One, to read about diseases, hospitals, doctors and treatments from the patient and family point of view was an eye opener. This book is a celebration of life and love – the good, the bad and the ugly.įrom a medical point of view, this book is also exceptionally interesting for several reasons.
The rallying of the Courtenay family and Damon’s partner Celeste around him is a testimony to the strength of the loving family (from going along with Damon’s delusions to taking him to the hospital on many occasions). Damon was a brave battler and his strength while living through chronic pain, bleeding and countless infections is to be commended. The story of his son Damon, born a haemophiliac who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion and later died of AIDS related complications is compelling for so many reasons. I always respected Courtenay as a writer before this, but after reading this book, I have the utmost respect for him overall. Such a powerful story – all completely true, you can’t make up this sort of thing and an incredibly emotional, harrowing journey for the Courtenay family. I started reading this on my daily commute but soon I was hooked. Enter a Popular Penguin edition and an edict from my mother that I must read this book and she knew I would enjoy it immensely. Giving meaning to life and direction to goodness.April Fool’s Day was a book I wasn’t sure that I wanted to read initially for several reasons – I don’t read as much non-fiction as fiction, surely Bryce Courtenay’s talent lay in fiction and it was probably out of print. To quote his devoted partner Celeste, "Love is an energy, it cannot be created nor destroyed. Not much was known about AIDS back then and sufferers were frowned upon. Evidence of this is his attitude towards people who treated people with AIDS unfairly.
Damon talked a lot about love he believed it was important that everybody knew how to love. On his death bed, he asked his father to write it for him. He attempted to write this book himself but did not have much success. The title refers to the date of Damon's death, 1 April 1991 ( April Fools' Day).ĭamon was a classic haemophiliac all his life. The book is a tribute to the author's son, Damon Courtenay, a haemophiliac who contracted HIV/AIDS through an infected blood transfusion. April Fool's Day is a 1993 book by Australian author Bryce Courtenay.
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