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 and that of his beloved wife after sixty devoted years - yet he felt that his life was fortunate.
My Rating: 4.5/5
As a sandgroper (a Western Australian) this book has been on my radar for such a long time with my grandfather having read it and my father having tried to get me to watch the mini series for as long as I can remember.
Firstly, I loved the setting as it was set in places that I know so well yet were obviously not as I know them. I was also amazed at how much of my home state of WA he covered especially in the days of minimal transportation.
Facey has such an amazing writing style. It was like he was telling you the story himself rather than me reading it.
I was also amazed at just about everywhere Facey went, it seemed to have some connection to my family. For example, Fremantle is where my great-grandfather was born, Geraldton is where my grandfather (and a lot of generations of his family) were born, Kalgoorlie is where my mum was born and I could keep going.
If you are looking for a very inspiring, genuine Australian read this is the ideal book I would recommend.
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