Cry, the Beloved Country
Alan Paton
277 pages



Could it be I've already read one of my "2008 Top 10"? This book had a profound effect on me, which I doubt I can adequately describe in this review. Cry, the Beloved Country is an incredibly moving story of Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu preacher who living in a remote South African farming community. Most young people leave the community at adulthood and travel to Johannesburg in search of a better livelihood. Many lose touch with their families. Stephen is himself a victim of this phenomenon, as his brother, sister, and son have each left in turn. Upon learning that his sister has taken ill, Stephen travels to Johannesburg in search of all three. Aided by a local pastor, Msimangu, Kumalo locates his brother, now a local politician. He rescues his sister and her son from prostitution, and he traces his son's trail, gradually revealing the hardships he has fallen into.

Paton uses the plot to decry the racial tensions created by colonial rule, which encroached on native people and restricted their education, land rights, and employment. This could be "just another story about race," except that the writing is brilliant. Paton was inspired by the work of John Steinbeck, and his prose has a similar style. The language can be highly descriptive, as in this opening paragraph, which vividly describes the natural landscape:
There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles ... About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. ...The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see teh soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof. It is well-tended, and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground his holy ... "

Or, the language can be sparse, particularly in sections of dialogue. Somehow the spare words convey intense emotion with surprising impact. Although I was completely transfixed by this book, I often had to set it aside to absorb the emotional impact of Stephen's search. And yet, in the midst of sadness, a profound act by one individual brings hope to Stephen and his village. The book ends in a most bittersweet way, that cannot easily be forgotten. Highly recommended.  ( )