Cry, the Beloved Country

Sad story, but very well written. The imagery is delightful. The race relations are positive mostly. Very delightful surprise to have read this masterpiece.

This book was written in the year of my birth, 1948, and it has moved me as no other in my 66 years. It is not only a novel, it is a public statement on the system of government which existed in South Africa in that period, and the society it had created - divided, segregated socially as well as economically and, therefore, rendered a permanent tinderbox. It would have been impossible to have lived in Apartheid South Africa and not thought that, somewhere along the way, the system would explode, for it gave the illusion - on the surface - of order which barely covered a roaring disorder underneath.It is a book on human nature, man's inhumanity to man, man's kindness to man, and on the philosophy of life - especially, its frailty and fatality. It is a book on how the poor build that which the powerful destroy. How the poor work, and the rich enjoy. How the poor get poorer and the rich try harder to keep it so.The characters are realistic: the humble village parson of Ndotsheni, Rev. Stephen Kumalo, his sincere and helpful newfound friend, Rev. Msimangu, the most accommodating Mrs. Lithebe whose philosophy in life is, "Why are we born if not to help each other?" Then there is John Kumalo, so different from his older brother, the kind, humble, soft-spoken, Rev. Kumalo. So refreshing are Kumalo's innocent and cordial conversations with the boy with "a brightness in him," who rides past the church on a horse, they prove that one who is forgiving and one who is innocent can, between them, transcend any prejudice and hatred. And finally, how Kumalo's humility and sincerity change the heart of a pro-Apartheid white farmer who discovers a silent rebellion in his family, but only when it's too late.Thank goodness Alan Paton finally found his calling as a writer after being a reformatory-school administrator, an experience which no doubt has helped him write this beautiful everlasting piece. His description of South Africa's outstanding natural beauty is fluent and picturesque. You can almost see the rolling hills disappearing into valleys, smell the earth after the rain, hear the call of the titihoya, and feel yourself rocking in the train bound for Johannesburg in the night. His prose is non-traditional but very understandable. It is hard to agree with reviewers who have had difficulty in understanding who was saying what in the book's dialogues. Forgive me, but if one has had an eighth-grade education, one should have no difficulty in extracting the marrow from this book.To read this book is to cry for humanity but still hold out a hope for it!

The book is very heartbreaking and depressing, but it’s a good story. I found that reading it with audio is also helpful.

A wonderful, profound, and very beautiful book. As other reviewers have noted, it was written by a white South African in the late 1940's, and is set in that time and place, just before apartheid was officially imposed. It tells the story of Stephen Kumalo, a black minister from the countryside, who travels to Johannesburg to find his sister, and his son, both of whom have have vanished into the great city. He finds them, but his son has killed a white man, and his sister is a prostitute. The full story is described elsewhere; suffice it to say that it ends tragically, but with redeeming grace.The language of this book is amazing, poetic but also critical in the development of character. In large part the book is a love song to the land of South Africa, a place of great natural beauty which has been badly treated by man. But the language is also wonderful in expressing different personalities, different experiences, and different ways of thinking -- it changes and shifts with the subject.The plot and characterization are very powerful. The people are rounded, neither all good nor all bad, and each speaks with his or her own voice. The story pulls one forward with the minister on his journey -- I read this almost without stopping. To a degree, some elements may be jarring for some readers today, particularly readers of color. The book was written almost seventy years ago, and it was written by a white South African, perhaps with the intention of reaching other white South African.The ideas are compelling, and go far beyond the political. For me, the novel as a whole is about many things, about forgiveness and redemption and the tragedy of death and the miracle of new life The politics, of course, can't help but dominate the foreground. It is sad to think that the subjugation of South Africa's blacks continued for most of the next 50 years. But it is also inspriring to remember that apartheid ended without a civil war, and with reconciliation rather than revenge. A great book, worthy of its subject..

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.