4.5⭐️

4.5 Stars.


The Power of One is a very long but breathtaking story with characters and moments which I will never forget. It is coming of age story; a wonderful journey through the life of Peekay, a boy growing up in South Africa from 1930 to 1951. The book takes the reader through his life until the time he goes off to University. On an individual and societal level the story is marked by great struggles to overcome injustices and stiff odds. At the same time it imparts a real sense of South Africa and the friction between its diverse peoples: Dutch Afrikaners, native Boers, a host of black tribes, and the English.

This was a fabulous read offering picture perfect descriptions of people and landscapes. I felt I was there in South Africa, viewing African landscapes, from the outsides of the rural town of Barberton, to the deserts, to the beauty of the city of Johannesburg. I was completely immersed in this story from beginning to end and I fell in love with some of the characters and hated others.

Peekay is exposed to his first experiences of hatred and prejudice when his mother suffers a mental breakdown and he is sent to boarding school. He is called a rooinek (“redneck”) which refers to him being an Englishman and his classmates bully him because they blame him for everything the English have done in South Africa. His years at the boarding school are violent and traumatic.

After Peekay leaves boarding school he meets several mentors and friends who will influence his life and mold him as a person. Even on his first train ride home from boarding school he meets his first mentor, Hoppie, an amateur boxer.

Hoppie is a kind man who sees that young Peekay is alone on a train so he takes him under his wing and they have a wonderful time together. I breathed a sigh of relief (I think I had a little PTSD too) that Hoppie treated Peekay with kindness after the years of abuse he endured in boarding school, not to mention the final abusive bullying by way of a goodbye present. During this train journey Hoppie brings Peekay to a boxing match in which he competes. Hoppie beats a much larger opponent and after watching this Peekay immediately develops a deep passion for boxing and decides he wants to become the welterweight champ of the world. In this pivotal scene Hoppie explains how he beat a man much larger than himself, "first with the head, and then with the heart.” Along with this mantra is the idea of the Power of One, the power that one has inside his or herself to achieve anything. Hoppie repeats the mantra to Peekay several times before the two separate and it becomes Peekay’s mantra for the rest of the novel.

After Hoppie, Peekay meets a German music teacher, cactus collector and lover of South Africa and it’s people. Doc, is a wonderfully endearing character with whom I fell in love; my favorite friend and mentor of Peekay’s. They have many adventures together and throughout they help each other with Doc often offering Peekay priceless and unique philosophical advice on life.

There are other mentors and friends but I will not describe them all but I promise that you will want to meet them. As for boxing, I have always hated it and any form of fighting so this was not an obvious novel for me to read. But I’m so glad that I did read it because although there are boxing matches this is not a boxing story but a story about a boy growing into a man with the right moral and personal compass and the experiences he has along the way. It's a novel that has lessons about courage, responsibility, friendship and independence. As Peekay said, “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.”

My only complaints are that at times Peekay's accomplishments strain credulity and that it sometimes felt like it could have used some editing.

I will end with my favorite scene in the book which is a piano performance by Doc of an original piece of music which he created and performed. This piece of music includes individual songs from each African tribe in the audience but in between these songs Doc weaves together lines of music from each tribal song into a harmonious whole of it’s own. I had goosebumps listening to the description of this concert.

I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator, Humphrey Bower, was amazing. He captures innumerable accents and voices and pronounces words native to Zulu, Africaans, German, Latin and English.

Do I recommend this book? Absodoodle, as Doc would say in his thick German accent while speaking English.

One of my favorite books! This is a truly inspirational historical fiction about of boyhood in South Africa at the birth of apartheid. Follow the life of a British child who comes of age amidst resentful Boers who are recovering from their own persecution while simultaneously championing the causes of Hitler in Germany. This precocious boy struggles to understand the clash of races and racism while simultaneously overcoming boundaries through the medium of competitive boxing.

One perhaps could make the arguement that a tinge of racism lingers in the storyline itself due to the fact that the main character, a white boy, becomes the perceived savior and idol of the native African tribesmen (sort of like Ben Kingsley, a Brit, portraying Gandhi onscreen). However, it is still a wonderful book in which the reader becomes immersed in the story, place and time.

The Power of One follows a young boy as he navigates his way through life in the divided and hostile lands of South Africa. It is the story of an English child who refuses to be demoralised by the discrimination that constantly surrounds him. It is the story of Peekay, the boy who brought hope to the hopeless and sight to the ignorant, the boy who fought against oppression.

On his journey to becoming a man, Peekay encounters a number of diverse friends, all offering a new lesson on how to get through life. These friends educate Peekay in compassion, love, loyalty and strength and provide him with courage to stay true to himself and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. This book deals with race, class, objectivism, faith vs. reason, obsession, religion and science. Simply remarkable and enlightening, this was an eye-opening read that I would recommend to all. This is a book everyone should read at some point in their lives.

I started reading this book because I am absolutely in love with the movie so I approached the novel with a number of expectations, which were unfortunately not met. I was a little disappointed to find that the book and the movie are vastly different. While, yes, the book is amazing, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that some of my favourite parts from the movie were not in the book. I found I was waiting for a plot that I loved but never came.

I also found that I didn’t get much closure at the end. Unlike in the movie, I was left with a great number of questions and I felt that the ending left me a bit flat. Despite this, I struggled to put this book down and I can safely say that it should be on everyone’s must read list.

The Power of One is beautifully written and Courtenay exquisitely captures the essence of childhood in Peekay as he gazes wide-eyed at his confusing and confronting world, attempts to wrap his head around the politics of adulthood and endeavors to avoid getting caught up in the destruction of discrimination within society.

Check out my full review here

I SO WANTED TO GIVE THIS BOOK FIVE STARS!!!!!

My impression is that this book was very well-written, with great character development and description of the land. I used the audible version, and the narration was excellent, adding to my enjoyment of the story. The relationship between the main character, Peekay, and his mentor, Doc, was so sweet and wonderful, and made the book worth the read. And I loved the many other supporting cast of characters, including his prison boxing coach, his teacher, and his buddy at school. Some of the symbolism and imagery was clever, and really added to the Paul-Bunyon-esque nature of the book. But this kind of leads me into the book’s flaws... It’s a little over the top with “hard-work-and-inspiration-leads-to-phenomenal-success," with an added large dose of the “white savior” theme. His whole Tadpole Angel, capable of uniting all the tribes of South Africa bit - was over the top. And there are two major coincidences with boxing partners that further contribute to the improbable vibe of the story. Finally (SPOLER ALERT), the ending truly disappointed me. Yes, I figured he would meet the Judge in the boxing ring at some point in time, and there was some gratification in it for me as the reader. However, the proposition that the final elimination of Peekay's loneliness birds and healing from the past - was achieved though beating the crap out of his formal rival and carving his initials in the guy’s arm - really was disappointing. It seems to me that it is far more likely that he could have achieved healing from the many, many positive relationships he was able to achieve in his life, and all of the support and love her received from those around him. The idea that he needed physical revenge with a pathetic, psychologically unwell and compromised school bully - did not do the story justice, in my opinion.

This is the story of Peekay, a frail, young, English boy growing up poor in South Africa and of his refusal to be demoralized by the racial torment surrounding him. On the road to becoming a young man he cultivates some uniquely, diverse friends and discovers many truths, not the least of which, are that loyalty, strength, love and compassion, coupled with a insatiable, thirst for knowledge and armed with the focus and courage to stay true to one's own self, can all be fused together, thus harnessing a power so potent that any worthy goal can and will be achieved. For me the message that rings out loudest and clearest in this story is how ridiculous racial hatred truly is.

Well written and thoughtful, even with the raw reality of South Africa and growing up.

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.

Audible audiobook performed by Humphrey Bower


How had I never heard of this book before? A challenge to travel the world combined with a challenge to read a book that “made-me-cry” brought this one to my attention, and am I ever glad it did!

Courtenay’s autobiographical novel tells the story of a small boy sent to boarding school because his mother has had a nervous breakdown. He’s bullied and terrorized, but learns how to get along with the help of a pet chicken and a native medicine man. Peekay (a nicer version of the nickname the bullies christen him with) is an intelligent, bookish kid and his reading ability helps him advance in school far beyond his chronological age. Just when he figures he’s gotten the hang of this boarding school, he’s advised that he’s leaving for a new home.

A six-year-old on a several-days-long train journey is pretty vulnerable, but the porter, conductor and other railway employees take Peekay under their wing. This is where he learns about boxing and sets a goal for himself that he pursues relentlessly.

I’m not the writer Courtenay is, so can’t really do justice to the plot of this coming-of-age story. But the writing grabbed me from page one and I was sorry to see it end. Peekay has more than his share of difficulties and tragedies befall many of the people he comes to love and rely on. He’s a great kid and I was cheering for Peekay throughout. And while I’m no fan of boxing, I even enjoyed the lessons on strategy and technique.

Humphrey Bower does a great job of performing the audiobook. He really brings the characters to life, though I did have some difficulties understanding the accent at times.

One of the most boring books I have tried to read this year and I believe I have quit on about 50 books which is a new record for me. This has some real horror so you don't want to read it. It has left a scar on my mind.

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."

One sentence review: pretty solid high school book.


Multiple Sentence Review:
I kinda struggled with this book for awhile. This was the first modern novel I’ve read in a few years and wow do the writing styles change a lot from the 19th to the late 20th century. I’m not a huge fan of the writing style, so it put me at odds with the book immediately. Quick paragraphs barely 2 sentences long make me feel like I’m having an ADD attack. You may be able to describe a bunch of things, but it doesn’t pull you in. Shallow sentences and paragraphs make shallow story telling to me. That being said, playing in the shallow end of the pool can be kind of refreshing and relaxing, as long as you get acclimated to it. So, as the book progressed I ended up liking it more - maybe because I started reading it with a heavy Australian accent… (yes I know it’s a book about South Africa but the author is Australian and I really can’t be bothered to understand the difference so leave me alone)

The book is written from the first person perspective, with Peekay narrating (as an adult, looking back) and trusting the reader with his thoughts and feelings, as opposed to a detailed description of places and account of action. To be honest, his thoughts aren’t that interesting and I just overall didn’t really like him. I found the book to be at its best when showing the racism occurring in South Africa, and it honestly does a good job of this. The scene, towards the end of the book, with the police officer trying to shut down the night school best highlights this for me, as I got genuinely frustrated with the circumstances and the clear abuse of power.

The book does a good job of allowing you to navigate through the landscape of South Africa at a high level, but at the expense of not having a real main character. Peekay (or PK) is a ‘Marty Stu’ (male version of a Mary Sue), meaning he can go anywhere and basically do anything successfully – he’s free of any real weaknesses or flaws. He is put in different circumstances, not really because that’s what a real person (especially 5-18 year old boy) would do but because the story requires it, as it wants to expose you to as many of the different aspects of the world of 1940/50s South Africa as it can. Which, again to the authors credit, seems to have succeeded in doing for a younger audience, and to whom the book seems to be clearly aimed at. The multifaceted moods of South Africa are clearly captured in this book.

Supporting cast characters are bland, and pretty one dimensional, as their roles can be boiled down into a one sentence description. That being said, some of them fit into their roles very nicely, and I did like most of them – Doc the most.

The other theme, having ‘My destiny is in my own hands’ is fine I think for a younger audience in some regards, but I find this theme to always end up being shallow and a bit egotistical. From reading ‘A Man’s search for Meaning’ and ‘War & Peace’ I don’t really think highly of entertaining this theme anymore, to me it’s naive at best.


Quotes:
- Mediocrity is the best camouflage known to man
- The smile, Madame, is used by humans to hide the truth. The artist is only interested to reveal the truth.
- But sadness, like understanding, comes early in life for some. It is part of intelligence.