Thursday, November 24, 2005

The Power of One by Bryce Courtney

In this book we are introduced to a little boy, who is sent to boarding school when his mother has a mental breakdown. On the first night of boarding school, the little boy is woken up in the middle of the night and urinated on by the Judge and the jury(this is how the little boy refers to them) because he is a Rooinek and all of the other students are Boers and hate Rooineks. In the morning, he wakens to find that he urinated in his bed, and when he washes off the Judge and jury discover his hatless "snake", and from that moment on the little boy's name becomes "Pisskop." Pisskop eventually overcomes his bed wetting, but with news of Hitler's doings, the Judge and jury decide they want to become Nazis, and their first prisoner is Pisskop. Pisskop undergoes many torture sessions, and discovers ways to lesson them by helping the Judge with school. When the end of the year comes, all is not well, the chickens on his grandpa's field are disease ridden and his grandpa has to sell the farm and move to a town. On Pisskop's journey to the new town he is given a new name, Peekay, and discovers his dream of becoming the welterweight champion. But when he gets to town, he learns of a drastic change in lifestyle, and he must learn to adapt.

This book's setting took place in South Africa when Hilter was in power in Germany. The book was really good because it showed you how all the different races and cultures were being treated. It showed you that people would hate someone because they were a kaffir(a black tribesperson), and even at times just kill them because of it. The book also was really good because it showed how people would work together during tough times, and harsh conditions, and put away their differences for a common goal. I liked the book because it had someone winning boxing matches against a person twice their size, showing that small can triumph over big, and also the fact that not everyone would only befriend someone from their own culture, race, and religion, but because they liked the person inside. This book showed that to win you couldn't rely on strength alone, you needed to fight first with the head then with the heart.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tucson, Arizona, United States of America

posted by Flamingnet Book Blog @ 12:01 AM