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arfox2's review
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
rooks_books's review
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Right off the bat, it's a very white savior-y book about racism and prejudice, but aside from that, I though it was solid. Peekay is a bit too perfect and excels too readily at everything he tries, but he's still a fairly compelling character, and faces enough adversity to distract from the fact that he never actually fails at anything. The cast of side characters is much better, with plenty of variety and nuance, and they really are the beating heart of the story.
The writing is solid as well. The plot is fairly episodic, jumping between locations and chapters of Peekay's life, but it works well right up until the very end, which felt rather rushed and disconnected from everything building up to it. The imagery and descriptions, by contrast, are vivid all the way through, and the writing flows well. As a martial artist, I thought the boxing scenes (of which there are many) especially were handled well, providing a good amount of technical detail while keeping things snappy and easy for a layman to follow.
I certainly wouldn't look to this book for an education on South African history, but it's a long and entertaining read, and I was glad to have it ready in my glove box for slow work days.
The writing is solid as well. The plot is fairly episodic, jumping between locations and chapters of Peekay's life, but it works well right up until the very end, which felt rather rushed and disconnected from everything building up to it. The imagery and descriptions, by contrast, are vivid all the way through, and the writing flows well. As a martial artist, I thought the boxing scenes (of which there are many) especially were handled well, providing a good amount of technical detail while keeping things snappy and easy for a layman to follow.
I certainly wouldn't look to this book for an education on South African history, but it's a long and entertaining read, and I was glad to have it ready in my glove box for slow work days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Moderate: Racial slurs and Antisemitism
Minor: Sexual assault
joshmack's review against another edition
Idk
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, and Racism
leb's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
read_y_gonzales's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jenniferstringer's review
3.0
Spoiler Alert!!!
I'm on the fence between 3 & 4 stars with this one...I found the story line compelling if not terribly well written. I liked meeting the distinct characters and always wanted to know what would happen next. However, I found the Tadpole Angel to be contrived and rather racist ( great, white savior and all that) and meeting the judge again in the end was over the top...life isn't so neat and tidy. Besides, I think a case could be made that the judge was the determining factor in Peekay refusing to go along with the racism of his day - had he not experienced first hand the brutality of prejudice himself, he may well have joined the rest of his kind in their hatred and grown up to be rather ordinary...
I'm on the fence between 3 & 4 stars with this one...I found the story line compelling if not terribly well written. I liked meeting the distinct characters and always wanted to know what would happen next. However, I found the Tadpole Angel to be contrived and rather racist ( great, white savior and all that) and meeting the judge again in the end was over the top...life isn't so neat and tidy. Besides, I think a case could be made that the judge was the determining factor in Peekay refusing to go along with the racism of his day - had he not experienced first hand the brutality of prejudice himself, he may well have joined the rest of his kind in their hatred and grown up to be rather ordinary...
ofjohnson's review
I'm just not into male protagonists right now. Nor am I interested in reading so much trauma
endless30's review
5.0
I really loved this book, largely because of its characters. In fact, the main character was one of my favorites of all time and because of him, I didn't want the story to end. Not the fastest read and maybe not the best written book ever, but very memorable and enjoyable.
taitlawsen's review
5.0
Power fantasy but also an incredible book. My first great novel growing up and my go-to answer to the dreaded favourite book question.
jaojins's review
5.0
The Power of One is just plain excellent. One boy sees a lot in just the first part of his life. This book took me a long time to read, but I enjoyed every minute of it.