I read the Reader's Digest Condensed Books version of this when I was 12 or 13, then read the unabridged version around 2008. They might as well have been two different books.

Really a beautiful book even if a bit old, on Africa, on SouthAfrica, on Racism, on apartheid, on hate and forgiveness. On two old men who can forget and forgive all that bad life - by the hands of their offsprings - gave them. For the "better good". Hope it was so, hope it is so now...

"And money is not something to go mad about, and throw your hat into the air for. Money is for foor and clothes and comfort, and a visit to the pictures. Money is to make happy the life of children. Money is for security and for dreams, and for hopes, and for purposes. Money id for buying the fruits of the hearth, and the land where you were born.
No second Johannesburg is needed upon earth. ONe is enough
[...]
But when that dawn will come, of our emancipation, from the fear of bondage and the bondage of fear, why, that is a secret."

A beautiful, rich, amazing book that somehow turns struggle, suffering, betrayal, kindness, honor, and dishonor into poetry.

This book should be read within its historical context. It is beautifully written and is amazing in the manner in which it foresaw so much South African experiences that was still to occur.

3,5 stars. really interesting to Read more about the apartheid and All the nasty things That happened in South-Africa. Also, I Love Alan Patons style of writing. a little boring at Times but overall a good novel.

#ReadAroundTheWorld. #South Africa

This story was written in 1946 by White South African author Alan Paton, and published in 1948 on the eve of the creation Apartheid in South Africa. It is a classic work of protest literature, focussing on the evils of racism, exploitation and colonialism. Paton later started the Liberal Party in South Africa which opposed apartheid. This book was first published in the US as it was unlikely to be published in South Africa at the time.

The story takes us to the village of Ndotsheni in Natal, where Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu minister, is called to go to Johannesburg to see his sister who is ill. Sadly he finds she has become involved in selling liquor and prostitution. He then seeks to find his son Absalom who he eventually discovers in jail having shot and killed a white man. Despite the heartbreak Kumalo must find a way to go on, to fight for the plight of his people and his village.

The book moves between the gentle conversations of Kumalo and some paragraphs questioning where South Africa is headed and the tyranny of the oppression of black people in mines, in the villages and the squatter camps of the metropolis.

This was a moving story, well-written and impacting. The tone is mildly patronising at points, which doesn’t surprise me given it was written nearly eighty years ago, but Paton takes on the important role of becoming a whistleblower on an international level, revealing what was going on in South Africa. You can sense his passion for the country and the vehemence of his beliefs about the evils of racial segregation and exploitation. This is an important work cutting to the heart of a great tragedy.

Audiobook #195

This is one of those books that are well written but somewhat forgettable. While, it has a strong message and gives you a more hopeful image of mankind it feels a bit contrived. I tend to lean on the pessimistic side so I tend to not be the right audience for this book. Not to say this book is a bunch of hokum; it is in fact a heartfelt piece of work which tries to make sense of a senseless situation. Even in its attempt to answer the question of why it realizes it is not a question that will have an explicit answer. For how can a person tell an answer when they do not even know the answer themselves.

This is a story about a simple parson Stephen Kumalo living in the hinterlands of South Africa who seeks to find out what is going on with his relations (sister and son) in the bustling city of Johannesburg. Alan Paton, the author is careful not to be too accusatory in his depiction of the burgeoning metropolis. It is easy for an author to lose objectivity in detailing the differences between rural and urban areas. While, J-burg has all of the negative trappings of a major city, (traffic, crime, fear, mistrust, centralized poverty) it also is a place where like minded people can gather to create a more unified country. A city of that size represents excitement and hope along with all of its inherent flaws. Kumalo meets all kind of inhabitants from sinners to saints, he meets family who treat him like strangers and strangers who treat him like family.

In this personal hubbub lies the question of what is going to become of South Africa? Is it going to continue to be a stratified country based on a strict policy of racial division or is it going to be a more inclusive country with opportunity for both native and non-native populations? This book does a credible job of discussing the South African question without turning it into a boring lecture. By showing an honorable man like Kumalo lose so much but still have the nerve and tenacity to still continue, we get a valuable lesson without the hectoring. Paton is able to show something historical like finding a new gold mine or a busing strike without letting it override the narrative. It is his subtle ability to interweave fact with storyline that is his greatest triumph.

Though written in exile, Paton is able to showcase a number of undercurrents in South African society. There is the division between rural and urban, between black and white between labor and big business and most importantly between the old traditional ways of doing and the new modern approach. With all of these trends occurring it is a tragic and deeply personal event which triggers most of the changes that affect the characters more than any social or political event could. It is this event which turns one characters grief into a blessing for his whole community. I do not know if it is irony or divinity but only in tragically passing could one character spurn the good works which led to the improvement of so many.

A modern classic not only of Christian literature but of literature period. Paton captures the messiness, beauty, and sorrow of living in the already not yet. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom not fully here, but pray that it comes. All in all it's possibly the best piece of Anglican propaganda we have ever produced since the Book of Common Prayer itself.

This book was truly one of the most moving books about compassion, forgiveness, hope, and love that I've ever read. I was so touched when I finished reading this book - my understanding and awareness of mercy and justice, and the charity one is capable was increased tenfold. It is my opinion that anyone who reads the story of Rev. Steven Kumalo, set in beautiful yet struggling South Africa, will walk away a better person for the experience.

Other than for violating one of my pet peeves in writing, which is the use of coincidence, this book is nearly perfect for what it conveys. In fact, James Michener wrote nearly 900 pages on South Africa in his The Covenant and at the end of that journey, you are filled with history but have very little feeling as to what it is like to be a native South African. Cry, Beloved Country is the polar opposite of The Covenant. The book is filled with heart, and at times, I felt the soul of Paton’s main character.

I would like to say that Cry, Beloved Country is set at a critical point in South African history. However, it’s more of a snapshot in the continuing European and Afrikaners oppression of the native population. While the mid-1940s did offered the British colony choices as it moved forward towards its own independence, the choices that were made by those in power were no different that the choices made at every other point in their prior history.

Cry, Beloved Country, however, does provide insights into the human nature of native South Africans. It shows them to be overwhelmed by the aggressiveness of the transformative process of invasion and as a result, resigned to their oppression. Yes, they have repeatedly fought back but their lifestyle and culture left them completely unprepared to resist the cruelty and complexity of the invaders. Their periodic struggles resulted in repeated catastrophes.

The plot of Cry, Beloved Country is simply that, one more native catastrophe born from a tragic inability to deal with the invaders. And to know what this tragedy is like, what it actually feels like, one must feel the souls of those who suffered.

Well written and painfully descriptive of the apartheid in Soith Africa.

I got a bit lost in the middle for a few chapters but it tighten the up for a strong finish.