This book is a wonderful story of the hope and success of an underdog, of relationships breaking barriers of race, age, religion, wealth, and of a boy learning who he is and who he should be. I would really like to rate this book a 4.5. I loved about 500 pages of this book, but was disappointed with the ending.

***SPOILER ALERT*** For most of the book I really thought, this could really happen. And then, to make a "nice ending", of course it all comes full circle in the end and the frayed ends are all knotted. That just doesn't happen. Allowing Peekay to conquer the Judge in one simple fight left me very unsatisfied. The whole book I pulled for him to slowly, bit by bit, mature and conquer his childhood demons. It seems a little trite that with one fight, it's all over. Not to mention that the knife carving in the Judge was way over the top. Made me feel like Courtenay got so deep in the fascinating intricacies of the stories that he couldn't find a way out, got tired of writing, and tossed in that scene so I could get back to the other 15 or so books on my bookshelf... I may be a rare reader in that I would have much preferred being left not knowing what lies ahead for PK with the People, boxing, school, God, his friends, etc., hoping and cheering for him as he moves on to other things in life to continue his quest to discover himself and the world. I strive to be a forgiving soul, though, so I will not let the last 5 pages ruin the glorious journey I enjoyed with PK.

I just finished reading this book for a summer assignment, and I have to say that I would rather have read the telephone book. At least the telephone book doesn't have characters so annoying that I throw it against a wall.

My main issue with this book was the main character. He goes through the whole book with a 'poor me, I'm such a suffering soul' mentality which really makes no sense. He speaks almost as many languages as I have fingers on one hand (including a bit of Latin, which I've heard is very hard to learn), he instantly befriends almost everyone, and he's practically a genius. Oh, and he's been an amazing boxer since he was a child.

The author tries to interject some interest in the plot, but fails completely because it's so obvious that whatever challenges the main character (who doesn't seem to have a real name, only a nickname. I assume the author had a purpose in doing this, but what it is I can't guess) faces, he will overcome them quickly and easily; and then complain about it for the rest of the chapter.

7/12/17

Have read most of Bryce's books. This is the only one I really wanted to re-read.
Have re-read some sections several times. Did not watch video. Would have been less likely to read story if had seen
in advance the promotion oriented (and over-emphasis on) on the boxing aspect . The sequel, Tandia, wasn't one I wanted to re-read, but reading it added considerable perspective on South Africa.

The Power of One & Tandia

**

During the decades buying books for the library, how many thousands of review could I have read? : "Booklist," "Publishers Weekly," "Library Journal" ... and during the days of buying from Ingram, I found their "Advance" publication quite useful.

The New York Times book review section didn't fit well the reading profile of "Cowboy County." Nor did I buy reviews from Kirkus. Now, for Goodreads, I like to netswipe their opinions ...

(Fuzzy memory - Kirkus charged a $400 fee to publishers to provide a review?)

KIRKUS REVIEW (Caveat, as Kirkus reviews frequently do, this one contains spoilers.)

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.

Bryce Courtney's debut novel, The Power of One left me hungry for more of his compelling characters, Peekay,
Doc, Granpa, The Prison Gang, Miss Bornstein, Ms Boxall, the Judge and on and on. Set in South Africa during WW II it offers a tantalizing journey of a young English boy, Peekay, thrust into situations that would test the mettle of the most morally and physically strong amongst us, and yet he conquers all. His chief mentors in life, a German professor, English librarian, and an unlikely assortment of Africans, Boers and others take a strong interest in his intellectual and physical development.

Blessed with keen intelligence and tremendous willpower Peekay's goal is to become the Welterweight Champion of the World. Boxing is the catalyst for much of the action and it is critical in the gut wrenching finale, where Peekay encounters his long-time antagonist, The Judge, in the most unlikely of encounters.

Masterfully done. A Great read.

I was immediately hooked by this story as it followed a young boy, Peekay, to boarding school where he excelled academically, but was subjected to pretty miserable treatment by his older/bigger peers. Set in South Africa during the time of WWII, it showed a nation beset by cultural divisions; white/black, English/Afrikaner, Christian/Jew, Germany/everyone else. Within this stew, Peekay tries to find safe ground, developing a tendency for human camouflage. The first part of this epic saga focuses on his efforts to understand the world around him and to survive it. Despite some pretty despicable events, there is much humor in the telling, which softened events that made me want to claw some characters from the pages.

As the story proceeds, Peekay leaves boarding school and reintegrates into his family and surrounding town. As we follow Peekay through this coming-of-age journey, we meet a number of memorable and instrumental characters; instrumental for leaving a mark on an impressionable boy, for influencing his view of the world, himself, and his choices.

As the story progressed, and became more focused on boxing, my interest did wane somewhat. But the characters, choices and outcomes kept me reading. The cultural background Peekay existed in was ever-present, and was interesting and informative and apropos of the times. Occasionally, almost too much information was given which seemed to bog things down, but also provided some vivid understanding of his surroundings and activities (mining, boxing, living within a prison setting).

I confess that as I neared the end of the story, I wondered where this was going to end...where were we headed in his journey. When the end came, I thought...."Oh, of course." And although it seemed abrupt, it left me with as much satisfaction as Peekay must have felt.

n  “… the power of one – one idea, one heart, one mind, one plan, one determination.”n

The fictionalized biography of Peekay, a young man born into a profoundly racist WW II South Africa, is so compelling, so graphic, so gut-wrenching, so moving and so gripping, it is all but impossible to believe that it is Bryce Courtenay’s debut novel. Like Jeffrey Archer’s KANE AND ABEL, Herman Wouk’s THE WINDS OF WAR or Khaled Hosseini’s THE KITE RUNNER, Peekay’s personal story is credible, moving, and unfailingly interesting. At the same time, like Lawrence Hill’s THE BOOK OF NEGROES or Richard Wright’s BLACK BOY, the endemic, deeply rooted racism is stomach-churning, disturbing and shocking – whites hate blacks, Pentecostal Christians hate Jews, South Africans hate Brits, Nazis hate everyone who isn’t Nazi. 1930s and 1940s apartheid South Africa is a dangerous, violent, distressed and, frankly, very ugly country that exemplifies hatred but Peekay, despite the blockades lined up in front of him, is determined to rise above it all. With the help of black men and women, his eyes are firmly fixed on the welterweight boxing championship of the world.

And the writing was beyond brilliant. Peekay’s friend and mentor, Doc von Vollensteen, was imprisoned for the temerity of having been born German at a time when Hitler was ravaging Europe. The prison concert scene, for example, in which Doc debuted his piano composition “Concerto for the Great Southland”, sung by the black inmates in a polyglot male chorus of mixed tribal languages, was one of the most moving segments of writing that I’ve ever clapped eyes on.

THE POWER OF ONE and its sequel TANDIA comprise a rather daunting 1400 page epic but I was simply astonished at how quickly the opening novel sped by. Despite its length, I was sorry to see it end but I’m looking forward to cracking the metaphorical binding on the sequel.

Highly, highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

Took me some time to read, but not because it wasn't good, but just because there is so much to this story. A supremely well written book! If you like historical fiction - the type focused on people living in certain historical eras, not necessarily specific historical events - you will enjoy this story. I now feel like I have a good feel for WWII era South Africa. Also, if you like interesting characters and good character development, this is a good story for you, too.

At least 3 people I know have told me that this is their favorite book, so I just had to give it a read. It is really, really good. The book follows a young man, Peekay, as he grows up in South Africa in the 30s and 40s. He meets a series of very influential adults and is constantly being shaped by them and also by his many differing experiences growing up. The one theme that stays true throughout is his desire to become the welterweight boxing champion of the world. This is the kind of book that you find yourself not wanting to put down and you miss it when you aren’t reading it. I definitely recommend this book to anyone at all. While I won’t list it as my favorite, it is definitely one of my favorites.

“Always listen to yourself. It is better to be wrong than to simply follow convention. If you are wrong, no matter, you have learned something and you will grow stronger. If you are right, you have taken another step towards a fulfilling life.”

“…God is too busy making the sun come up and go down and watching so the moon floats just right in the sky to be concerned with such rubbish. Only man wants always God should be there to condemn this one and save that one. Always it is man who wants to make heaven and hell. God is too busy training the bees to make honey and every morning opening up all the new flowers for business… In Mexico there is a cactus that even sometimes you would think God forgets. But no, my friend, this is not so. On a full moon in the desert every one hundred years he remembers and he opens up a single flower to bloom. And if you should be there and you see this beautiful cactus blossom painted silver by the moon and laughing up at the stars, this is heaven…This is the faith in God the cactus has… It is better just to get on with the business of living and minding your own business and maybe, if God likes the way you do things, he may just let you flower for a day or a night. But don’t go pestering and begging and telling him all your stupid little sins, that way you will spoil his day.”

“…in this world are very few things made from logic alone. It is illogical for a man to be too logical. Some things we must just let stand. The mystery is more important than any possible explanation. The searcher after truth must search with humanity. Ruthless logic is the sign of a limited mind. The truth can only add to the sum of what you know, while a harmless mystery left unexplored often adds to the meaning of life. When a truth is not so important, it is better left as a mystery.”

“The mind is the athlete; the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit further, or box better. “First with the head and then with the heart” was more than simply mixing brains with guts. It meant thinking well beyond the powers of normal concentration and then daring your courage to follow your thoughts.”

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. First published 1989.

So much has been written over the years about this book that I can’t add anything more illuminating to what has already been said. So this will just be my concise opinion.

This would have to be my third reading of The Power of One and still, although the story is well known to me, it still has the power, ignore the pun, to move me.
Every human emotion is on display here be they good or bad. This sadly is the human condition. We have within us the ability to do great good but conversely we can often use that ability to do great wrongs. If no one makes a stand nothing changes. It just takes one person with enough power and resolve to get things started.
This for me is the power behind The Power of One.

I was surprised at how emotional I became when reading the passage about Grandpa Chooks death by stoning, or how infected I became with Doc’s thirst of knowledge. Talk about being invested in the characters.

If you haven’t read this yet, do yourself a favour and do it.

A truly memorable reading 5 star experience.

Aside from my childhood favorites, I can't think of a story I've carried deeper or longer than this one. I think of Peekay, and the loneliness birds, and the black citizens of South Africa - in their hope for a Rainmaker - at least once a week, and this has been true for well over twenty years. From start to finish, this is a story perfectly told.

I read this book on someone’s recommendation. The subject of a schoolboy’s aspirations to become a boxer didn’t sound very appealing to me but from the very first page I found myself gripped by his story. This small frightened child who is subjected to years of injustice and bullying finds strength and support from the most unexpected quarters. Growing up in south africa in an era where racism and brutality are commonplace it is the black people who help and care for him that are his saviours. He is befriended by a German professor who becomes his mentor and most beloved friend but when war breaks out events occur that shape this young boy into a resourceful and determined character who is driven by his determination to become the welterweight champion of the world.

A friend recommended Bryce Courtenay's “The Power of One” at a time when I was in the doldrums. No novel could have worked better to lift my spirits.

Set in South Africa during the Second World War, it is a coming-of-age story of Peekay, a precocious 5-year-old child. While the world was being terrorized by Hitler, Peekay was terrorized by the Judge (an older peer) in boarding school for being a rooinek (English speaking South African). His abject helplessness, given his pint-size stature and age, was juxtaposed against the comfort he drew from his African wet nurse and a pet rooster he affectionately named Grandpa Chook. Part I of the story was told with a generous dose of sweet childlike humor even as Peekay learned through his humiliation that “in each of us there burns a flame of independence that must never be allowed to go out” and that “as long as it exists within us we cannot be destroyed”.

The novel also attests to the power of significant others who can make a difference to disadvantaged individuals and contribute to resilience. Peekay had three mentors who shaped his ambition, nurtured his talents, and taught him independence. The power of one germinated from a mustard seed sown by Hoppie Groenewald, a boxer who helped little Peekay realize that “small can beat big.” Hoppie launched Peekay’s dream to become the welterweight champion of the world. A German professor, von Vollensteen (Doc), gave him piano lessons and stretched him intellectually. Geel Piet, a Cape Colored prisoner, coached him in boxing. What is truly lovely is the way diversity was celebrated in the novel. Despite racism that pervaded South Africa at that time, there were exhilarating moments when the bond between the non-natives and the tribes in South Africa grew tentatively and then gathered strength. It was best expressed in Doc’s composition and presentation of the Concerto of the Great Southland, dedicated to all the prison tribes. In this, the power of one took on a whole new dimension.

Part II, however, was less convincing. Peekay as portrayed in his adolescent years had a maturity that seemed unreal and excessive even for a precocious youth. His social confidence was also out of sync with his sheltered experience of having been socialized solely in the company of adults.

Part III was satisfying although a tad disappointing. But what I found touching was Peekay’s friendship with Rasputin, the non-English speaking Russian timber man who worked the copper mines. There was poetic justice when Peekay avenged the untimely death of Grandpa Chook. But what became of Peekay’s long held dream? Perhaps, the fulfilment of this dream was implied. Perhaps, what was more important was for the power of one to culminate in that one defining moment when Peekay finally stood up to the Judge.

There were gems for living strewn throughout the novel. When I was feeling down, it was good to be reminded by Peekay’s nanny that "Sadness has a season and will pass." I also appreciated what Doc told the weeping boy Peekay when they first made their acquaintance in the hills, "No matter what has happened bad, today I'm finished from being sad. Absoloodle!"

“The Power of One” is “absoloodly” inspiring. A story exceeedingly well told.