legna
02-08-2002, 02:16 AM
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Bryce Courtenay. For me, the name says it all. For many of you, the name says nothing. Undeniably, the most under-appreciated writer of all time. An Australian author, Courtney books are very hard to purchase in the US (trust me, I flew home just to get his newest one) which is a crying shame. I have never read another author who could influence me as effectivly as Courtenay can, nor one that has me reading and re-reading their books as often, no matter that I know them by heart.
"The Power of One" is by far one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It is the story of a young man named Peekay, growing up in South Africa at the beginning of Apartheid. His mother has a breakdown and he is sent to boarding school. As the only Roonek (English) in a Boer school- and the youngest, he is mercally teased, beaten, and forced to eat human excrement. In a twist of fate, he meets the railway boxing champion, and at the moment the too large boxing gloves slip over his hands, he knows he has found his equalizer. "First with the head and then with the heart" is the motto that defines the rest of his life.
But this is not just a story of a boy and his life or even about boxing. This is the story of Africa, hope, love, depraivity, justice, truth and anything else you could possibly name. It will touch you in ways you didn't know you could be touched. You will learn more about human nature between these pages then you will find in any other book you could hope to read.
The ending will leave you hanging, panting for more. Thankfully- there is a "sequel". Trust me. Read this book.
As a side note- there was a movie also released based on the book. While it was good in it's own right, the book is so much more powerful.
Rating
http://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gif
10 out of 10 stars.
View the Book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=1308581&catID=26307)
Bryce Courtenay. For me, the name says it all. For many of you, the name says nothing. Undeniably, the most under-appreciated writer of all time. An Australian author, Courtney books are very hard to purchase in the US (trust me, I flew home just to get his newest one) which is a crying shame. I have never read another author who could influence me as effectivly as Courtenay can, nor one that has me reading and re-reading their books as often, no matter that I know them by heart.
"The Power of One" is by far one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It is the story of a young man named Peekay, growing up in South Africa at the beginning of Apartheid. His mother has a breakdown and he is sent to boarding school. As the only Roonek (English) in a Boer school- and the youngest, he is mercally teased, beaten, and forced to eat human excrement. In a twist of fate, he meets the railway boxing champion, and at the moment the too large boxing gloves slip over his hands, he knows he has found his equalizer. "First with the head and then with the heart" is the motto that defines the rest of his life.
But this is not just a story of a boy and his life or even about boxing. This is the story of Africa, hope, love, depraivity, justice, truth and anything else you could possibly name. It will touch you in ways you didn't know you could be touched. You will learn more about human nature between these pages then you will find in any other book you could hope to read.
The ending will leave you hanging, panting for more. Thankfully- there is a "sequel". Trust me. Read this book.
As a side note- there was a movie also released based on the book. While it was good in it's own right, the book is so much more powerful.
Rating
http://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gif
10 out of 10 stars.
View the Book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=1308581&catID=26307)