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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
This book was incredible. It read more like poetry than prose most of the time. Reading it was almost a spiritual experience.
Not for everyone, probably, but give it a try.
Not for everyone, probably, but give it a try.
What a beautiful, sad, redemptive story written with a such a poetic hand.
This story amazed me. I felt that I had entered another world. Kumalo, an elderly Christian pastor in a South African village, is one of the most real and emotional characters I've ever encountered in a book. I felt empathy with him from the beginning, as he rides a train to the unfamiliar big city of Johannesburg, where he encounters unexpected and terrible things. Later the point of view switches to Jarvis, a wealthy white landowner, and I felt sympathy for him and his family. I feel as if I have met so many people in this book. The clueless state of Kumalo's grown son reminded me of so many young people who act without thinking. The great kindness of Kumalo's new friend Msimangu made me weep. The small bright boy (Jarvis's grandson) and his conversations with Kumalo spread hope for the future. It is a hopeful book overall, and maybe that hope still exists for South Africa -- I don't know. This was published 42 years before Nelson Mandela was freed from prison (1990). In this book, the song "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" is not yet well known -- it is mentioned several times. There are so many wonderful scenes. One near the end of the book, where a bishop comes to visit Kumalo and asks him to resign, is unforgettable (I wanted to cheer and cry at the same time). South Africa is a complicated country, and this story gently but confidently reveals many pieces that make up the whole.
I cant say enough about this book. It is lyrically written, reads almost like an epic out of Ireland. The dialog between characters is straightforward, and the book manages to give you a glimpse of Apartheid S. Africa, from the richest people, to the poor urban laborers, to the criminals, to the peaceful rural farmers trying to maintain their land after many years of neglect. This is a classic that I have read probably 3 or 4 times.
My copy is beat to hell, but readable.
My copy is beat to hell, but readable.
I had to read this for English class... I did not like the way it was written. It was very hard to read and is personally found it rather boring. But this is just my personal opinion.
This was an excellent book dealing with the social and racial injustice of South Africa in the late 1940's. Even though this story is set many years in the past, it resonates still.
I would recommend this book highly.
I would recommend this book highly.
I would give this book 4 1/2 stars if I could. The prose is unusual to my Western ears, and so beautiful. I love the writing, the dialogue, the characters, the goodness, the land, everything!