The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay - Book review

hi everyone welcome to foibles and fancies today I'll be doing a review of power of one by Bryce Courtenay which was first published in 1989 this was Bryce Courtenay's first novel which he considered to be a practice novel so much so when he finished writing it he bound it up and used it as a doorstop I for one am glad that his manuscript reached the publisher now onto the review I can't believe it took me so long to read one of Bryce Courtenay's novels particularly growing up in Australia where he's considered to be a bit of a national treasure the power of one hooked me within the first few pages and gripped me all the way through set in South Africa in the 1930s and 1940s the novel follows an english-speaking white South African boy from birth to early adulthood when he was just a young boy we see a protagonist sent away to boarding school with only a chicken for a friend where he is relentlessly bullied and continuously wets his bed so earning the name Piskop in a growth moment early on in the book he discards the name Piskop and claims the name Peekay we follow Peekay as he goes along his young life meeting the likes of Hoppie Groenwald who inspires him to become the welterweight champion of the world and Doc his mentor and father figure among many other richly developed characters I absolutely adored the relationship between Doc and Peekay and remembering it now still bring such happiness to my heart the power of one is very much a coming-of-age story through the school of hard knocks and you're always left wondering if Peekay will survive his last blow I'm struck by the dichotomy of the torture and violence within his life against the influential almost altruistic mentors and guides that he has the privilege of learning from they're also so many powerful themes in this novel I'll go through a few of them without giving away too much of the plot firstly apartheid the novel is set in the 30s and 40s and although apartheid did not become official until 1948 you can already see even through young Peekay's eyes how differences in the color of your skin and to a lesser extent the language you speak directly relate to your treatment in society Peekay describes what he sees without judgment but with the innocent color blindness of a young child using camouflage as a tool for survival is another theme within this book when it comes to Peekay's intelligence or prowess in the boxing ring he either hides it or revels in it depending on the setting and who he's with a key character I loved Geel Piet often used his skill of blending into the background to avoid further torture that was often thrown his way another theme that you will see throughout this novel is isolation Peekay gives this feeling a name as well as a personality and he calls it the loneliness Birds the loneliness birds appear very early on the novel laying eggs in Peekay's mind and their presence is amplified or subdued depending on what is going on in his life the last theme I want to touch on is hope particularly the tadpole angel or Onoshobishobi Ingelosi as a symbol of hope I'll let you read the novel to find out more about who or what this is for those of you doing the read harder challenge this book would qualify for number 5 a book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries because it's set in South Africa I would absolutely recommend this novel that is packed with life lessons and heavy themes but it's compulsively readable I listened to the audiobook by Humphrey Bower and it was phenomenal there were times when I would get to where I can sit in the car for another ten minutes just listening I didn't want it to end and lucky for me Peekay's story continues in Tandia which I intend to read this year I look forward to savoring more Bryce Courtenay's books in the future I hope you enjoyed listening to this review of the power of one by Bryce Courtenay if you did please like it and consider subscribing if you've read the power of one or any of Bryce Courtenay's other books please let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below I'll see you again soon bye