Jack of Diamonds
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Jack of Diamonds

Jack of Diamonds


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Awards Winning
2012 | AudioFile Earphones Award
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About the Book

If poker was an addiction then music was an overwhelming obsession; one could never replace the other in my life. During the Great Depression there was little hope for a boy born into the slums of Cabbagetown, Toronto. But Jack Spayd is offered a ticket out in the form of a Hohner harmonica, won by his brutal drunken father in a late-night card game. Jack makes music as a way of escaping his surroundings, and his talent leads him to a jazz club and, eventually, to the jazz piano. Jack is a virtuoso and hits the road, enchanting audiences in Canada, wartime Europe and Las Vegas, where he is caught up in the world of elite poker and falls under the spell of his boss, the enigmatic Bridgett Fuller. Vegas is a hard town ruled by the Mafia, but Jack prospers, until his luck turns bad and he falls foul of the Mob. Forced to run for his life from Vegas, he must also leave the woman he adores. His adventuring takes him to the far reaches of Africa, to a rare and valuable bird that may seal his fate - and to the love of a very different woman. Set across three continents, Jack of Diamonds is a spellbinding story of chance, music, corruption and love.

About the Author :
Bryce Courtenay (1933–2012) was the bestselling author of The Power of One, Tandia, April Fool's Day, The Potato Factory, Tommo & Hawk, Solomon's Song, Jessica, A Recipe for Dreaming, The Family Frying Pan, The Night Country, Smoky Joe's Cafe, Four Fires, Matthew Flinders' Cat, Brother Fish, Whitethorn, Sylvia, The Persimmon Tree, Fishing for Stars, The Story of Danny Dunn, Fortune Cookie, Jack of Diamonds and The Silver Moon: Reflections and Stories on Life, Death and Writing. The Power of One is also available in an edition for younger readers, and Jessica has been made into an award-winning television miniseries. He wrote his first book, The Power of One, at the age of fifty-five. This became the largest-selling book by a living Australian author within Australia, with over half a million copies sold locally. Humphrey Bower is a gifted and versatile actor. Since obtaining a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature at Oxford University, he has worked extensively in theatre, television and audiobook narration. Humphrey won the prestigious Audie Award (US) for his performance of The Family Frying Pan by Bryce Courtenay, and was shortlisted for an Audie Award for his performances of Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan and Brother Fish by Bryce Courtenay. Humphrey's sensitive and intelligent readings are highly regarded and he is well-known for his capacity to perform a variety of accents.

Review :
"Jack Spayd is pulled by his passion for jazz from Toronto's Depression slums, crosses continents, and mixes Las Vegas gambling and African diamonds in a splendid saga that spans half a century. This Australian author's last book has subtle shades of his famous THE POWER OF ONE. The life lessons for Jack Spayd resonate, and the lively historical scenes are memorable. In Humphrey Bower's narration, accents, genders, and nationalities appear fluidly and with total confidence. An occasional Canadian vowel or a quirky regionalism punctuates and individualizes the memorable characters, who often sport Dickensian names such as Miss Frostbite or Mr. Logical. Bower, the narrator of all of Courtenay's books, is joined at the hip with the author's storytelling. His mastery should put this and other works on listeners' “must' lists."


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Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781743100981
  • Publisher: Bolinda Publishing
  • Publisher Imprint: Bolinda Audio Books
  • Edition: Unabridged edition
  • Language: English
  • Weight: 497 gr
  • ISBN-10: 1743100981
  • Publisher Date: 01 Nov 2012
  • Binding: CD-Audio
  • Height: 134 mm
  • Spine Width: 28 mm
  • Width: 146 mm


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