THE POWER OF ONE

It’s hard to imagine a reader delivering his audience so completely to a foreign locale as Humphrey Bower does in this coming-of-age novel based in South Africa. Unfolding against a backdrop of the most pernicious racism, the story follows the growth of the poor young white boy, Peekay, whose growth to adulthood parallels his country’s struggle toward justice. Americans in particular are in for a treat in hearing their native tongue rendered in so rich a variety of exotic accents from the lips of Boers, Englishmen, and Zulu tribesmen. So effective is Bower that listeners find themselves anticipating the idioms of the various characters, unfamiliar turns of phrase that soon enough sound completely natural. M.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]