Cry, the Beloved Country (Oprah's Book Club) by Alan Paton
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Book Reviews of Cry, the Beloved Country (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: Great Simplicity; Great Depth; Remarkable Humanity
Summary: 5 Stars
Many friends recommended CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY to me over the years, but it was not until May of this year that the book came my way in the form a gift. I picked it up one evening and--much to my own amazement--read it in a single sitting. Yes, it really is that good.
Published in 1948, the book tells a simple story. Zulu-born Stephen Kumalo is the elderly Christian priest of a tiny church who has seldom set foot outside his rural South Africa village; he is both uncertain and frightened when he summoned to Johannesburg to attend his sister, who is in great crisis. Once in the city, however, he determines to locate his son Absalom, who also lives in Johannesburg and from whom he has received no news for quite some time. Kumalo conducts his search with a mounting sense of despair--and ultimately finds himself in the midst of both personal tragedy and public scandal.
Although the story is grim, the novel itself is not. Alan Payton (1903-1988) wrote several novels, but CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is best-known and most widely read work, and much of its power rests on the remarkable way in which he styles his prose: it possesses a shining simplicity that not only seems to capture the vocal cadence of South Africa but also allows the reader to see through the novel's several levels with a remarkable sense of clarity.
Much of the novel's power resides in its portrait of South Africa in this particular era. The word "apartheid" had not attained its full implication in 1948, but Paton not only identifies the almost accidental seeds of apartheid, he forecasts the ultimate result as well. Paton also endows the novel with a very clear idea of what Christianity should be in actual practice as opposed to what it too often is in actual fact, and although the story is indeed dark, the humanity involved is such that one never feels the darkness cannot be dispelled.
The older I become, the less inclined I am to keep books; these days I read them and give them away, and new permanent additions to my library are rare. But CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is a keeper, a book I've no doubt I'll return to again and again.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
With Thanks to Kate, Whose Gift This Book Was
Book Review: Hope For South Africa !
Summary: 5 Stars
"Cry The Beloved Country" is a moving story of the affect of racism on families under colonialism out of which apartheid developed, which system later legalised racism. S.A.faces major problems to-day, the Aids crisis and a poor economy both of which can be directly traced to apartheid which broke down black family life,referred to by Paton in the introduction in articles he wrote stating," the underlying causes of African crime ... the disintegration of tribal life and traditional family bonds under the impact of Western economy and culture." This break down seen in the way black workers were treated, described by Paton.Big corporations such as the mines, built houses for white workers for wives and families; black workers were housed in single accommodation in compounds, only visiting their wives once a year! Likewise with domestic workers who supplied cheap labour but not permitted to having spouses living with them in backyard rooms in the suburbs. Prostitution was rife and likely Aids began spreading in the early 1980's in S.A. The apartheid government spent 6 times more on a white child's education than a black child, the policy was to keep black people as a serving class. This has caused an uneducated and untrained workforce which contributes to the poor economy and poverty leading to crime. The cycle must be broken. Understanding the cause of these problems will encourage foreign investment to provide jobs to end the poverty. Perhaps someone reading "Cry The Beloved Country" will be encouraged to invest in South Africa.I applaud Oprah Winfrey for choosing this story for her Book Club choice, bringing attention to the hardships black people suffered and yet they always expressed joy and hope, demonstrated by their great leader, Nelson Mandela, who set the example of reconciliation rather than retaliation. An example world leaders, particularly in the Middle East, would do well to follow. Paton writes beautifully, describing the people and the countryside.
Elaine Bunbury.
"What Hope Have You!" a story about the affects of colonialism and apartheid upon three families of different races in South Africa, over 100 years and 4 generations.
Book Review: A Review
Summary: 5 Stars
"Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much." This is an excerpt from the book Cry, the Beloved Country, which is about the story of a Zulu pastor named Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom in the troubled times of South Africa in the 1940's. A trend has been made in the small village of Ndotsheni, Natal that the youth migrate to the cities where they see more of an economic chance, for there is industry in big cities. They do not realize the dangers and crime which also lie in wait in the big city. Kumalo's brother, sister, and son all have journeyed to the "white man's town" of Johannesburg in search of a better life, only to be seized by the foul hand of impoverishment and discrimination.
This being said, the tale is about Kumalo and his search for his son in the mazy streets of Johannesburg. Along the way Kumalo faces many trials and travails, including robbery, adultery, deceit, and miles upon endless miles of walking. This is the base of the direct plot, but there also is an underlying plot of love intertwined within this story. There lie messages of loss, guilt, and murder in this story. But through everything else, the most prominent message this book states is the love one man has for his people and most of all, his country.
This book relays a message of unfailing love for human society sans racial barriers. I found it very interesting, although it was a bit tricky to read, as it was written without quotations and indications of who said what. Once you adjusted, it was a marvelous tale about the historic times of South African injustice, inequality, and Christianity of the mid-1900's.
Book Review: A Simple Story, Beautifully and Powerfully Written!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Yes, it is dawn that has come. The titihoya wakes from sleep, and goes about its work of forlorn crying. The sun tips with light the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand. The great valley of the Umzimkulu is still in darkness, but the light will come there. Ndotsheni is still in darkness, but the light will come there also. For it is the dawn that has come, as it has come for a thousand centuries, never failing. But when that dawn will come, of our emancipation, from the fear of bondage and the bondage of fear, why, that is a secret." (Ch. 36)
CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY is a compelling novel that allows people of all cultures, of all generations to see through the eyes of those that suffer under opression and injustice. CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY, set against the backdrop of contemporary South Africa (1946), is a story about a black South African named Stephen Kumalo who journeys through South Africa to the city of Johannesburg to find his son, Absalom. After he finds him, he discovers that his son has done a horrible thing. This leads leads Kumalo to cross paths with a white man named James Jarvis. Kumalo and Jarvis, through their journey of suffering, both find that love is the only way the "the Beloved Country" South Africa can heal.
Paton's use of imagery allows the reader to have a clear vision of the consequences of Apartheid in South Africa--the devastation of native land and the breakdown of the Zulu, Xosa, and other native tribes. The universal themes in the novel--social injustice, hope, love, etc.--are the reasons that CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY lives on...spreading its powerful message to all cultures and generations.
I recommend this novel from the high school age and up...And a great reference to better understand the book is Cliff Notes, & if you want a free resource, check out www.SparkNotes.com! Both are great references.
Book Review: Echoing Steinbeck and the Book of Job, a stirring novel on apartheid
Summary: 5 Stars
The extraordinary beauty of Paton's best-known novel--the first of many works set in his native South Africa--is not its lyrical prose, its biblical allusions, or its evocative descriptions of Natal and Johannesburg. While all of these elements are striking and original, what truly lends the work its power are the moral questions the author leaves unanswered. Refusing to assign blame and casting an empathetic look both at the ruling white class and at impoverished blacks, Paton offers a far more devastating condemnation of apartheid than if he had written a book with clear-cut villains and saviors. The author's abhorrence of what became of South African society never threatens to overwhelm his love for his homeland.
The novel's two protagonists are Stephen Kumalo, a black pastor in the countryside, and James Jarvis, a wealthy white man. Both men are remote from their sons; Absalom left his rural home to seek a new life in Johannesburg, where Arthur Jarvis fights for racial justice--much to the chagrin of his conservative father. Chance and circumstance throw these two young men into a fatal confrontation, and their fathers struggle to make something from what little remains of their sons' lives.
Paton acknowledged that he began this novel shortly after reading Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath"--and the influence is obvious and deliberate. Published as protest novels, both works revealed to an international readership the squalid lives of migrant workers and of the African underclass, respectively. Not coincidentally, both novels are also heavily indebted to the Book of Job. Overall, I think Paton's book improves on its illustrious counterpart; remaining faithful to the traditions of American naturalism, Paton's prose strips away Steinbeck's occasionally excessive verbiage to a leaner, meaner singsong prose.