The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

First let me say that I am not a sports person. I do like fresh air and to be outside, but the thought of boxing and wrestling does not interest me in the least. So, why in the world would I choose a book about a boy who wants to become a boxer? Our 7th grade social studies curriculum devotes a fair amount of time to the 1930's and 1940's and the ways different groups of people responded to the changes brought about by World War II. This book is set in Africa in the 1930s and provides a number of references to the Boer War and WWII. After having just completed a book search for material that would complement the social studies curriculum, I chose this book thinking that maybe this would be the book for our curriculum.

The book that I read was the Young Readers' Condensed Edition of The Power of One. I have to wonder what would have been different about the regular edition and wil probably eventually read that edition. Even though this book is only 286 pages, I found it to be a long read. It moved slowly without lots of action. However, I thought it was beautiful. The author created for me a true sense of the characters and established for me an amazing connection with Peekay, the main charcter. My heart ached for him and longed for his family to be able to recognize his needs. I was devastated that his only friend was a chicken, but I loved that chicken. In fact, I would really like to have a chicken now and name him Granpa Chook after Peekay's chicken.

I also ached for Doc as he was locked in a prison away from his beautiful grassland of the African veldt. I felt that Peekay's access to Doc was a bit contrived as I find it hard to believ that this would have been possible. Much less would the concert that Doc creates near the end of the book be feasible. However, it makes for a beautiful story and beautiful images.

There is a lot to be learned from reading The Power of One, and for this reason, this book will stand as one of my personal favorites for right now.