Western-minded, beware.

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	• Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton Scribner, 2003 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 241 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A remarkable novel

It is too simple to simply report this as a book about apartheid. The novel depicts human nature beautifully--the fact that the story line is about South Africa is just a prop to describe how and why people acts as they do. So much of this story applies today and in so many settings=--and in our own backyards.

This is a remarkable novel and while I don't see it on too many lists of the greatest 100 novels--it belongs there.

Unconditionally recommended for the thoughtful reader.

Western-minded, beware.

I have begun reading this book as a prereq for the International Baccalaureate program; now, not too far in, I decided to check reviews on Amazon to see if I am in for a long haul of a book report, trying my best to finish an utterly dull and stupendously bland book.

However, I, being in the French version of the program, was absolutely sickened to see reviewers referring in such a derogatory manner to the author in regards to the hyphen (-) used to commence phrases in the book in lieu of quotations (").

What they fail to realize is that quotations are a strictly English-speaking thing. Considering the writer was not born in Britain, nor the United States, nor English-speaking Canada, it is perfectly acceptable for a hyphen to be used to start a phrase. I have been reading like this for years...yes, it will take getting used to, but it is a very multicultural thing and those who learn to weave around it if they are so distracted by it will realize that, although in my personal opinion the book is a bit of a snorefest, the writer uses metaphors, similes and euphanisms in a distinct and unique manner.

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Beautiful

A beautiful portrait of South Africa under Apartheid, one that takes into account the struggles and heroism of all groups. Its reputed boringness is hardly a problem considering what a quick and enriching read it is.

the real thing

"What are master-pieces and why are there so few of them?" was Gertrude Stein's rhetorical question. Gertrude would have found plenty to criticize about Cry, the Beloved Country. Sentimental; politically correct; intensely personnal; carefully crafted; embedded in a time, a place, and a people - Alan Paton's novel is everything that Ms. Stein despised in novels. But it is also undeniably a Master-Piece.

Cry, the Beloved Country is at once a poetic portrait of South Africa, a testament of racial justice, and the universal story of suffering and despair overcome by hope and love. The protagonist is a village parson, Stephen Kumalo, who travels to Johannesburg in seach of his loved ones (son, sister, and brother) who have been lost to urbanization. In his search, Kumalo loses more than he thought he had to lose. But his stubborn integrity is rewarded in all the ways that matter.

The literary quality of this novel is undeniable. Paton shows a fine facility with with dialect, description, point of view, and voice. I was particularly impressed by Paton's effective use of the second person in passages that evoke sympathetic internal dialogs and solidify his varied characters.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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