Power of One

Rating:
Summary: I know I am in the minority here.
Review: Okay, so this book does follow all the conventions of an epic or the hero's journey that we all learned about in high school--you get the supernatural, the mentor-guides, the entrance into the womb-like space of the cave. In the end, however, the writing is trite. He actually writes basically, "They passed like trains in the night." The narrator, Peekay, for all of his concern about naming, seems little concerned about the naming of black females, only white males. All of the black women are named in relation to him. All. And in the end, I find that just a tad disturbing, especially if I am to swallow that he is this "leader of Africa"--the reluctant voice of the people, etc. etc.

On the other hand, this is a fast read, and in actuallity a somewhat good read for late junior high school students, early high school students about the power of believing in yourself. Just read with a discerning eye.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: This book is fantastic and quite possibly the best book I have ever read! It should be required reading for HS students! I'm looking forward to more books by Bryce Courtenay!

Rating:
Summary: How did I miss this?
Review: I came to this wonderful book just this year. (2003)
The incredible writing style is immaculate, lyrical and
grabs your heart as well as your mind. The story is so
vastly superior to the movie that one cannot compare the
two. The Book tells the story of a young boy at the beginning
of World War II and takes him through the war,
the melting pot of South Africa and how he adapted over
and over to daunting circumstances.
One of the ten best reads of my life,And I'm in my

mid-seventies.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing story
Review: The Power of One was recommended to me by a friend who has made the book required reading for his high school English class. I must say that the recommendation was a good one and I found myself alternatively amazed and distressed by the story. I must admit that I was under the wrong impression when I read the cover of the book which refers to The Power of One as "the classic novel of South Africa." I expected the protagonist to be African struggling perhaps against Apartheid. I leaned my mistake on the first page when I learned that the protagonist is an English boy named Peekay who finds himself as an outcast at the early age of five. Early childhood smiles very rarely on the boy, but when it does it is in the form of the love and generosity of adults who give selflessly to the boy, leaving an indelible impression in a world otherwise filled with distress. I would say this book is not necessarily a story of triumph, but of perseverance. A story of belief in ones self and ones dreams as well as self determination at any cost. The later is perhaps Peekay's one greatest character flaw.

The story is well written and will hold your heart and mind despite the occasional unbelievable coincidence. Overall, a very good book and I have not hesitations in passing along my friend's recommendation to you.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best book I've ever read (and I've read a LOT)
Review: I first read this book at the behest of my English teacher at the time. I was 13 years old. Undaunted by the 800 or 900 odd pages, I plowed in. Little was I to know that Courtenay was to unfold a world before my eyes that would - and I say this completely free of hyperbole - change my life.

The Power of One, at its core, is the story of Peekay - a young English South African at the onset of Apartheid. Peekay suffers injustice at the hands of bigger Afrikaaner school bullies, which sets him on a course for the rest of his life. He becomes a boxer, taught by Geel Piet - a black inmate at the local jail. Geel Piet becomes more than a boxing tutor to Peekay, and teaches him what I believe is the central tenet of this book - Little can beat Big.

Peekay goes on to become a very adept boxer, and also a great academic. This represents the two main adult influences in his life - Geel Piet and boxing, Doc and academia.

The Power of One could be said to be a love story, but not in the general sense of the term. It is a love story with South Africa - a love story with the land, the wilderness and the people. With the country's errors and violence and also its spirit to rise above that all.

Little can beat big.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Was GREAT!!!!
Review: This book, as I said in my title, was great. Except for one thing. The ending. It was nice to know that the Peekay had finally gotten back at the Judge but I wanted to see him become the Boxing Champion of the World. This book, other than that one flaw was inspired. It is amazing that the author can put so much into one book.
This book starts and ends with Peekay. Peekay is taken from his home in the middle of the second world war and put into a bording school where all of the general population hates him. He goes there with his rooster dubbed Grandpa Chook. He is tortured and at the end of his stay Grandpa Chook is killed.
From there he travels on the railroad and meets Hoppie, who is a VERY NICE person and a terrific boxer. He is the one who inspires Peekay to become boxing champion of the world. He goes home and finds out that his mom has turned into a religion freak. He meets several nice people there too. He meets Doc, who changes Peekay from a frightened boy to a champion. He meets Geel Piet, who is an exellent boxing instructor, even if he is a crook. He meets tons of nice people. But, Doc gets jailed for being an unregistered immigrant from Germany. He has to spend the rest of World War two in prison. This is when Peekay really learns to box. He has to practice for three years until he is ready for the city competition. He wins in his division. From there he has schooling with Doc, since he is way ahead and has passed the knowledge of most of his teachers. When he is of age he wins a scholarship into a private school and meets Morrie, a Jew. They come up with all kinds of schemes to win money and Peekay finally has enough to hire a pro trainer. His boxing steadily improves and he helps the school win the championships. However,cantreally put it into words, but starting from the time when he smuggled things into jail for the colored prisoners he was given a special name. Tadpole Angel in English. Well, when he graduates he gets several scholarships, but fails in the one for oxford. He decides to spend some time in the copper mines so he can get away from it all and find out who he really is. The death of Doc while he was in school was a very emotional time for him. At the end of the book he fights the Judge and so can finally except himself for who he really is. In finally standing up to the Judge he set himself free.
I had hoped that I would see Peekay become Boxing Champion of the World, but, in a way, this ending was good too.

Rating:
Summary: --Riveting and Powerful--
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The Power of One
Review: The Power of One was brought to my attention by a relative who is very good at recommending books. I found this to be quite a good book that was very engrossing. But all of the charactors were VERY idealistic. The protagonist, Peekay, had no flaws. He was a very gifted child who did everything right and never did anything out of spite or selfishness, and while there are people who do very few wrong or mean-spirited things people are flawed, and Peekay was not.

Rating:
Summary: Best book of my life!
Review: I have read this book 4 times. I have also read every one of Bryce Courtenay's other books. The Potato Factory is excellent as well. But the Power of One is my favorite book . . . EVER. I read at leat 20 - 30 novels each year. I still think of the characters from this book. I leave for South Africa in a few days and I'm reading this book once more. This is a great book also for high school kids - even boys! If you want your high schooler to read a book and you can't find one he will like - try this one.

Rating:
Summary: Almost
Review: It was fun read, no doubt, and I have recommended it to my friends and family but...I think there are some unsatisfying, contrived scenarios and disappointing chances. The concert given by the professor in the town square was built up but then the actual event was almost a non-event for this reader. Often scenes were contrived in such a way as to make the reader believe that the Professor or Peekay were doomed, but nothing much ever happened to them after the arrest. Who would have expected the Professor to live through it all and die of old age? Why didn't Peekay sound the alarm when he saw the light and heard the sounds of the beating of Geel Piet? He said nothing but instead went off to lead his black adorers in song. Strange. I admit I am jealous of Peekay's gifts. So intelligent that he didn't really have to study, he just had to read the book and he remembered everything. Or in the case of the advanced math, he just had to glance over a shoulder to learn it. Jeez, must be nice. And then all of those wonderful mentors just show up in his life. Wouldn't we all like to have just one of those six or seven people in our lives. So he had a miserable fifth and sixth years of his life. Prior to that, and after that he had anything he wanted. Okay, he didn't get the Oxford scholarship but he would have in another year or two. It was mentioned in the book that Dee and Dum were taken out of their village and brought to Barberton to serve Peekay, his mother (who treated them like kak) and grandfather. They were forced to dress and behave differently and lost all contact with their tribe and culture. Did Peekay ever think to give up a weekend in the hills with the Professor and take them home for a visit? He treated them good, just like old Tom Jeffersonn did his slaves, but they were still his "paid" slaves and he didn't give them up, or fight for their freedom, did he? I thought the ending was silly. All of this mystical thinking and fretting over what to do with his opportunities and intelligence comes down to a fistfight with a grade school bully. The Judge was what? Nine or ten years old in school. Also not content with the beating he gave him he sliced him up like chopped liver. Come on. So that is what all of that learning and searching came down too? Kick his ass. Give us a better moral than an eye for an eye. What would Miss Borstein say? And how come they never got together anyway? I was waiting and hoping for Peekay to make his move. But all the women in his life mothered him. Nanny, mother, Dee, Dum, Miss Borstein, Mrs. Boxall. Is Peekay gay? Is the author? We can see from his bio that the author worked in the mines and I think he wanted to write something about his experience even if it didn't work properly. This whole thing about Peekay being a God to the blacks of Africa is like some white African's daydream. I think male South Africans love the idea of the black Africans lining the roads smiling, singing and prostrating themselves as the Boer or Rooinek waves from his Mercedes. Hell, I'm American and that's sounds good to me too but it ain't gonna happen.