''Tandia'' is Bryce Courtenay's 1991 sequel to his own best-selling novel '' The Power of One''. It follows the story of a young

woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

, Tandia, who was brutally

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d and then banished from her own home. Tandia later meets up with Peekay, the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

from ''The Power of One'' and their stories continue on together.

Plot introduction

In South Africa, during a time when

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

was at its worst, Courtenay tells a story of how oppressed people worked together with those who sought justice against the inhumane dictators of the country and those who supported it. There are also storylines and themes involving boxing, which was predominant in Courtenay's earlier novel, ''The Power Of One''.

Plot summary

Tandia, whose parents were a South African Indian man (Mr. Patel) and his house worker (a black woman), is raped by a police officer at her father's grave the day after his funeral. With Mr. Patel's death, Tandia knew things were going to be very hard for her. But after his wife (Mrs. Patel) kicks her out of the dark corrugated-iron shed in the back yard, her only house, her situation has been changed more drastically than she expected. She is arrested by the police and meets the policeman who witnessed the rape on her father's grave and becomes her lifelong enemy, Jannie Geldenhuis. Tandia finds a home in the brothel where Geldenhuis drops her. The brothel's owner and the other residents adopt her and she learns a lot of life lessons. Some of the clients of the brothel end up becoming her sponsors for her ambition to enter law school. While Peekay and Hymie (Morrie in the American version) go to Britain to read law at Oxford University, they want to conquer the world boxing field, Peekay as world welterweight champion and Hymie as Peekay's manager. They also want to pursue justice for the country they love, South Africa. When they arrive back in South Africa, their rivalry with Jannie Geldenhuis, which began in the school where they first met, extends to both boxing and politics. Tandia grows up to be an intelligent and very beautiful lawyer. She joins the law firm formed by Peekay and Hymie and is dedicated to providing counsel to the under-represented black and coloured population of South Africa. Her defense of a black

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

causes her to again confront her lifelong enemy Jannie Geldenhuis who is now a powerful officer in the police force. Tandia and Peekay develop a romantic relationship, in a country where mixed relationships are outlawed. Their growing love is very dangerous and it leads them into the most fearful consequences.

External links

Bryce Courtenay's official site
1991 novels Apartheid novels Novels by Bryce Courtenay Novels set in South Africa Sequel novels {{1990s-novel-stub

Plot introduction

Plot summary

See also

External links