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9th out of 235 books
—
274 voters
A Fortunate Life
by
A.B. Facey
This is the extraordinary life of an ordinary man. It is the story of Albert Facey, who lived with simple honesty, compassion and courage. A parentless boy who started work at eight on the rough West Australian frontier, he struggled as an itinerant rural worker, survived the gore of Gallipoli, the loss of his farm in the Depression, the death of his son in World War II an...more
Paperback, 331 pages
Published
1981
by Penguin Books Australia Ltd
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What an amazing, inspirational story. It certainly puts things into perspective in our own lives. Obviously, this story couldn't be written in today's society - a nine year old not wanted by his mother goes out to start his working life. Of course in this day and age he'd be put into foster care.
Ranging over an 80 year period, "A Fortunate Life" is the true story of Albert (Bert) Facey. Set in Western Australia starting in the early 1900's, it is written in the most honest, least technical writ...more
Ranging over an 80 year period, "A Fortunate Life" is the true story of Albert (Bert) Facey. Set in Western Australia starting in the early 1900's, it is written in the most honest, least technical writ...more
In Australia this is a famous autobiography and I remember first reading it in high school and when I was done I was glad it had been on the reading list. It opened my eyes to how hard life had been for earlier generations in Australia.
Albert Facey was the type of man I remember among my older rural relatives from when I was young: Resilient, a real handyman with only basic tools, never complains and always finish what they start. However, Facey's life was one of extremes from the early land cl...more
Albert Facey was the type of man I remember among my older rural relatives from when I was young: Resilient, a real handyman with only basic tools, never complains and always finish what they start. However, Facey's life was one of extremes from the early land cl...more
Albert Facey was born around the time of Australia's Federation. If the author had been more aware of the conventions and devices of writing and a great deal more literate he might have made more of this and perhaps even changed the date of his birth to get a perfect fit. But neither Facey nor his country (and let's face it, Australia is the other main character in this book) was sophisticated or learned. Facey is born poverty in rural Victoria. Things go from bad to worse for his family and ove...more
This is one of those amazing books where you just can't find enough superlatives to convey exactly how much you enjoyed it and/or the impact it had on you. As a school student and as an adult you often hear tales of how difficult life was for previous generations, but it is only through reading a first hand account like this one, that you really "get" it.
Born in 1894 in Victoria, Albert Facey faced many and varied challenges right from the get go. Yet you get the sense that right from his earli...more
Born in 1894 in Victoria, Albert Facey faced many and varied challenges right from the get go. Yet you get the sense that right from his earli...more
I followed through in reading this book after hearing its recommendation on the radio and have been completely enthralled with it. It has been one of the most astonishing autiobiographies I've ever read.
It is the story of Albert Barnet Facey from his very beginning in 1894 in Maidstone in Victoria, through his extremely rough childhood and working years as a young man through to his service in WW1 and life afterwards.
The author without doubt is a master story teller and would captivated his fa...more
It is the story of Albert Barnet Facey from his very beginning in 1894 in Maidstone in Victoria, through his extremely rough childhood and working years as a young man through to his service in WW1 and life afterwards.
The author without doubt is a master story teller and would captivated his fa...more
This is the autobiography of Bert Facey, born in Australia in 1894. His father died when he was two and shortly afterwards Bert and most of his siblings were abandoned by their mother. He was raised in agricultural poverty by his wonderful grandmother, but sent away to work aged 8, from which point he largely made his own way in the world, without ever attending school.
Over more than 70 years, he went from one job to another, all over the country, and apart from one employer (who beat him nearly...more
Over more than 70 years, he went from one job to another, all over the country, and apart from one employer (who beat him nearly...more
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I wish I could rate this book more than 5 stars because it truly deserves a sky filled with stars and still it may not come close. I cried most of the way through the latter part of this book. Facey's life was less than fortunate at the best of times and yet he turned every crisis into an opportunity. On every single page of this autobiography Facey encapsulated the great "Aussie spirit" that people always talk about in this country.
I came to Western Australia in the late 1970s and grew up in th...more
I came to Western Australia in the late 1970s and grew up in th...more
Jun 29, 2008
Dominic
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those interested in an Australian story
I was surprised at how much I like this book. It is not what I would typically read: an Australian biography of an "ordinary" man, but his simple, humble writing really captivated me. He leads an amazing life filled with problems (wars, poverty, abuse, the depression) yet always seem to find the bright side and come out of it okay. An engaging read and quite the history lesson.
While in the second hand store looking for books to read during my month in Costa Rica I came across the memoir, A Fortunate Life. My idea was to read books while traveling around CR and then leave them in whatever city I finished them thus making more room available in my suitcase to bring home souvineers. After reading this book, no, reading is the wrong word ....um...living ...experiencing ...empathizing ...something like that, I have determined my life will have one less souvineer so that I...more
I had to read this book for our Book Club this month. I am glad I read it, but there is no way I would ever pick it up again
A.B.Facey had a very hard life. From very young age he had to face things that we even as adults would have very hard time to deal with. But he had an amazing, yet very simple and dry outlook on life. I apprieciated his struggle and the end result.
But I did not like the way this book was written at all. It was very dry and non-emotional. It read like a bullet point more tha...more
A.B.Facey had a very hard life. From very young age he had to face things that we even as adults would have very hard time to deal with. But he had an amazing, yet very simple and dry outlook on life. I apprieciated his struggle and the end result.
But I did not like the way this book was written at all. It was very dry and non-emotional. It read like a bullet point more tha...more
This was the best book about Australia and what it means to be Australian that I have ever read. Mr Facey was not an author. He wrote this book to leave his story behind for his children and we are so lucky that he did. I felt like I was having a conversation with my grandad who died a long time ago and had a hard life working on the railways. This book covered his hard childhood (he started working at 8!), life on the land, Gallipolli and The Depression. I am so glad I read this near Anzac Day...more
I can't be enthusiastic enough about this autobiography by Albert Facey. This is the kind of book that you read aloud to your kids when they are beginning to be bored with you reading to them. Albert Facey was born in 1894 in Australia. Abandoned by his mother at age 4, he was raised by his grandmother in the goldfields of western Australia. He was let out to work at age 8. Completely self taught, he was unflinchingly hard working. He escaped from drunken employers after they beat him with a bul...more
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It's difficult to put words to Facey's superb biography. I feel as if I've just read something extremely profound; something that will take me a long time, maybe a lifetime, to properly digest and process. It's easy to imagine the stories contained in A Fortunate Life sitting around a campfire in the Western Australian bush. Facey writes with a simple honesty which is a reflection of the man. The issues that emerge are deep and complex, but Facey, illiterate well into his teens, rather amazingly...more
This memoir is the quintessential Aussie story: working in the bush, shooting dingos and roos, playing Aussie Rules, fighting at Gallipoli, poking fun at the English, and basically everything else I associate with Australian history. Having visited Australia, reading more about the post-convict history of certain places, in particular Perth and Western Australia, was really interesting to me. The narrator was very engaging and seemed like the kind of person I'd love to know. The end of the book...more
I remember reading this book some 30 years back - though I've read it since - one about an orphan's ordeal through the later 19th and earlier 20th century in Australia's outback - and beyond, up to the Battle of Gallipoli, during the First World War.
It's a story of courage and humour. A story of adversity and how Facey managed to survive through such difficulties I can't even start to comprehend. All told in a very modest way, as if it was just fate he had to face.
This man was not a great believ...more
It's a story of courage and humour. A story of adversity and how Facey managed to survive through such difficulties I can't even start to comprehend. All told in a very modest way, as if it was just fate he had to face.
This man was not a great believ...more
This is a must-read for any Australian or anyone interested in historical novels / autobiographies.
It's not usually the type of book I'd pick up, and it was a hard slog, but the story itself and the perseverance of Albert Facey was captivating. He's had one hell of a life, and endured so many hardships, all without complaint - definitely someone I'd like to meet at a dinner party, if he were still alive. He published this book when he was 87 - proving it's never too late if you have the story of...more
It's not usually the type of book I'd pick up, and it was a hard slog, but the story itself and the perseverance of Albert Facey was captivating. He's had one hell of a life, and endured so many hardships, all without complaint - definitely someone I'd like to meet at a dinner party, if he were still alive. He published this book when he was 87 - proving it's never too late if you have the story of...more
Aug 26, 2012
Browse-A-Book
added it
A humbling experience to read this book because it makes me realise how comfortable and privileged my life is today. He overcomes the most frightening obstacles with fortitude. His experience at Gallipoli is probably the worst. He does not indulge in self-pity. Must admit he seems to be the quiet hero in every single traumatic experience he encounters and I began to anticipate that yes, he would get any job he applied for, prove himself the most able at any task and do well at whatever he turned...more
An old boyfriend, when I lived in Sydney, told me that if I wanted to really understand the Australian culture, I should read this.
Of course, I was much to busy living to pick up a book that I assumed was boring and "historical".
When I was forced to leave the country (visa expiration), I actually bought the book at the Sydney Airport, and started to read it on my way to Hong Kong on the plane, after I dried the tears from my departure and goodbyes.
I finished the entire thing within a few days b...more
Of course, I was much to busy living to pick up a book that I assumed was boring and "historical".
When I was forced to leave the country (visa expiration), I actually bought the book at the Sydney Airport, and started to read it on my way to Hong Kong on the plane, after I dried the tears from my departure and goodbyes.
I finished the entire thing within a few days b...more
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After reading this book I thought Albert Facey had an AMAZING life. From the age of 8 he did everything there was to do, he experienced every type of situation available, from having his mother abandon him, an employer whip him, getting lost in the bush for over a week and finding the perfect wife and having a family. He lived a very full life; especially career wise (not surprising considering his working life started when he was 8) and traveled all over the country with one job or another. I r...more
A Fortunate Life is the only book written by Australian author, Albert Bernard Facey. The author recounts the events of his life from the late 19th century through to 1976. There are no literary devices employed: this is simple narration, the honest telling of a tale by a marvellous storyteller. What makes it such a great read is that it contains so many details of everyday life in an era devoid of the convenience of electronics, modern day appliances and fast, convenient travel and communicatio...more
Heart rendering could only describe this book. Simply written but so very special. It almost reads like a children's novel, however, so very true to life.
Could be any one of many common turn of the century hard life stories of survival.
This book leaps with inspiration, sadness and joy.
I received a copy of this book from A.B.Facey's grandson John, who lives in Melbourne, Australia.
It's an amazing book if you can squeeze it on to your pile of books to read!
Yvonne Bornstein
www.yvonnebornstein.com
Could be any one of many common turn of the century hard life stories of survival.
This book leaps with inspiration, sadness and joy.
I received a copy of this book from A.B.Facey's grandson John, who lives in Melbourne, Australia.
It's an amazing book if you can squeeze it on to your pile of books to read!
Yvonne Bornstein
www.yvonnebornstein.com
I began this book very enthusiastically, but the further I got into it the more tedious it became. As a history of early twentieth century Western Australia and its development, it is excellent. Mr Facey's total recall of dates and details was truly amazing, but that is the very thing that ultimately made the story bog down. I felt drowned in minutia and by the last 100 pages I was just glad to get it over with. That being said it is quite remarkable and I admire it for the man and his (and Aust...more
I found this book really interesting. The style of writing was quite basic and slightly laborious at times, but because it gave such an interesting insight into a man's life during the pioneer era in Australia, I was able to get through what is quite a long novel.
This is good way of understanding one part of Australian history, and Facey's relatively 'simple' life is really astounding to read about.
This is good way of understanding one part of Australian history, and Facey's relatively 'simple' life is really astounding to read about.
I found this book hard to get into at first, based on Facey's writing style. But it soon becomes evident that he is a self-taught reader and writer (and this being later in life), so his spoken-style writing, his almost child like telling of his story becomes essential to the read, perhaps. After a little while I stopped being distracted by his writing, and fell into the book and loved learning about his incredible "fortunate" life. As the afterword says, he is Australia's pilgrim - I learned a...more
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I know it sounds funny, or what you'd probably expect. However this book changed me, in many ways that I can't describe.
Trying to explain what I mean, and think it puts things into perspective. That old phrase comes to mind - It could always be worse.
I would recommend this book to everyone, and noone - because I want to keep the story for myself. In the end, it's brilliant, and will keep you reading.
Trying to explain what I mean, and think it puts things into perspective. That old phrase comes to mind - It could always be worse.
I would recommend this book to everyone, and noone - because I want to keep the story for myself. In the end, it's brilliant, and will keep you reading.
I have just finished reading this amazing story. An inspirational story of a young man growing up in unbelievably tough circumstances - and at the end of the day can look back upon his "fortunate life". A must read for anyone who needs to take a step back and reflect on how lucky we really are. An interesting insight into Australian social history
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Jun 07, 2012 06:20pm