3 - 3.5 stars

This novel makes an appearance in the top ten of the most loved novels in Australia, so my high expectations were justified. I feel I should have loved this, but I didn't. I should have loved it because it addresses racism, antisemitism, tribalism; it shows some disdain for religious beliefs while praising the power of knowledge and education - all these aspects, and more, should have made me go ga-ga over this novel.

The Power of One is pretty aptly named, it's also my main issue with this novel. You see, the protagonist of this novel, Peekay, whom we meet as a five-year-old and whose adventures we follow until he's eighteen, seems to possess many powers: excellent ability to learn different languages; ability to learn to play the piano; sporting abilities which turn him into a champion boxer; high IQ, which allowed him to outperform everyone at school etc. With the help of mentors he runs clandestine letter exchange services for the mostly black men in prison; at sixteen he establishes an after-hours school to teach black kids, in spite of the law which prohibited black schools in white communities.
And of course, he always wins his boxing matches, even though he was facing taller and heavier opponents. Speaking of boxing, there's sooooooo much of it. I personally find boxing reprehensible.

There isn't anything Peekay can't do. He's perfect! He's the best at everything. He sees no colour, has no prejudices, no hang-ups, he's selfless and incredibly empathetic, breaks barriers, enlightens and helps so many. He's a saint! A white knight with no armour.

Another problem, The Power of One is too long, even though it's easy to digest given it's dialogue rich and action packed. I don't know why I somehow expected it to be more literary.

Overall, I enjoyed and appreciated this novel and can definitely see why so many love it.

The lack of restraint when dishing out Peekay's virtues and because its somewhat simplistic portrayal of race and tribal relations, I'm only giving this 3 - 3.5 stars.

Really good story telling here, the book is set in South Africa during the 1940's and follows a young boy called Peekay from age five to adulthood. The prejudice in society is breathtakingly awful, not just black and white, but Boers and English and Jews too.
There is a sequel called Tandia, which I shall be reading sooner rather than later.

The Power of One is at its simplest, a story of self-reliance and perseverance in times of hardship and struggle. The story follows Peekay from childhood through his young adult years, including his schooling, his pursuit of boxing, and his odd collection of enemies, friends, mentors and teachers.

The book is long, and it took me quite a long time to get into the story. It was a commitment, particularly because I found the pace of the story to be slow and full of (somewhat unnecessary) detail early on, but once I did finally get into it, The Power of One was quite good.

"Ahead of me lay the dreaded Mevrou, the Judge and the jury, and the beginning of the power of one - how I learned that in each of us there burns a flame of independence that must never be allowed to go out. That as long as it exists within us we cannot be destroyed."