Cry, the Beloved Country

Painful and Powerful

This strange, lyrical novel is easily the most agonizing painful books I've ever read. Murder is perhaps the most overdone topic in the history of literature, but if all were done like this, we couldn't bear to read many. Published months before white supremacists created the legal system of apartheid (and set two years earlier, in the fall of 1946), the novel follows the fathers of an accidental killer and his unintended victim, starting before the murder and ending only after we get a sense of its ripple effects through the lives of whites and blacks as they try to make sense of the utterly pointless tragedy and the social system that led to it. It's a novel that does little to try to flashily seduce the reader. It starts out with a description of a rural valley in South Africa, a description that is repeated later with some key differences. Then it moves dialogue that almost sounds off-key: there are no quotation marks, only dashes, to indicate speakers and the characters have an odd repetitious quality to their speech that puzzles at first. At the risk of only a little hyperbole, it sounds like this: -- The sky is blue. -- You say the sky is blue. His eyes flickered upward. -- I say the sky is blue. -- I understand. The man nodded. -- You understand. My initial reaction to this was, "Oh man, did I pay for this?" But then as the matters grow more serious, I learned to appreciate that such dialogue has a somber rhythm, if not beauty, to it. It is not so much repetition as characters recognizing each other's humanity. And that is what makes this book so painful. Paton at every key moment goes for the perfectly understated emotion. The father of the murder victim does nothing histrionic -- there's simply this powerful scene in which he looks around his son's library, which is filled with passionate political books that mean nothing to him. He's forced to simultaneously confront the gulf that had arisen between himself and his son -- this sense that his own offspring is a mystery -- and also the grievous sense of loss in the quiet room (with the blood stain down the hallway). Scenes like this hurt. Toward the end, there's a stretch of maybe thirty or forty pages in which the characters briefly become symbols and Paton seems to be letting whites off easy in their greater complicity. But Paton himself seems aware of this, as he has a character that I was starting to find unrealistic deny that he is a saint and another character points out how much of the blame rests with the sins against humanity of the whites. What to make of these possible missteps by Paton and his own attempt to ameliorate them become a moot point by the powerful final scene. It's simply a man watching the sunrise. Yet, because of what it means when the sun rises above the horizon, I think that scene will stay with me far longer than the last couple pages of any other novel I've ever read. I am, I'm sure, reading this at a time when I'm particularly susceptible to its sentiments. After months of worrying about whether my infant son, who has just seemed like a bundle of vulnerability, I am watching him grow past the initial troubles that can beset a baby. He is starting to show a personality and I can begin to wonder what the future will hold in store for him. And this novel combines what are probably the two worst fates your child could experience: to murder or to be murdered. To me this is much more of a horror novel than some junk abou

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Slow moving, but interesting topic

I had a hard time deciding between three and four stars for this book. It is a classic and deals with a very difficult subject, but the story-line seems scattered at times. Paton was trying to communicate the pain, fear, and anger that punctuated life in South Africa in the 1940s. This sociological topic is difficult for young people to grasp.well, it's difficult for not-so-young people to grasp if they have never experienced it. Thus, I found the book's topic interesting and learned a lot. The main character was complex and well-rounded. The raw emotion was captured. Because of this, I give the book four stars. However, a word of caution: when you read it, be prepared to accept the slow-moving, disconnected story line and just enjoy the characters and the sociological portrayal.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Don't listen to the dim witts

This book is great, and if you rated the book one star on the complaint that the first chapter is about grass, you are idiotic. The meaning of the first chapter is much greater than just grass, and if you were reading the book and it was at your reading level, you would understand! Everyone should read this book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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It was as good if not better than the first reading.

I read an earlier edition many years ago and loved it. Last year, I visited South Africa for the first time and then this year ran into a long time colleague who has devoted his last professional years in building bridges between US and South Africa higher educational institutions. So, I picked up the latest edition of Cry, The Beloved Country. Somehow, I got more out of it this time. Maybe, it's because I can imagine the narrative better, having been to South Africa and relate better to the story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Magnificent.

Magnificent.

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Cry, The Beloved Country

An amazing novel about a black preist from the valley of Ndostheni who goes to Johannesburg to find his brother ,his sister and her child, and his only son. In Johannesburg he finds out what type of things happen there and he finds out what his family has done. In the novel the preist stephen kumalo is trying to fix the land and reunite the tribe of Ndostheni. I highly recommened this book to anyone who wants to hear a great story.

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Wonderful book/messed up tech issues

Great story, but midway thru the whole has chunks of repeated text.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Highly Recommended

Loved this book - very spiritual and timeless story. Good suggestion for a book club.

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Bed A Bbesutjvvvnly

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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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ADD much?

Had to read the book for school. I thought the storyline was ok but there were chapters that talkrd about grass and about the most random stuff that has no relation except that it in s. Africa and has no explanation. Also i hated how u never realized who was talking! They would be talking and wouldmt say who spoke first so most of the time you had to read a three page convo just to figure out who was speaking then you had to reread it all again, and they also said "he said" a lot without clarifying who 'he'is. And it also veered off a lot ad randomly switched to frst person in some spots...so an ok storyline but poorly written

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Renewed My Love for Reading

I first read this book in high school and it renewed my love for reading. I felt like I was a part of the story and the characters' lives. It is a beautiful and emotional book.

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Insightful Read!

There may be more recent books that cover the subject of the class distinctions in South Africa, but this book offers an insightful, first-hand look at apartheid from someone who was in a position to actually tell the rest of the world what it was like in South Africa during the 1940s. He doesn't just reflect on the subject; rather, he lets his readers participate through the written page as it is happening to his characters. The first 1/2 of the book may seem slow, yet, it is insightful. The last half is worth the wait with much to think and talk about! It was interesting yet distressing to see how good, really good people, could see the vicious cycle of inequality and injustice, yet not be able to change their society. One of his most valuable messages to me was "One person may not be able to change all of society, yet he can practice the values that he upholds and be a shining example to others who perhaps will see a better way of living there own lives.

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Worth the effort..

I read this book as part of a book club. At first, I didn't enjoy it at all...the "unique" writing style threw me and really was a distraction rather than an enhancement to the story. However, once I got just a little into it, I realized that he, the author, was actually writing in the manner that the characters who live in South Africa would actually speak. The plot really opened my eyes to the social implications of many policies and traditions...and not just in South Africa but you could translate this into basically any country. You really get into the story and empathize with the characters.
I'd DEFINITELY recommend this to anyone to read...most beautifully written! Almost poetic...

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Great Book

It is truly a great book.

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Eye-opening, moving

This book was an eye-opener for me simply because I never knew or understood the racial prejudices that occurred in South Africa. This book takes you into the middle of all of that through the eyes of an old, Zulu pastor just trying to find his lost child.

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Deeply Soulful

Alan Paton does a magnificent job creating a South Africa right in fron of you. He has a very poetic style of writing that echoes in the soul even after you've finished the book. Paton makes us all feel as if it was us trekking the streets of Johannesburg.

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lit. circle book

I enjoyed reading this book. It tells about the struggles and journey Kumalo took to find his son. We see how racism and disrespect effects people. I would have liked to read this on my own time instead of cramming it in a set amount of time.

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Review for Cry, the Beloved Country

Cry, the Beloved Country is a good book in my opinion because the author's detail of the journey Kumalo took to find his son. Paton wrote this book on the thoughts of why we live, struggle, and die. He described the land and the heart of the land as if it were just in front of him. This book allows you to imagine yourself standing in the town, city, jail, home, etc. because of the detail Paton gives. The novel overall was written very well, it kept me guessing and thinking. The novel was well written and made great reality sense of some of the horrible things people do to each other. Well done Alan Paton!

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A reviewer

Alan Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country is an intelligent and beautifully written novel. The way he uses imagery and describes the characters makes you feel as if you are an omniscient viewer put directly in the story.You really feel as if you can relate to the characters and have sympathy for them as I did for the main character, Zumalao the paster. His determintation and devotion really made him and enjoyable character to follow. Paton's moving words and information also made me aware of all the economic problems as well as the racism that is going on in Africa at the time. It's a good fictional novel that really displays Africas history and how it all worked at the time. Though the novel is moving and informational, it can be quite boring at times. It's a very slow paced book. I do not reccomend this if you are into suspense or action. This is more for those into history, are attentive, and deep thinkers. It had its good and bad points but personally it was too boring of a book for me. Though I am glad to have learned a lot from it, it's just to slow of a book for me.

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A Book Worth Reading!

The book starts off rough and is hard to get hooked on but as you read further into it you won't be able to put it down. The connections the author makes within the stories that eventually interlock them are monumental. One moment you'll find yourself feeling nothing but hatred towards a character and the next you will be feeling pure compassion for them. I especially enjoyed reading this book because within each simple statement lies so much meaning. Though the ending is not a fairy tale ending, it comes to a clear and concise end that manifests the underlined purpose of the book.

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