Tandia

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 26 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Tandia is a child of all Africa: half Indian, half African, beautiful and intelligent, she is only 16 when she is first brutalized by the police. Her fear of the White man leads her to join the Black resistance movement. With her in the fight for justice is the one White man Tandia can trust, the welterweight champion of the world, Peekay. Now he must fight their common enemy in order to save both their lives.

©2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Humphrey Bower is brilliant....[Tandia] will resonate in the hearts and minds of listeners long after the final chapter." (AudioFile Magazine)

Great story! This seems to loose steam at the end.

If you could sum up Tandia in three words, what would they be?

Great conclusion to the first book. Power of one.

What did you like best about this story?

Overcoming challenges

Have you listened to any of Humphrey Bower’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Seemed rushed at the end

If you could take any character from Tandia out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Yes,

Great Story

Excellent story and narration, now we need another author to write the 3rd in the Trilogy.

One of my favorite books

I'm impressed when a long book can keep my attention . I couldn't put this book down and was sorry when it ended.

This was my favorite Courtenay book, by far. Other long books that kept my interest like this was 'Pillars of the Earth' and 'Outlander' and '1Q84'.

I highly recommend this book.

Loved it. Great reading by Mr. Bowers.

Read The Power of One first. All of Courtnay's books are fabulous. This is a good place to start.

The Tadpole Angel Grows Up

Courtenay broadens the scope of the story that began in the stirring The Power of One to take on the repression and tragedy of apartheid. As he does so, the weight and integrity of his fiction thins.
It is still a good - and occasionally great - story, and it is helped immeasurably by the superb narrator Humphrey Bowers. But the author tries to cover so much ground, with so many characters over so many years that some narrative power is sacrificed.
This starts with the title character - the story begins with a tight focus on the 15-year old girl, already a pariah of sorts and abruptly an outcast with the death of her Indian father. Halfway through the novel, she becomes more a symbol than a real character. When it is mentioned in an aside that she has become a "chain-smoking" lawyer, tough in court, it felt wrong. Little of this transformation had been explored by the author, who had gone on to other story lines (in contrast to the early minute-by-minute scrutiny of her life).
The book really is about Peekay, and he remains a fascinating character, though as the story stretches out, he does seem just too good to be true. Just as the litany of his boxing triumphs become a blur, his later adventures telescope into a list.
There are loads of rich characters - among them the Nelson Mandela-like Gideon, and the complex brothel matron Mama Tequila and Tandia's guardian angel, Juicy Fruit Mambo.
And a great, well-developed, not entirely one-dimensional villian, Jannie Geldenhuis. It was curious that I heard no mention in this book of Jannie and PeeKay's rivalry (and hear-friendship) that was one of the story lines of the first book.

Another winner by Bryce Courtenay

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I really enjoyed Tandia as I could visualise the characters and live the story in my heart with the clever narration done by Humphrey Bower. His Voice is fabulous and his ability to bring alive each of the characters never ceases to amaze me. The Story was a continuation of the Power of One which I enjoyed immensely. I really enjoy Bryce Courtenay's writing style as he is very descriptive and creates fantastic visual imagery in your mind to bring the story alive. He develops the characters through the story and you get quite attached to them and emotionally connected with their highs and lows.

Would you be willing to try another book from Bryce Courtenay? Why or why not?

Yes I have enjoyed several and would be happy to experience more of his writing.

Which character – as performed by Humphrey Bower – was your favorite?

I really enjoyed Humphrey Bower's ability to define each of the characters with his clever voice changes. I especially enjoyed Mama Tequila.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Drama and Passion under the violent African sun.

Problem Ending

If you could sum up Tandia in three words, what would they be?

Reader left hanging.

Would you recommend Tandia to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes and no. Courtenay is a great story teller. I couldn't wait to get in my car each morning to listen to the book. However, he spends a great deal of time developing characters to which the reader becomes attached and then he either precipitously kills them off or lets them fade away from the story with no resolution and no ending to their story. I've read five of his books and he's done this in three of them.

Which character – as performed by Humphrey Bower – was your favorite?

Humphrey Bower is an amazing reader - every character comes to life.

Any additional comments?

Unfortunately, Courtenay passed away a couple of years ago, so there is no possibility of posing a "what's the deal with your endings?" question to him. This book again reveals a major flaw he had as a writer- he couldn't end stories satisfactorily or finish all the stories and character arcs he started in his expansive novels. I wondered if he left so much hanging with the idea that he might write a sequel, as he was very prolific. However, I read his entire Australian trilogy, which was designed to be a trilogy from the start, and his ending to the third book in the series was just as maddening to the reader as his ending to Tandia. He also tends to get lost in subject areas that are of interest to him (such as boxing or war), which end up becoming little novels within his novels, but do not necessarily further the overall theme of the book. That said, I could listen to Humphrey Bower read want ads; his narration elevates whatever he's reading beyond it's real quality.

Fabulous!

Would you listen to Tandia again? Why?

No, only because I tend to only listen to a book once. However, it does not take away from the fact that I thought this was a great sequal and maybe even better than

Who was your favorite character and why?

Peekay. I liked following PK and knowing what happened to him after the mines of

Any additional comments?

I thought this was a a fantastic and heartbreaking story. I enjoyed the history surrounding the characters. It was a difficult listen, only because the content was hard. The reader was fabulous.

wonderful writing and fantastic narration

loved the ending to the Power Og One.. narration of .. well shocking.. how does he do it? switching from Irish to Indian to Boer in less than two minutes of reading. PeeKay is a wonderful character..one who can box and practice law at the same time.. listening is great but I have to pick up the book to see how you spell unshobie shobie ungelosi and I want to hear the Africans sing.. Courtenay and Bower make tears come to your eyes.. so be careful driving and listening.. fabulous. wonderful, enchanting all rolled into one..you won't be sorry.. but get The Power of One first.

Loved it!

Did not love Power of One; I know, I know, most loved it; but part 2 I thought was amazing!