The Power of One: A Novel (Paperback)

by Bryce Courtenay (Author) "This is what happened..." (more)
Key Phrases: small baas, crud bar, grizzly level, Big Hettie, Granpa Chook, Geel Piet (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"Episodic and bursting with incident, this sprawling memoir of an English boy's lonely childhood in South Africa during WW II pays moderate attention to questions of race but concerns itself primarily with epic melodrama," noted PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Ideals must be back, for Courtenay's first novel is a fast-paced book with an old-fashioned, clean-cut hero, easily identifiable villains, no sex, and saintlike sidekicks. All done in sturdy, workmanlike prose. Set in South Africa in the 1940's, the novel resembles those enormously popular books on southern Africa written by John Buchan and H. Rider Haggard. Courtenay's Peekay, like those earlier heroes, inspires devotion from a disparate band of followers, which includes a witch doctor, a German professor, a barmaid, Gert the Afrikaans policeman, Morrie the Jewish refugee, and his Oxbridge headmaster. Courtenay lovingly evokes an African landscape of small town and bush as he describes the journey of Peekay - from a horrendously cruel boarding school to a triumphant vindication as a young man in the copper mines of what is now Zambia. At his first school, Peekay, as the only English child in an otherwise Afrikaans school, is held accountable for all the wrongs inflicted by the British. But a fortuitous meeting with an amateur boxer, "Kid Louis" Groenewald, supplies the young Peekay with the means and the drive to fight back. Peekay learns to box (boxing fans will particularly appreciate the vividly described fights) and thereafter is forever serving justice and earning Brownie points. His first teachers are the tough Afrikaner jailers of his hometown prison and a black prisoner. Later, at a prep school in Johannesburg, while the victorious Afrikaner Nationalists introduce apartheid, he is taught by the best trainer in Africa. As well as being a scholar and everybody's favorite young man, Peekay also earns a reputation among the blacks as a great chief - "The Tadpole Angel" - who is destined to save them, but not in this book. Peekay is just too noble, and his political views, perhaps reflecting those of his times, are paternal to say the least. But, nevertheless, this is a somewhat endearing, if uncritical, celebration of virtue and positive thinking. Despite the lack of shading and the chipper philosophy, then, a surprisingly refreshing debut. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; Mti edition (September 29, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034541005X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345410054
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (377 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,610 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Movie Tie-Ins
  #28 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure
  #68 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars --Riveting and Powerful--, February 8, 2003

By	Judith Miller (Bluemont, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Bryce Courtenay makes THE POWER OF ONE seems so authentic that the reader is carried right into the story.

The book begins when a five-year-old boy is being sent off to boarding school. He's small for his age, white and of English descent. His name is Peekay and he lives in South Africa. Up to this point in his life he's known only his family and his beloved black Nanny. Now, he's forced to take care of himself and survive under the most brutal of circumstances. The time is World War II and Peekay spends years in a boarding school where he's the only English student among Afrikaners who are sympathetic to the Nazi cause. He's beaten, tortured and treated as a "prisoner of war" by the older boys. The Afrikaners are the descendents of the Dutch and there has been a great deal of conflict between them and the English settlers who came to South Africa at a later period of time.

When I first started reading this novel, I wasn't sure if I could handle the passages about the brutal treatment of the little boy. However, I quickly learned that Peekay is a spirited survivor and would make it through that horrible period of his life. On his vacations from school, he meets several people, both black and white who really influence him and teach him to work hard in order to fulfill his dreams. I found an uplifting joy in every success that Peekay experienced.

This is a big book, but I looked forward to my reading sessions every day and I'm sure that part of this story will remain in my mind forever. The character of Peekay is very inspiring.

Next, I plan to read the sequel, TANDIA.

83 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The power to inspire!..., April 4, 2002

By	Jennifer Ortiz "jenortiz" (Irvington, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have to admit that this is one of the best books I've ever read. I happened to pick it up one day at a bargin store. It was in the middle of a bin full of books on sale for half price. The title caught my eye and I decided to buy it after reading the description inside the dust cover. Boy am I glad I did!!

I couldn't put it down. I read the whole book cover to cover in two days. It was amazing!! The characters are so beautifully descriptive. Peekay becomes so real, you feel like your right there with him. You will cry and laugh with him and cheer for joy when he succeeds.

He learns some pretty hard lessens early in life and yet he still treats everyone, no matter what color or background, with equal respect (this should be a guide for us all).

He battles through adversity and every challenge and refuses to let it dampen his will to accomplish his ultimate goal. First with the head and then with the heart...!!

I know that some might say that this book is unrealistic, some might even call Peekay selfish. I, on the other hand, took the romantic viewpoint and saw the story of a small boy who grew into a forward thinking youngman that saw through racial blindfolds and followed his heart to fullfill his dreams.

Please do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK!... You will not regret it.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely amazing and riveting novel, September 19, 2000

By A Customer

The Power of One is without a doubt, one of most compelling novels I've ever read, and what prompted me into researching a bit into the history of the African (and European) people under Apartheid living in South Africa. The book, although from a British perspective, seems very unbiased, unlike what you might be thinking. The Power of One begins with the main character (who names himself Peekay) heading off to boarding school, away from his beloved nanny, and into the arms of Boers (Dutch, also called Afrikaners), who not only despise him for being British but despise him as a human being. Throughout boarding school, Peekay is ridiculed but promises himself that he'll never cry again. Although Peekay looses a friend (Grandpa Chook- a chicken of all things), he comes to realize the horrible riff that lies between the Dutch and the British. After leaving boarding school, Peekay encounters a man who teaches him about some of the essentials of what he believed was the power of one, and from this man (a Boer) he discovers his love of boxing, which became his obsession, becoming Welterweight Champion of the World became his goal and his life. This is just the idea behind the power of one, and the introduction of the story. From there, the book tells about the many people Peekay encounters throughout his life and the influence they had upon him and what he believed was the power of one. But what struck me was really how beautifully written the novel is and the way it combines wit, humor, drama, and the everyday troubles of life, and still manages to get its message across and entertain the reader. Just an absolutely incredible novel that sets across a striking vision of South Africa before and during the terror that was Apartheid.