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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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:
Yes
Read 2016, 1000 Books to Read, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Nonwhite/Non-European
I found this hard to follow because of the following:
1. I read it intermittently between other books
2. the style of writing
3. all the unfamiliar names
1. I read it intermittently between other books
2. the style of writing
3. all the unfamiliar names
The writing style, might come back to it later
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reread this book after reading it in Grade 10 and honestly it was better than I remember at certain times and kind of not during others.
challenging
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautifully written, sharply observed, and poignant. The mercy that Kumalo and Jarvis express is astounding. I thought some of the observations about faith, justice, and just-ness were special and yet ordinary.
This was so beautiful. I wasn't sure what I expected going into this, I knew the book by name and reputation but I don't think I was expecting it to be quite so powerful. The power of the language in this book, the use of repetition, the way dialogue was used to impart strong emotions without gilding the lily... I was impressed the whole way through. There were so many incredibly stark images that this novel implanted in my mind, all of it capped off with Kumalo at the end, facing towards the rising sun on the morning of his son's execution. The... beauty? Kindness? Generosity? Of the bond that grows between Kumalo and Jarvis is something I had no idea to expect as the book started off.
I feel like Alan Paton got to the soul of South Africa at this moment, or at least one aspect of the soul - accurate if incomplete. There was cruelty in the people trying to do the right thing, and there was kindness in the people deeply in the wrong. There was a lot of fear, and that fear spawned hatred, but there was also incredible generosity and bravery in the face of that fear. I'm just really impressed by this lovely, heartbreaking story that seems to cry out in grief and pain for a people and a culture and a nation in distress, while also suggesting that there is still time to make things right.
I feel like Alan Paton got to the soul of South Africa at this moment, or at least one aspect of the soul - accurate if incomplete. There was cruelty in the people trying to do the right thing, and there was kindness in the people deeply in the wrong. There was a lot of fear, and that fear spawned hatred, but there was also incredible generosity and bravery in the face of that fear. I'm just really impressed by this lovely, heartbreaking story that seems to cry out in grief and pain for a people and a culture and a nation in distress, while also suggesting that there is still time to make things right.