Bryce Courtenay’s the Power of One - a Look at Apartheid South Africa: Sean Kemery

As a senior trader formerly at Deutsche Bank, Sean Kemery handles a wide range of commodities, from oil to sugar. Also an avid reader, Sean Kemery considers Bryce Courtenay’s 1989 debut novel The Power of One one of his favorite works. With a setting in South Africa in the 1940s, the book is evocative of small town life in a remote, forgotten place.
 
The Dickensian narrative begins at a Afrikaans boarding school, where the protagonist Peekay is the lone British student and suffers from humiliating bullying monster. A chance encounter with an amateur boxer gives Peekay the tools to fight back and overcome the brutality of the place.
 
At a time of the introduction of apartheid in Johannesburg, Peekay stands up for the oppressed and becomes a voice for those who do not have one. He ultimately finds vindication working in the copper mines in what is present day Zambia.
 
The product of a South African/Australian advertising executive who had his first work published at age 50, The Power of One achieved critical acclaim and went on to sell more than eight million copies worldwide. The book was also turned into a major 1992 motion picture that starred Stephen Dorff and Morgan Freeman.

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