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: 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.
Book Review: WONDERFUL, HEARTBREAKING, UPLIFTING, AMAZING, OUTSTANDING
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi. I'm a high-school student, a 9th grader to be exact. I was not assigned this book, but did pick it from a list to read for a report. I am EXTREMELY glad that I did. I do admit that it is hard to get into. In the beginning, I was quite annoyed at Paton for blatantly ignoring correct grammar on quotes, and if you don't get it, i would suggest just reading the first few chapters a couple times in a place where you can concentrate. If you can be patient this long, it will suddenly click. I picked up and put this book back down about twice in two weeks,just to read the first five chapters, but then i was able to get into it, and finished it within two days.
If you can perservere, get ready for a passionate, wonderful, brilliant ride. The characters are incredibly sincere, in both their good and bad sides. Paton does not try to make anyone a hero, even priests loose their temper at some point. What he does manage to do is make you laugh, open your mouth wide with astonishment, anger you, make you cry, and finally leave you with a sense of hope. This is an amazing book that captures the essense of South Africa's struggle for balance, in a time when white people were ripping away any structure the black Africans had, and expecting them to deal with what ideas and technology were brought from the western world. We read Kaffir Boy earlier this year, and it is very interesting to see the difference of opinion on little things like the Afrikaans language when a book is written by a white South African, and a black South African. (I...just don't know if i would recommend Kaffir Boy.)
This is...I've run out of adjectives. But this is a simply marvelous book, which EVERYONE needs to read. And understand. And enjoy. Because it's very hard not to.
Book Review: The Heartbreak of Two Fathers
Summary: 5 Stars
They say the worst fear of a parent is for their child to die before them. There's something unnatural about it. In Cry...two sets of parents have this fear become a reality, but the focus is primarily on the fathers, Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis.
Set in South Africa during the gold mine craze, Cry...shows the effects of white imperialism on a predominately black nation. James' son is one of the few whites sympathetic to the plight of the native African people, yet is shot down by one of them, Kumalo's son, during a robbery.
The two fathers are united by this tragic event and the pain that accompanies it. Both men learn and grow from the experience and use this newfound growth and knowledge to help each other and the people of their hometown. They try to make some sense of the havoc in Africa, and to bring hope to the destitute people who are made to help the wealthy get wealthier, but who are not allowed to share any of that wealth. We can see now how Africa has been sucked dry and the people left to starve and die of disease thanks to exploitation.
The story is a 5-star, but the writing style is a 4, averaging it at a 4.5, which has to be rounded to a 5 rating. The language can sound wooden and repetitive. One could argue this is simply how the African people would sound in English; but, I still believe the dialogue could have been livelier than: "Will you stay father? Yes, I will stay son. Okay, father. Okay, son."
To clear up some confusion, some of the chapters consist of no dialogue between the main characters, but dialogue of anonymous and random people in Johannesburg discussing the different ills of the city.
Cry, the Beloved Country is an easy read and a good one.
Book Review: Beautiful soft and descriptive writing but chilling and thought provoking story
Summary: 5 Stars
I have heard about this 1948 novel all my life and was aware of its theme. This is the first time I've read it though and I must say the impact was indeed startling. The writing is beautiful, soft and descriptive. And yet it deals with the horrors and inconsistencies that existed in South Africa at that time. The book is nothing short of a plea for justice and at the same time tries to be fair to both the white and black citizens of this troubled land.
The story is that of an aging Zulu pastor who travels to the city of Johannesburg to look for his sister and his son. Life there is difficult for black people who are forced to live in shantytowns and who labor for low wages in the gold mines. What the pastor discovers is horrible. His sister has had to sell her body to men and his son has accidentally murdered a white man who was working towards bringing a sense of fairness to the country.
Easily I got caught up in this very poignant story. There is a sense of poetry in the words. I felt I was hearing the voice of South Africa and it truly gave me the chills. And what was indeed the most chilling of all is that this book was written before Apartheid came and tore the country apart.
The author was born in South Africa, the son a third-generation English mother and a Scot Presbyterian father. At one time he worked as a teacher and later the principal of a reformatory for young African offenders and these experiences certainly did influence whole sections of the book. Mostly though, the book just picked me up and placed me right in the middle of a country that has not yet been able to deal satisfactorily with its problems.
Book Review: From despair to hope, a journey not to be missed.
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you ever set up dominoes on their end all in a line, then once they are all set up you touch the first one and it sets off a cascade effect knocking them all over one at a time? The beginning of the game is slow and tedious, but the cascade effect is worth it. Some classics are like setting up dominoes. They begin slowly, and the unfortunate reader will put the book down in disgust and never return to it. A more persistent reader is richly rewarded for their patience. Cry, The Beloved Country is that kind of a classic, others are Tale of Two Cities, Dickens and Jane Eyre, Bronte.The language is beautiful, I don't enjoy flowery descriptions of scenery, but in Cry the descriptions helped you feel as if you were there without being too lengthy. The characters are well developed, and some are people I would really love to know. However, because I did care about the characters, the story in the beginning, is just so sad that I almost fell into that catagory of unfortunate readers who quit reading early and miss out on the treasure. I'm grateful that I didn't.
Inspite of the difficult beginning, this has become one of my favorite books. It carries you from despair to hope. It is a story about South Africa and its people, but it is also a story that has something for each of us.
Cry, The Beloved County leaves you a better person when you put it down than when you started it. It is a journey not to be missed.