Cry, the Beloved Country (SparkNotes Literature Guide) [Paperback]

Alan Paton (Author), SparkNotes Editors (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2002 | Series: SparkNotes Literature Guide

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In search of missing family members, Zulu priest Stephen Kumalo leaves his South African village to traverse the deep and perplexing city of Johannesburg in the 1940s. With his sister turned prostitute, his brother turned labor protestor and his son, Absalom, arrested for the murder of a white man, Kumalo must grapple with how to bring his family back from the brink of destruction as the racial tension throughout Johannesburg hampers his attempts to protect his family. With a deep yet gentle voice rounded out by his English accent, Michael York captures the tone and energy of this novel. His rhythmic narration proves hypnotizing. From the fierce love of Kumalo to the persuasive rhetoric of Kumalo's brother and the solemn regret of Absalom, York injects soul into characters tempered by their socioeconomic status as black South Africans. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

"The greatest novel to emerge out of the tragedy of South Africa, and one of the best novels of our time."
-- The New Republic (UNKNOWN )

"A beautiful novel, rich, firm and moving . . ."
-- The New York Times (New York Times ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: SparkNotes (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158663383X
• ISBN-13: 978-1586633837
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (286 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > African > Central & South African

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 177 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paton's creative and writing genius comes to a fore in Cry.., January 10, 2003

By 

"antfarmks5" (Overland Park, KS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cry, The Beloved Country (Paperback)

When first published in 1948 in apartheid South Africa, Cry, the Beloved Country raised more than eyebrows as a powerful book about the power of unity and an author's unflinching hope of a future where segregation no longer exists. The book summoned feelings of pride, optimism, and anticipation of a long-desired goal. But Paton's lyrical, poetic prose is not your typical run-of-the-mill anger evoking story about discrimination. The story is a humanizing experience that evokes feelings of sympathy and understanding, not hatred for a system so blatantly wrong.

In Cry, the Beloved Country, readers feel an uncanny connection to three things: the land, an old black rural priest searching in a corrupt city for his son, and an old white rural man confronting the loss of his son. All three aspects of the book are connected by a common thread. And a great thing about the book is that Paton doesn't feel the need to build up to the emotional climax by setting the readers against a well defined antagonist, or even an antagonist at all; on a micro-scale, the story is a moving tribute to man's inherent dignity; on a macro-scale, the themes and plethora of symbols are applied to man's all-too mortal nature.

This book is also a can't-miss for any fans of poetry who want to read a good work of prose. As the New Republic puts it, Cry, the Beloved Country is "the greatest novel to emerge out of the tragedy of South Africa, and one of the best novels of our time." I would be inclined to agree.

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My all-time favorite, January 25, 2001

By 

Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cry, The Beloved Country (Paperback)

Of the (literally) thousands of books I have read in my life, this is still my favorite. I first read it as a freshman in high school (in 1960, when apartheid was still the law of South Africa), and the sheer beauty of the language took away my breath. The words were so powerful that I memorized many portions of the text, just so I would be able to repeat the words aloud whenever I wished. When JFK was assassinated in 1963, I gave a presentation to my senior English class, and began it with the section of this book that starts: "There is not much talking now, a silence falls on them all...." The class was mesmerized at Mr. Paton's eerily appropriate words, and tears were shed. I've always encouraged my own children to read and they are almost as voracious with books as their dad. Needless to say, this is one of the books I highly recommend to them, because of the excellent writing, and I highly recommend it to you for the same reason.

76 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It impressed me years ago, yet again when I re-read it, October 15, 2002

By 

M. D. Smith "Scientist and Bibliophile Extrao... (Provo, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cry, The Beloved Country (Paperback)

I first read the book when I was in high school for our novel section of AP English. As a writer now, it is strangely thrilling to see how Paton's ideas and poetry influenced my own prose. "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck was good, but I felt that it lacked the words of the heart that Paton writes with. Never have I read a more simple and profound book, so lovingly crafted, so authentic and natural, that some fifty years later after Paton wrote the novel, it still has not been superceded. Kumalo's plight is everyman's plight; his burden our burden; his son our son. Dear students, don't read this book because your teacher tells you to, you will learn nothing that way. Read it, because you earnestly desire it, because it is well worth it.