Tandia

by Bryce Courtenay

Book Overview

Tandia is a child of all Africa: half Indian, half African, beautiful and intelligent, she is only sixteen when she is first brutalized by the police. Her fear of the white man leads her to join the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 1863301151
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Random House Australia
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Nearly As Good as The Power of One

I can see from the other reviews that one either likes Tandia or does not. I suppose that there is no accounting for taste. I for one found it a beautifully written sequel to The Power of One with a most compelling central character. It has been more than a year since I read the novel but plan to read both The Power of One and Tandia a second time. I have lived in Cape Town where I taught at the University of the Western Cape (almost entirely native African and coloured students) and I can say that to my thinking, Tandia rang very true of the spirit of South Africa.

Two books, one story

I can not decide if "Tandia" is a better book than "The Power of One". Though they both feature Peekay, the stories are so different but at the same time woven together so beautifully. Through Bryce Courtenay's writing, the reader is brought into South Africa once again, a world of racial segregation and hate, but at the same time, a nation of love and companionship. This masterpiece of literature is not a story of white versus black but of justice versus injustice, love versus hate, and the fight for the good of mankind. The images of good and evil are clearly visible from the first page to the last.I suppose that, at least from my point of view, that "The Power of One" and "Tandia" can not be viewed as separate books but as one large story, with a small intermission in between. The time frame linking the two novels is negligible with a few hundred pages of "Tandia" devoted solely to the title character herself. Then Courtenay brings the two characters together masterfully."The Power of One" and "Tandia" will undoubtedly remain my favorite novels for quite a long time, as I can see no other book grabbing my emotions and taking them on a wild adventure like these did.

Holy Cow!

I read The Power of One by this author and it touched me deeply. After completing that book I wondered into my book store to have a look at the other books Bryce Courtenay has written. I stumbled across it and immediately I saw "sequel to Power of One". Upon reading the second chapter my heart skipped a beat when Peekay's name was mentioned; to my delight. Throughout this book I come close to tears, not because it's sad, but because of the emotions this book brings out in me. Peekay's boxing is terrific and the songs the African's sing I can picture vividly in my head (being from SA). It's just amazing and I have never read a book that has made me in such a bad mood as well as feel so much. I won't tell you the part that made me grumpy, read it for yourself. Grumpy in the sense that something happened I did not expect nor want for one of the characters. It got better later on though!What a tremendous book following Power of One. Read Power first before reading this one though.

Tandia was AMAZING

This is an incredible book. I had to read 'The Power of One' for english class in the spring, and I loved it. When we had finished it, I was so anxious to find out what happened to Peekay, and to see if he actually won the Welterweight World Title, that I searched the local bookstores for Tandia. I found it, I'm lucky considering it's out of print here in the US. I just finished this book and I was so moved and devoured into the plot and the characters that I was sad when I finished it. But this is an amazing book. I think if you read 'The Power of One', it will help you understand parts of the book, but it isn't totally necessary. But this is one of the most well written books in the world, it describes the horrible apartheid in South Africa with amazing depth and even innocence in some parts. This has certainly enlightened me to this awful and embarrassing part of history. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading, and anyone who really appreciates wonderful, gut-wrenching writing.

TANDIA is simply POWERFUL!

This story is the ultimate opportunity to learn of South Africa, and for those of us who have lived there, to recall the things that made us fall in love with that country. It also serves as a great treat for all of us who wanted to see what happened to PeeKay after THE POWER OF ONE. TANDIA allows the readers to see what South Africa has been like in the past for blacks and colored people. A real eye-opener and worth every minute spent perusing the 900+ pages. Mr. Courtenay weaves a wonderful tale of courage, triumph and hope. Courtenay has lost his readership for some reason since the publication of THE POWER OF ONE. One can hardly find a copy of his other books anywhere, not even many of them are for sale here. He also wrote THE POTATO FACTORY, TOMMO & HAWK, and their final chapter, the third in that trilogy, SOLOMON'S SONG, which is due to be released in the rest of the world very soon. Other almost unknown works by Courtenay are: THE NIGHT COUNTRY, THE FAMILY FRYING PAN, A RECIPE FOR DREAMING and JESSICA. I encourage all of you who read this review to discover ALL of Courtenay's novels, not just THE POWER OF ONE. I do not know why he isn't more popular over here in the USA. Feel free to email to chat about Courtenay or collecting his books, of which I have many, many and some to spare!