Ben's life, Sister (nurse) Sarah Atkins. Heroes with names like Wordy Smith,Crow Rigby, Hornbill,Muddy Parthe, Brokenose Brodie, Library Spencer,Numbers Cooligan,and "Just Ben" touched my heart and exemplified the strengths of a young nation coming of age. An excellent read!

I feel traumatised, again, having read about WW1. Recently I finished reading "Birds without Wings" and experienced this war from the Turkish perspective. This time, from the Australian. And it is the same from both views - the horror, the horror. And both authors expressed so well the futility of war, the senseless killing. And I am left with a sense of despair, because it all just continues. We are incapable of learning from history. I feel, like one of the soldiers in this story, that I need to cleanse my soul.

Just finished this trilogy and I am beyond heart broken that it had to end. I have fallen in love with these chracters so deeply, that they will stay with me for ever after. A truly unique and moving set of novels.

I enjoyed Tommo & Hawk much more. This book has left me wishing there was a fourth book, so that I may see an ending that would never come.

I enjoyed the final instalment of Courtenay's Australian Trilogy, however, found the first quarter or so spent too much time catching the reader up on characters and events that happened in the past two books.
I liked Ben's storyline and thought the strongest part of the whole book was the section set in Gallipoli in WWI. The powerful language made me feel like I was on the battlefields and in the trenches with the Anzacs and made me really understand how pointless the whole thing was. I can't decide if I'm entirely satisfied with the ending or not, but I understand why it finished when and how it did.
There were a few parts that angered me and, as with The Potato Factory and Tommo and Hawk, there were a few events that happened far too conveniently for my liking, but overall, I enjoyed the story.

This book was brilliantly written and left me in shock long after the last page was turned. While the first two books in the series were well done, this one really was the gold nugget of the lot. Alone this book wouldn’t have had as big an impact. You really do need to read the other books first. What an amazing tale. I am so glad I picked these books up.

"Solomon's Song” is the last of the trilogy. Although this particular book was not as compelling as the other books. Carried across three amazing books, the story of three generations unfold.

When the story finally came to its conclusion I found the end of Solomon's Song rather sudden and it left me wondering......" so is that it?" However, Bryce Courtney is now my new favourite writer, jut like Ken Follett, he is an amazing storyteller!

It has been a long journey to get through this series, but I finally did it. I liked this book least of the three, however. It somehow seemed disconnected to the “real story”. And the ending left me . . . Well, let’s just say it was a bad ending. So many questions left unanswered, so much sadness left unresolved. Yes, life is sometimes like that, but darn, I wanted something . . . different than what I got. Not sure what yet. Something more satisfying something involving Hawk more directly, I guess. Maybe it will come to me in a few days. Right now I just feel kind of empty.

It is incredible that a series of words can be strung together to create something so affecting, so real.

The end of the long saga of the Potato factory and the Solomon family. Very disappointing and it gets 3 stars only because it was narrated by Humphrey Bower.

This was a wonderful wrap-up to the trilogy. We end up, through the three books, following a family through three generations. We start with lower-class, criminal elements in England getting transported to Australia. They start to flourish and their kids become wealthy and prominent in the second book, while still retaining the feel of their upbringing, and this third book finally brings us respectability with the next generation, and heading off to WWI with mixed feelings as there is limited loyalty to Britain (and not insubstantial loyalty to former ally, Germany.) What a walk through a world that I knew almost nothing about!

I started this trilogy by reading the second book (Tommo and Hawk). I loved both characters, and I was excited to read Solomon's Song to understand 'where they went'. While Tommo's plot was satisfying, that of Hawk left a lot to be desired. I feel like I've been robbed of a conclusion for the Hawk character.

The character development for Tommo's family seems rushed and is also unsatisfying, as others have mentioned. Hinetitama (Tommo's daughter) is a character and personality I start to enjoy, and then Courtenay ceases to write about her. Then Hinetitama's children are never truly developed as individuals. I would also like to know more about Joshua Solomon (David Solomon's grandchild), but I never really learn about him, either.

While the war elements of this story are enjoyable enough, I felt like I knew characters like 'Wordy Smith', 'Library', and 'Crow' better than our protagonist Ben Teekleman. While I understand that considerable research went into the plots concerning Ben's adventures overseas, I just didn't care about then. In fact, I was distracted. I kept wanting to know: What about Hawk? What about Victoria? What about the Potato Factory? Unlike the other books in this trilogy, which allow you to skip from country to country to follow characters, once the story moves to Ben - Ben is all we hear about.

When I realised I only had 50 pages to go and I still had not heard anything about the characters still residing in Australia, I realised that I was never going to get a conclusion on my beloved Hawk.

Basically, this book was okay enough to read, but disappointing in its conclusion.

Solomon's Song is the third and last book in Byrce Courtenay's Potato Factory Trilogy. It was my favorite. Much of the story took place on the peninsula of Gallipoli in Turkey, in 1915 -16. I have been to Gallipoli and saw where the New Zealand and Australian military perished as they supported the English. I could picture the scenes of these battles. Over the past year, I have had the families of Ikey and Mary....Tommo and Hawk with me on my MP3 Player as I worked around the house and drove in the car. I am sorry to come to the end of the trilogy as I very much enjoy Courtenay's work.

The conclusion of this fantastic trilogy of books left me sad on many fronts, but most of all because the story of Mary and her family was concluding. It's not often I get through a book in under two weeks, however whenever I could I stole precious minutes of reading time from other activities to get back to the horrifying story from trenches of Gallipoli, told so well by Courtenay that you could imagine yourself there and actually get an understanding of what happened in the minds of those young men that fought so bravely against insurmountable odds and the Turks defending their homeland. A must read trilogy from a master of historic novels.

What a fantastic end to a three book trilogy. The Anzac experience in fighting against the Germans was incredibly detailed. The historic value of this book is excellent and detailed with a fanciful tale of the grandchildren of Ikey Sullivan who are still in a rivalry with the children of Ikey's horrid brother David. I wish there were more to this series. Bruce Courtenay makes each of his strange and wonderful characters come alive.