In 1948 Alan Paton awoke the world to the conditions of life for non-whites In South Africa in a book which was to have the same monumental impact on the cause of liberalism in this century. The theme Alan Paton addressed in Cry, My Beloved Country, which was quickly to become an international bestseller and was later dramatised and filmed, was the plight of a tribal people caught up in the life of an industrial world. He told the story of a Zulu country parson who went to rescue his sister and son from the moral and ...
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In 1948 Alan Paton awoke the world to the conditions of life for non-whites In South Africa in a book which was to have the same monumental impact on the cause of liberalism in this century. The theme Alan Paton addressed in Cry, My Beloved Country, which was quickly to become an international bestseller and was later dramatised and filmed, was the plight of a tribal people caught up in the life of an industrial world. He told the story of a Zulu country parson who went to rescue his sister and son from the moral and spiritual dangers of Johannesburg's native locations in a manner so eloquent and affecting no humane or right-thinking person could ever regard the social and political conditions of Paton's homeland in the same way again. Born at Pietermaritzburg, Natal, in 1903, Paton attended Natal University College, and, after teaching for some years, was appointed Principal of Diepkloof Reformery in the Transvaal - work which was to provide a vital factor in this novel. All reformatories had recently been taken over by the Department of Education and, in his arrival at Diepkloof, Paton set out to transform a prison into a school and to substitute the education of citizens for the mere punishment of criminals. Into an institution of barbed wire, guards and sullen obedience to authority he introduced a system of graduated freedom - with dramatically successful results. In 1947 Paton went on a tour of prisons and reformatories in Britain, on the Continent and North America and it was while on his travels that he began writing Cry, The Beloved Country. Alan Paton had long been a working member of Toc H, and on the death of his great friend, Jan Hofmeyr, the champion in the South African government of the just treatment of non-whites, and Vice-President of Toc H, the mantle fell upon Paton who became its Hon. Commissioner. He inspired one of its greatest ventures, a tuberculosis settlement at Bothas Hill in Natal. In 1953, Paton's second novel, Too Late the Phalarope, was published. The same year he devoted himself to the newly-formed Liberal Party, of which he subsequently became president. The Party was finally outlawed by the South African government's Prohibition of Political Interference Bill and disbanded in May 1968. In 1960, Alan Paton's passport was confiscated on his return from New York where he had been presented with the annual Freedom Award and was not returned to him until ten years later.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. The jacket (from a later edition) is a touch rubbed with one small closed tear. There is a little tape residue to the pastedowns; otherwise internally clean and tightly bound.
Alan Paton's novel "Cry, the Beloved Country" (1948) somehow escaped me over the years. Paton's novel was already a staple on high school reading lists when I was in school, and I tend to avoid such books. A glance at some of the many reviews here on Amazon suggests that the book continues to be force-fed to students, a situation that discourages appreciative reading. When our book group selected the novel, I became an initially reluctant reader. But I soon realized I had missed a great deal in not reading this book.
Set in South Africa in 1948, Paton's novel examines race relations in that troubled country just before the formal institution of apartheid. The primary character is an elderly Zulu minister, Stephen Kumalo who lives and tends to his congregation in a poor farming community which has depleted its soil by poor farming practices on hills. Steven's brother John, his sister Gertrude and his only son Absolom have left the homestead to try to find their ways in Johannesburg. When Steven receives a message that his sister is in desperate straits, he undertakes the lengthy, expensive rail journey to Johannesburg in search of his family. Steven finds each of the three, and the novel tells their stories. The book develops primarily around Absolom who has become a troubled, delinquent young man. Absolom is arrested and tried for the murder of a young white man, Arthur Jarvis. Arthur's father, James, is a wealthy landholder and near-neighbor of Stephen Kumalo. During the trial of Stephen's son, the two men become close. In his life, Arthur had studied closely South Africa's racial situation and had written and spoken out eloquently for change. With his son's death, the novel shows how James, who had been apathetic on the issue at best, came to understand and share the convictions of his son.
"Cry, the Beloved Country" is immeasurably more than a polemic against racism in South Africa. In my belated reading of the book, I tried to think of how the work transcended its time and place to become a convincing work of art. Here are some of my ideas. The writing style of the book in its lyricism, solemnity, repetition, and detail frequently is more akin to poetry than to fictional narrative. The tone of the book is sad and thoughtful much more than it is critical. Paton seems less inclined to blame any party for the origins of racism in South Africa than he is to understand. He explores how racism developed and he examines the fears of all the participants in the system. The aim is not to condemn but to understand, forgive, and change.
There are beautiful portrayals of South Africa in all its aspects, from the small native communes and compounds to the mines to the metropolis of Johannesburg. The book celebrates reading and the life of the mind primarily through Arthur Jarvis, whose library and thought Paton explores in depth. Abraham Lincoln receives great and devoted attention in this book, showing the universal appeal of this great American president.
More than the portrayal of an unjust social system or the depiction of a complex country, "Cry the Beloved Country" is a religious work. Few, if any characters in this story are entirely evil. Although shown as a person with flaws and a tendency to hurt others, Stephen Kumalo emerges as a committed Christian minister to his people. When he travels to Johannesburg, he meets several other ministers and church officials who, contrary to much literature, are portrayed selflessly and positively.
Several other characters, including a lawyer who defends Stephen's son pro bono ("pro deo"), and a native landlady are shown as unselfish, well-meaning and noble. The book tells its story of hope, forgiveness, and correction of injustice without derogating.
On my reading, I found "Cry, the Beloved Country" in large part a religious novel of an unusual and profound spirit in the way it approached its themes. I was drawn by the goodness and sincerity of the characters. The book helps show what religion, Christianity in particular, can be at its best in a troubled time. Forgiveness and not condemnation is the overriding theme of the book. I was grateful to take the opportunity to read Paton's novel at last.
Robin Friedman
Judith H
Dec 7, 2014
Cry the Beloved Country
One of the best books about Africa I have ever read. The father depicted in the story is so remarkable and so real. I will never tire of this book and can easily read it over and over. It is a classic!
Robert P
Nov 15, 2012
Tough Read.
I stuck with it till the end, even though there wasn't anything to cheer about. Very slow pacing by modern standards, making it hard to cut through. I didn't get a payoff at the end, like I've gotten with other classics such as Hemingway's. Still, the realism may have made it worth it.
PMS707
Aug 13, 2009
Thought provoking
Very touching and well written. There seemed to me to be no bias, both sides of a sad situation were covered so nicely.
idontwanttogrowup
Jun 9, 2007
:(
I was forced to read this book in a high school social studies class and hated every line of it. The dialog, of which there is a substantial amount, is not accompanied by any sort of punctuation or even reference to which character is speaking, making it a difficult story to follow. The Story isn't all that great either, so, really, trying to follow along with the dialog was the least of my problems.