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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
"Cry, the Beloved Country" is a beautifully written, heartrending story of South Africa just before the start of apartheid. It paints a portrait of a country being crushed by imbalance, economically, socially, and politically. The injustice of racial inequality and grinding poverty is heartbreakingly rendered in the story of a country preacher , Steven Kumalo, who travels to the large city of Johanassburg to save his sister and search for his son, who left to go there but hasn't been heard from.
The vast differences between the life Kumalo lives in the country and the struggle for survival the city residents face is striking and pivotal to the plot of the story. Kumalo finds his sister in dire straits and attempts to help her. When he finally tracks down his son, his situation is even worse.
This story rivals the greater tragedy that South Africa faced with apartheid. It is not light reading, but should be required reading for everyone. The depth and scope of what life was like in South Africa, the damage colonialism has done to not just this country, but by extrapolation every country occupied by European empires, is on full display in this book, all told by the small life of one man who tries to make a difference.
I highly recommend this book.
The vast differences between the life Kumalo lives in the country and the struggle for survival the city residents face is striking and pivotal to the plot of the story. Kumalo finds his sister in dire straits and attempts to help her. When he finally tracks down his son, his situation is even worse.
This story rivals the greater tragedy that South Africa faced with apartheid. It is not light reading, but should be required reading for everyone. The depth and scope of what life was like in South Africa, the damage colonialism has done to not just this country, but by extrapolation every country occupied by European empires, is on full display in this book, all told by the small life of one man who tries to make a difference.
I highly recommend this book.
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This novel of post-colonial South Africa, published in 1948 on the cusp of apartheid, was a rich literary experience. It had a bit of everything: lush descriptions of landscape, intimate examinations of human emotion, dramatic exchanges that read like scenes of a play, stirring tracts of social and political commentary, eloquent allusions to Dante's Inferno and the Bible. At its core is the story of an aging Zulu pastor, Stephen Kumalo, who travels from his impoverished rural homeland through the urban tangle of Johannesburg in search of his only son, and of a tragic crime that binds Kumalo with the wealthy British farmer who is his neighbor. Remarkable for not only its structure and characterization but also its poetry: "lovely beyond any singing of it" is a refrain lovely beyond any singing of it! I would revisit this book for the poetry and for the compassionate discourse on fear, forgiveness, grief, and social justice.
Notes:
-I read this book in fits, the bulk of the middle as I drove around Indiana and Ohio, via the unabridged audiobook performed by Michael York. I appreciated the audiobook for helping me maintain some sense of pace and teaching me the pronunciation of key names and Zulu and Afrikaans phrases. But I still find one reader doing a bunch of different voices and accents kind of cheesy and annoying.
-Two film adaptations (1951, includes Sydney Poitier as Kumalo's Virgil-esque guide, Msimangu; and 1995, with James Earl Jones and Richard Harris). And Kurt Weill's last musical, Lost in the Stars, was based on the novel.
Notes:
-I read this book in fits, the bulk of the middle as I drove around Indiana and Ohio, via the unabridged audiobook performed by Michael York. I appreciated the audiobook for helping me maintain some sense of pace and teaching me the pronunciation of key names and Zulu and Afrikaans phrases. But I still find one reader doing a bunch of different voices and accents kind of cheesy and annoying.
-Two film adaptations (1951, includes Sydney Poitier as Kumalo's Virgil-esque guide, Msimangu; and 1995, with James Earl Jones and Richard Harris). And Kurt Weill's last musical, Lost in the Stars, was based on the novel.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't like that the author makes the Africans speak to each other like they spoke in english (their 2nd or 3rd language), e.g. "the child is like to die, we need a doctor, if only he come". Obviously they wouldn't speak like that in their own language! Also, he had to point out "good Whites", although the book is supposed to be pointing out the racial inequality of the time. I am not willing to read such a patronizing book, even if the author meant well.
Caveat: my reviews are for me to remember what I read and what I thought, not so much for public consumption. :)
I always feel compelled to rate classics higher, but this book just didn't do it for me.
There was an ebb and flow in my interest level. On the one hand, I was surprised at how quickly some parts moved, how readable it was, and in other parts, how easy it was to put down for days at a time. The pace was somewhat slow.
To me, it's a book about salvation. A holy man takes a journey to the big city in order to save his brother and his son from the certain vices that have grabbed hold of them. He fails to save either—especially his son. He is, however, able to save a girl and her child. There's some redemption in the end, and yet another man finds salvation in the loss of his family members through acts of goodwill.
I'm sure it's about so much more than that, but salvation is the single theme that emerged and returns to me in the days after finishing the book.
I always feel compelled to rate classics higher, but this book just didn't do it for me.
There was an ebb and flow in my interest level. On the one hand, I was surprised at how quickly some parts moved, how readable it was, and in other parts, how easy it was to put down for days at a time. The pace was somewhat slow.
To me, it's a book about salvation. A holy man takes a journey to the big city in order to save his brother and his son from the certain vices that have grabbed hold of them. He fails to save either—especially his son. He is, however, able to save a girl and her child. There's some redemption in the end, and yet another man finds salvation in the loss of his family members through acts of goodwill.
I'm sure it's about so much more than that, but salvation is the single theme that emerged and returns to me in the days after finishing the book.
A moving story that sticks with you. I listened to the audiobook and can still hear the father agonizing over his son. It is echoed by so many other parents about their children through the years and many countries.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated