Bryce Courtenay 
Four Fires 

Four fires: passion, religion, warfare and fire itself. Along with love – perhaps the brightest flame of all – these four fires drive the human spirit.
In a small town much like any other around Australia live the Maloneys. They are a fifth-generation family of Irish Catholic descent, struggling to reach the first rung of the social ladder. The Maloneys are a family you won»t forget: a strong mother, a father broken by war, three boys and two girls, one with an illegitimate daughter. Each of their lives is changed forever by the four fires.
FOUR FIRES is unashamedly a story of the the power of love and the triumph of human spirit against the odds.