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tnews333 's review for:
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
If I made any suggestion about this book, it would be to read a version that does not have as many introductions or forewords as the one I chose.
As I dislike "seeing" a movie before I see it with extensive previews, I dislike "reading" the book in the foreword and introductions. Let me discover the reason for the title of the book. Let me find the major themes. Let me enjoy the book, dammit!
Without violating the spirit of the above rant, I feel I cannot really discuss what I liked, disliked or found interesting in this book. But will do so anyway, with a polite *spoiler alert* placed here. Those of you who've read the book or those of you for whom a discussion of a book's themes is not antithetical to enjoying the read upon reading it, proceed below the line placed below.
Cheers,
Teri
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Paton, per the introductory materials noted above, had read Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath prior to writing this book. I did like his take on the alternating descriptive scenes and action scenes, although it was not as crisply delineated as Steinbeck did. And the use of dialogue not attributed to a character as a descriptive device, including the use of the dash instead of quotation marks, was nicely familiar.
I have read many books about Nelson Mandela's life and the anti-Apartheid movement (all read 20 or more years ago), and reading "Cry, the Beloved Country" was interesting because it set the stage for Mandela and the other leaders of the anti-Apartheid movement. It also did a better job of exposing or highlighting the fears and concerns of the Afrikaners, that lead to Apartheid, than I had read before. In the 1980's, the "how did we get here?" question was not as pertinent as "how do we go forward from here?" In that sense, it was nice to read a glimpse into how Apartheid came about and how the tribal system fell apart in a multi-factorial fashion.
All in all, and enjoyable read.
Cheers,
Teri
As I dislike "seeing" a movie before I see it with extensive previews, I dislike "reading" the book in the foreword and introductions. Let me discover the reason for the title of the book. Let me find the major themes. Let me enjoy the book, dammit!
Without violating the spirit of the above rant, I feel I cannot really discuss what I liked, disliked or found interesting in this book. But will do so anyway, with a polite *spoiler alert* placed here. Those of you who've read the book or those of you for whom a discussion of a book's themes is not antithetical to enjoying the read upon reading it, proceed below the line placed below.
Cheers,
Teri
__________________________________________________________________________
Paton, per the introductory materials noted above, had read Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath prior to writing this book. I did like his take on the alternating descriptive scenes and action scenes, although it was not as crisply delineated as Steinbeck did. And the use of dialogue not attributed to a character as a descriptive device, including the use of the dash instead of quotation marks, was nicely familiar.
I have read many books about Nelson Mandela's life and the anti-Apartheid movement (all read 20 or more years ago), and reading "Cry, the Beloved Country" was interesting because it set the stage for Mandela and the other leaders of the anti-Apartheid movement. It also did a better job of exposing or highlighting the fears and concerns of the Afrikaners, that lead to Apartheid, than I had read before. In the 1980's, the "how did we get here?" question was not as pertinent as "how do we go forward from here?" In that sense, it was nice to read a glimpse into how Apartheid came about and how the tribal system fell apart in a multi-factorial fashion.
All in all, and enjoyable read.
Cheers,
Teri