CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY by Alan Paton
by Alan Paton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alan PatonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown)
Published: 1995
ISBN: 0684818949
Number of pages: 316
Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction
Book Reviews of CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY by Alan Paton
Book Review: Historical perspective on how South Africa got to be the way it is
Summary: 5 Stars
Very logically, it was a trip to South Africa that reminded me of this important book, and I'm very glad I have finally read it. It was probably the right time to read it too, since instead of it striking me as quaint and exotic, it was full of things that were already a little familiar to me, like place and language names.
The characters and plot are all highly symbolic, chosen for their representative value in telling the story of South Africa as Paton knew it, rather than being realistic references to specific people and events. White colonizers first systematically deconstructed the existing tribal system, then with the steady growth of "native" crime, they tried to patch things up. But the damage had been done, and rampant crime is still probably the one near-fatal flaw of modern South Africa. Otherwise it is a vibrant, exciting coming together of fascinating diverse cultures.
One thing that stood out was the sympathetic portrayal of whites who reached out to blacks and tried to redress some of the wrongs imposed by their society. The author himself was one of these, and certainly was using the medium of fiction to tell part of his own story. He succeeds at the same time at winning the readers' understanding of and sympathy for the plight of poor and unsophisticated but basically good and all-too-human blacks caught in the maelstrom of the times they lived in.
The language of the book may sound a bit stilted if you're expecting modern, fast-moving colloquial English. The writing is however in fact quite remarkable in how its echoes the syllable-timed tonal languages of black South Africa, and for me it was overall a pleasing effect.
Highly recommended - this a basic work not to be missed by any aspiring world citizen.
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