Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

312 pages (Trade Paperback) Realistic Fiction

Cry, The Beloved Country is set in South Africa in the middle of the 1940's. A old native parson, or pastor Stephen Kumalo, lives in the countryside called Ndotsheni. Here the land is dying as no one knows how to care for it and each person goes about trying to raise crops their own way. The lack of rain has made it almost impossible. Since none can live off the land many go to Johannesburg to work. Kumalo's son, sister and brother have all gone to Johannesburg and have not returned. There have been no letters from his family in some time. Upon receiving a letter from another pastor saying that his sister is ill he must go to the city. He is determined to find his family and restore the tribe.

He travels by train to the large city and sees that it is grander and more amazing then anyone could think possible. He finds the church from which the pastor wrote and soon finds his family members have fallen prey to the vices of Johannesburg.

My feelings towards this book changed as I read it. At first I was annoyed with Paton's tendency to repeat his writings. Especially when the characters are talking they seem to say the same things over and over again within a couple pages of each other. As the book went on I got used to and saw it more a way of conveying the simple way these people live and communicate.

The book is very powerful. By following the tale of a man trying to bring his family together we get to see a picture of South Africa right before apartheid became an official way of the land. It was unexpected that the black people in the book looked down upon themselves. They looked at themselves as a lesser people. When talking about a crime it was considered a "worse" thing that it happened to a white person rather then a colored one.

This type of thinking pervades the book and you can see how after the events of the book it wouldn't take much for apartheid to take over. The relationships within the book are strong and eventually it shows how the people could work together if they stopped and saw each other as equals.

5 Emotional/Intellectual - This book is extremely emotional. Occasionally, you read from the point of view of a non-main character and many times it is heartbreaking. Overall, the book is very sad, but there is a tinge of hope as well.

2 Style/Readability - Although it is very simply written I found that sometimes the writing was not enjoyable. It was the most bare bones of writing and there was an abundance of repetition at times this made it difficult to bear

3 Long Term Impact - On the back cover of the book is claims it is "The most famous and important novel in South Africa's history." It is sixty years past its original printing so it obviously has stood the test of time. I just feel like something with better writing would better represent South Africa.

10 out of 13. The book is worth reading and I would encourage any avid read to pick it up. That said enjoy it for its emotional impact not its writing style.

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