vickeyfoggin 's review for:

A Fortunate Life by Albert B. Facey

3.0

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Bert Facey was a yarn-spinner, so this classic Australian memoir is inspired by his life rather than a true accounting, I think. I think the simple stories and some of the more harrowing parts of his early life did occur but the later bits with him being a pro football player, a pro boxer, and the effortless very best and bravest at every single thing he ever put his hand to are embellished. It's been well confirmed that he was not physically in Gallipoli for some of the heroic events he recounts, but I have no doubt that he had mates who were and just absorbed their stories. It's a good look at the life of the pioneers of Western Australia and the hardships of life back then. It's written in the simple language of a man who was illiterate until his late teens and formed his mind with oral storytelling. I read it for a work project. While I would recommend it to some, it's not for me and I slogged through it slowly.