The Power of One
December 11th 2006 11:53
Bryce Courtney has a lot of good tricks up his sleeve. For one thing, his books are immensely readable (as in, I couldn't put the dang thing down), is brilliant at sounding out how words are said (alot of very good authors are very good at this. Coincidence?) and has the ability to actually write about people. His characters are not just believable, they are in many ways perfect.
The main character, Peekay, is a young english boy that is a pretty scared little kid. He is brutalised at an early age but he learns a few things along the way. The first, how to use his head. The second, how to use his heart. The third, how to use the two at the same time. His first taste of good, healthy human companionship is a boxer that he meets, a man named Hoppie. His first view of boxing is to watch a small man beat a much bigger one, by using his head and his heart. For Peekay, this is the most important things he learns throughout his life, and he applies it for the rest of his days.
The plot is pretty simple, but very well written. The writing itself is vivid and memorable without being overbearing or complex. Which is charming, let me assure you. But for me, it was really the characters that grabbed me. Bryce Courtney has the ability to truly see what is being brought out of a character from his environment. Peekay is a good kid, a truly noble spirit but is constantly in surrounds that should have corrupted him. The men that he trains with in the prison boxing team are racists, some of them tremendously so. But it doesn't seem to stick to him or change him (what is VERY interesting is how Bryce Courtney writes them. They seem to be good people that have been dipped in badness, that it is the kind of badness that could be washed off of them but has been put on, mainly with ignorance), which is more than likely due to the good characters he meets. Doc, Hoppie, Mrs Boxhall, Geel Piet and Rasputin, that are the moral compasses the book uses to get its message across.
The book's dialogue is also brilliant. Not quite as poetic perhaps as High Society by Mr Elton, but believable, down to being able to hear it. Perhaps something that made me cringe however, was the way Peekay's mother and friend Mary spoke. I cringed not because it was too much, but because in some areas it was almost spot on.
Read the book, you'll see what I mean.
JZ
The main character, Peekay, is a young english boy that is a pretty scared little kid. He is brutalised at an early age but he learns a few things along the way. The first, how to use his head. The second, how to use his heart. The third, how to use the two at the same time. His first taste of good, healthy human companionship is a boxer that he meets, a man named Hoppie. His first view of boxing is to watch a small man beat a much bigger one, by using his head and his heart. For Peekay, this is the most important things he learns throughout his life, and he applies it for the rest of his days.
The plot is pretty simple, but very well written. The writing itself is vivid and memorable without being overbearing or complex. Which is charming, let me assure you. But for me, it was really the characters that grabbed me. Bryce Courtney has the ability to truly see what is being brought out of a character from his environment. Peekay is a good kid, a truly noble spirit but is constantly in surrounds that should have corrupted him. The men that he trains with in the prison boxing team are racists, some of them tremendously so. But it doesn't seem to stick to him or change him (what is VERY interesting is how Bryce Courtney writes them. They seem to be good people that have been dipped in badness, that it is the kind of badness that could be washed off of them but has been put on, mainly with ignorance), which is more than likely due to the good characters he meets. Doc, Hoppie, Mrs Boxhall, Geel Piet and Rasputin, that are the moral compasses the book uses to get its message across.
The book's dialogue is also brilliant. Not quite as poetic perhaps as High Society by Mr Elton, but believable, down to being able to hear it. Perhaps something that made me cringe however, was the way Peekay's mother and friend Mary spoke. I cringed not because it was too much, but because in some areas it was almost spot on.
Read the book, you'll see what I mean.
JZ
| 66 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by DuskDevi
Rucks and Rolls
Rugby World Cup 2007
I will be back later...this book...this book...Peekay and his positive nature...through everything...his pet rooster...the Doc....the African name they give him...everything...this book...I love this book...I cannot think too much because I'll start crying...I just love this book....
Dusk
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
Hurry back.
JZ
Comment by Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
It is a great book hey. Have you read Tandiai? It is the follow on from it. I am currently trying to get through WHite Thorn, but it is posing a struggle as some of his ideas are a little difficult to swallow.
Happy reading
Ash
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
also balancing:
Christianity and Culture by TS Elliot
The Subversion of Christianity by Jacque Elllul
It is a great book, going to post about it later tonight.
Thanks for stopping by Ash.
JZ
Comment by Anonymous
Look forward to your post!
Happy reading
Ash
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
GOing to get it done tonight after I finish some other writing stuff.
Always far too much to do.
JZ