Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I was very surprised as to how much I actually enjoyed this book. As a senior in high school who's read mostly science fiction and fantasy since the 8th grade, I was not expecting to enjoy a story about a boy in South Africa who was obsessed with boxing. Plus, it was required reading, which sort of put a damper on the whole thing. So the fact that this story held my interest after the first chapter was amazing in itself. The fact that by the end I was staying up late at night to find out what would happen next was even more amazing. Though the story does get a bit "Hollywood" at moments, it's realistic situations and strong characters keep you involved in the story.
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 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. Often scenes were contrived in such a way as to make the reader believe that the professor was doomed. Who would have expected him 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. 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. 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 aftet 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 lost all of their contacts with their tribe and even had to dress different. 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, yes, but they were still his 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 the a fistfight with a gradeschool bully. Come on. Gives us a better moral than, an eye for an eye. 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 Africans daydream. I think all male South Africans love the idea of the black Africans lining the roads and singing to them as they wave from a car. Hell, I'm American and that's sounds good to me too.
Rating:
Summary: Highs, Lows and Everything In Between
Review: Other reviews have told the plot, so I'll only say this: the author tells a spellbinding story in a fascinating, rich millieu. I read a lot and am usually disappointed and bored. This book is going on my "great reads" list, definitely! Each chapter has more than one emotional high and low, tensions build to powerful climaxes, the emotional rollercoater goes from horror, to fear, to sorrow, to poignancy, to triumph, exultation, even moments of hysterical fun. While there are definitely social themes such as intolerance of all kinds, the book is never preachy, very few characters are "all good/all bad" stereotypes, so the significance of the theme is but a layer, one of many, adding to the richness of the drama.
Rating:
Summary: A inspiring tale of South Africa
Review: [...]I came up on this book at the recommendation of a colleague, she mentioned it was one of her favorite books. I bought a copy from Amazon and it sat on my shelf for sometime. After Cold Mountain it became my next book. I was reminded while reading of a book that I might have been required to read in high school, a tale of high moral lesson. The story also reminded me very much of the Speilberg movie Empire of the Sun, not for the content as much for common factors. A young boy in perilous times, a journey of self discovery and ultimately hope along a lonely trail. Boxing occupies a central theme as the boy, Peekay's means for discipline and character development. It was truly an inspiring read. I recently saw the movie version, and the book is so much better. I found the acting pretty bad, the characters looked like characters in whom you could never see as more than an actor in a role, and the whole love story was silly and unnecessary. Don't watch the movie, read the book.
Rating:
Summary: a phenomenal read!
Review: Being a voracious reader, I consume many books not worth rating. This is the best written book I have read in the last few years.
The editoral tells the storyline. The power of one may be more than just the influence of one person on the world. It also summons the reader to question the arbitrary man-made divisions between men, the making the "one" of humanity into facets. These facets were along colorlines, religious pursuits, occupations, etc. I found refreshing the valued relationships between old and young throughout the book. If you haven't read this, treat yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Better after the 5th time
Review: I've read and re-read this book, and it only gets better. I have shared this book with men and women and they all appreciate it's power. Very well written. A real connection with the characters. This is a master writer.
Rating:
Summary: Power of one
Review: "Power of One" has changed my life. The emotions from this book involving PK's traumatic inhuman times to the extreme happy times have touched me greatly. Outstanding, thank you so much, Bryce, for bringing this book to me!
Rating:
Summary: 1st. by the Head, then by the the Heart
Review: Allow youself to be transported and captured as an onlooker while the main character Peekay takes you on an adventure in growing up in South Africa beginning in 1939, first learning from the myriad of other characters you'll also never forget and want to go back every other year to refresh your soul. Walk along with Peekay as he tries to overcomes all the odds against him, predgidous, racism, intolerance and lack of Freedom.
You won't want the story to end, and when it does there will be a strange sensation you'll feel, until you pick up a copy of Tandia?
Rating:
Summary: Concerto of the Great Southland
Review: This is the chronicle of Peekay, a disadvantaged South African white boy who, at the age of six, decides that he will be the welterweight champion of the world. The story begins in 1939 when Peekay is five, and he is the smallest lad at a boarding school where his bed-wetting affliction is getting him in trouble. He suffers constant abuse from a band of Nazi worshipping older boys, and even the teachers. Peekay copes using his 'camouflage,' his chameleon like skill to disguise his true nature. After a year or so at the boarding school, Peekay is reunited with his mother, who had been hospitalized for conniptions, and his grandfather. He has no father, the author never reveals why not, and none, least of all Peekay, seem to miss him. His mother and grandfather are dear, but uninfluential. Peekay treats his mother with tender respect, fearing that she will have another nervous breakdown, but he shuns her distorted Jesus-freak perception of the world. Grandpa, who mostly tends roses and diddles with his pipe, isn't much help either. Peekay is a prodigy, and he has the good fortune to choose good mentors, including a pugilistic railway conductor and an inveterate recidivist at the local penitentiary. The most important of his tutors, however, is Doc, a washed out concert pianist who teaches music and collects aloe and cacti. As Peekay and Doc explore the African veld, Doc tutors Peekay on many subjects, especially the value of thinking for himself. Through Peekay, Doc and a host of other well crafted characters, Courtenay scrutinizes the logic of born again Christians, the ordained superiority of white men, the relevance of Jewishness, the glory of the English Empire, the origin of Afrikanerdom, the philosophy of apartheid, the disposition of cacti versus roses, and the significance of all deaths, even that of a kaffir chicken. He entangles these concerns with strands of poignant romaticization. You might want to keep the Kleenex box handy, particularly when Doc recuperates his musical genius long enough to compose the Concerto of the Great Southland. This is a review of the paperback edition.
Rating:
Summary: Words Cannot Express......
Review: Nothing short of amazing. A must read. I loved it from the first page and couldn't put it down. I could read it again and again. Every few months I have to pick it up to refresh my memory. Every time I still cry, I cannot wait to read Tandia. If you thought the movie was good just wait untill you read the book! Even better.
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