The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay

When I finished The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay I debated whether or not to write a review on it because I am really not sure whether I can do it justice. It is one of the best books I have ever read - a treasure that you pick up and don't want to put down. But, at the same time, with every page you read you are aware that you are getting closer and closer to the end - which brings with it the disappointment that the days of reading it are numbered. ...
...his early years set against the backdrop of the Second World War. The story starts when he is five years old and is taken away from his Zulu nanny and sent off to the nearest boarding school because his mother is suffering from a nervous breakdown. As the only Rooinek (English person) in the pro-Nazi Afrikaans school, and the youngest child by two years, this uprooting is also accompanied by brutality from the older pupils and the staff. It is the ... more

When I finished The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay I debated whether or not to write a review on it because I am really not sure whether I can do it justice. It is one of the best books I have ever read - a treasure that you pick up and don't want to put down. But, at the same time, with every page you read you are aware that you are getting closer and closer to the end - which brings with it the disappointment that the days of reading it are numbered.

The Power of One is the story of a young boy growing up in South Africa, his early years set against the backdrop of the Second World War. The story starts when he is five years old and is taken away from his Zulu nanny and sent off to the nearest boarding school because his mother is suffering from a nervous breakdown. As the only Rooinek (English person) in the pro-Nazi Afrikaans school, and the youngest child by two years, this uprooting is also accompanied by brutality from the older pupils and the staff. It is the capability of this young child to turn his life around through chance meetings and longer-term friendships that lead him to discover what becomes the Power of One; giving him the strength and determination to try and realise his ambition to become the welterweight champion of the world. In the process of triumphing against adversity he comes to unite the tribes of South Africa behind him, as he becomes a young man.

At the core, of what could be described as a coming of age novel, is the concept of the Power of One, which I think is best explained using Byrce Courtenay's own words - this is the first place it is mentioned in the book:

"Ahead of me lay the dreaded Mevrou, the Judge and jury and the beginning of the power of one, where I would learn that in each of us there is a flame that must never be allowed to go out. That as long as it burns within us, we cannot be destroyed." (p 22)

This is what enables 'Pisscop' (which means 'Pisshead' in Afrikaans) to make himself into 'Peekay' (a name given to him by the Jewish shoe-shop owner Harry Crown), giving him the universal attitude to all human beings which helps him unite the tribes of South Africa. In fact, it is the great witch-doctor Inkosi-Inkosikazi and his African heritage which first gives Peekay the strength to overcome one of his first obstacles, which is to combat the bedwetting problem that earned him the name Pisscop in the first place:

"'We have crossed the night water to the other side and it is done, you must open your eyes now, little warrior.' Inkosi-Inkosikazi brought me back from the dreamtime and I looked around, a little surprised to see the familiar farmyard about me. 'When you need me you may come to the night country and I will be waiting. I will always be there in the place of the three waterfalls and the ten stones across the river.'" (p 17)

A chance meeting with railwayman and boxer, Hoppie Groenewald, adds passion and drive to this strength. It is Hoppie who sparks the ambition to become the welterweight champion of the world. He shows the victimised and vulnerable Peekay that 'little' can beat 'big' provided you think "first with the head and then with the heart" (p121). Completing the essential elements of The Power of One - thought, passion and drive harnessed so that anyone can triumph against any obstacle.

Admirable a message as this may be, Courtenay could have fallen into the trap of preaching his 'message' to the reader. Instead he explains it through Peekay's life and the choices he makes from the position of a person who has been discriminated against himself, whose first mother figure was black, and who comes to rely upon black as well as white mentors on merit regardless of their colour or nationality. (Even in the prejudiced pre-apartheid South Africa that attempts to divide nationalities of the same colour, let alone different races.)

The writing style that Bryce Courtenay uses is gripping. In fact, other reviews I have read of this book have said that within the first five pages they were hooked, and I would say that this is spot on. You are greeted with a large amount of information that sets the scene without leaving you feeling that the writer has tried to cram too much into too small a space. (So, don't worry, I won't have spoilt the book for you by what I've said so far!) Dumping you headfirst into Peekay's life simply hooks you, so that the daunting length of the book no longer seems quite such a challenge. The first words set up the perspective from which the book is written: 'This is what happened.' It is a retrospective story, written in the first person, which allows us to become more and more enthralled by the central character in the same way as he becomes the focus for a large chunk of the book's characters. There is a danger that this could lead to the other characters not being able to portray themselves, but Peekay often narrates their stories directly from the horse's mouth, allowing their voices to clearly shine through.

Although this book is narrated from a perspective that allows the luxury of hindsight, this is not relied on too much. One of the devices that I most liked about his writing was the way in which he chooses to portray Peekay's early years. Instead of simply stating what 'happened', Courtenay includes the gaps of knowledge that a young child might have without creating some kind of annoying baby-speak which might patronise the reader or become too obtrusive:

"If you've never had a shower or even an unexpected icy-cold drenching, it's not hard to believe that maybe this is death. I had my eyes tightly shut but the hail of water was remorseless, a thousand pricks at a time drilling into my skin. How could so much piss possibly come out of one person?" (p4)

As the book unfolds, this slowly becomes less and less pronounced, highlighting Peekay's slow transition from boy to young man.

There is one thing that I feel detracted slightly from the book. There is a feeling that the character of Peekay is an 'Everyman' figure. We never learn his real name because he acquires the name 'Peekay' before even he knows what his full name is. It is mentioned that he had a Zulu nanny, and then that he is English, which in this book's historical setting, by implication must make him white - but, this did leave me a little confused (but that could just be me!) I feel that by using this possible Everyman Bryce Courtenay wants us to feel that the Power of One is potentially 'in each of us'. The slight problem I have with this is that Peekay is obviously a child who is top of his class and has to hide how bright he is, while being able pick up new languages incredibly easily - I certainly know that I could never have been someone like that! At the same time though, Courtenay does pretty much succeed in this, as you do feel that the concept of the Power of One is applicable to everyone. You too can succeed provided you have drive, ambition and you treat you fellow man with respect.

This book was originally recommended to me (on one of my chance meetings) when I mentioned that I enjoyed reading books like 'Memoirs of a Geisha' and 'A Suitable Boy'. In the same way as these two books have stories that portray aspects of Japanese and Indian culture, The Power of One portrays aspects of African culture. You might ask how Courtenay has any the right to borrow from this culture? Although he spent the greater part of his adult life in Australia, he was born in South Africa deep in the Lembombo mountains, where he grew up amongst Africans and farmers. In fact, many the book is broadly autobiographical - he was sent to a brutal boarding school, and met some of the characters in the book. (Although, he does say that the character of Peekay is a more exceptional person than he ever was.)

This book was a spellbinding read, which I am sure that I will read again in the future. (In fact, for this review, I started to re-read the first few pages!) It is incredible to believe that this was Bryce Courtenay's first book, and I am certainly looking forward to reading it's sequel, Tandia, (although like many sequels, I have heard that this is not as good as the original) and some of his other books. I can only hope to find that combination of interesting cultural references, passion, and admirable sentiment present in his later books.

Don't borrow this book. Buy it. It will be a joy to read for years to come.

Bryce Courtenay's novels:

The Power of One - two versions - one for children, and one for adults.
Tandia
The Potato Factory
Tommo and Hawk
The Night Country
Jessica
Solomon's Song
April Fool's Day
A Recipe for Dreaming
The Family Frying Pan
Smokey Joe's Café
Yowie
Four Fires

ISBN 0-14-027291-7

(All quotations from the Paperback Penguin Fiction Edition, 1989
Recommended Retail Price: £7.99
Length: 629 pages.)  

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