Cry, the Beloved Country

By: Alan Paton

Narrated by: Michael York

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the most distinguished novel that has come out of South Africa in the 20th century, and it is one of the most important novels that has appeared anywhere in modern times. Cry, the Beloved Country is in some ways a sad book; it is an indictment of a social system that drives native races into resentment and crime; it is a story of Fate, as inevitable, as relentless, as anything of Thomas Hardy's. Beautifully wrought with high poetic compassion, Cry, the Beloved Country is more than just a story, it is a profound experience of the human spirit. And beyond the intense and insoluble personal tragedy, it is the story of the beautiful and tragic land of South Africa, its landscape, its people, and its bitter racial ferment and unrest.

Public Domain (P)1993 Blackstone Audiobooks

stirring story

I very much enjoyed this story. sometimes I choose a book because I feel like I should read it just because it's recommended or everyone else has read. that's sort of why I chose this book in the beginning. however, I was quickly caught up in the story and it no longer was just because I have to but because I felt swept up in the narrative, I cried in parts, it made me think about different things, and it was a story of sadness but of Hope and also of loving and forgiving those who have hurt us. this was for more than one character.

speechless

I will think of this story daily for very many days. It is incredibly powerful.

Wonderfully done.

The narration by Michael York was phenomenal. I read this book almost 40 years ago in high school. So many heavy topics brilliantly exposed and flawlessly entertwined. Having it read aloud gives it new life and makes evermore so real.

Wonderful story and narration

I was drawn in by the story and couldn't stop listening ot this book! The narration is wonderful, the voices of the different characters are done very differently. LOVED it!

Cry, the Beloved Country

Great insight into South Africa. Nice parellel between a white man and a black man faced with difficult times. Well written.

Third time broke the spell

This is the 3rd time I have read this book. I read it twice in the 90s and loved loved loved it! I had passages memorized and I recommended it to everyone who read books. This time, I listened to it and it just started dawning on me that this book, while beautifully written, is not to be praised without qualification.

This is a story mostly about 2 fathers (one white and one black) and their 2 sons. The fathers live in a small village and their sons have both gone to Johannesburg. Their lives soon intersect and the story swirls back and forth between the two fathers' perspectives.

The way it is told is poetic, eloquent, poignant. Here is my favorite passage from the book:

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

Paton, Alan (2003-11-25). Cry, the Beloved Country (p. 101). Scribner. Kindle Edition.

BUT (and this ruined it for me this time around) (I don't know what I was thinking the first two times - it's why I started listening to books - reading them, I remember almost nothing.)

Most of the black characters are either criminals, corrupt politicians, whores, or bootleggers, and the two that are presented in a positive light are parsons. All of the white people are good, kind, and magnanimous, stopping to give rides to black people, providing milk for poor black children, building new churches for black congregations, and paying for teachers to teach the poor blacks how to farm their land. Gag me.

I don't want to give away any of the plot, but black children are glossed over like scenery, while the white child in the book is referred to a having a "brightness" about him, even by Kumalo, the black parson who takes in his sister's child, but pretty much just ignores him. Black girls are reprimanded for their "careless laughter" and expected to be "quiet and obedient." Kumalo was described by the white man, Jarvis as being "humble and well-mannered" because he dropped his eyes, went down the steps, and sat down trembling upon Jarvis' arrival. When Kumalo dropped his hat, Jarvis picked it up and "held the hat carefully for it was old and dirty."

There's more, but you get the point. That sort of stuff is hard to read without wanting to shake the author and scream, "What the what??" But, it was 1948 when it was published, and the author did fight against apartheid, so maybe the book helped stir up some awareness of the injustice of it all. One character in the book does say, "it was the white man who gave us so little land, it was the white man who took us away from the land to go to work. And we were ignorant also. It is all these things together that have made this valley desolate. Therefore, what this good white man does is only a repayment." but he is soundly admonished by Kumalo. But then Kumalo does admit to himself that he has been called "the white man's dog" but doesn't know any other way to live and is too old to learn.

So all that said, it is beautifully written and I'm glad I read it again after all these years. But I don't think I'll be reading it again, and I won't be recommending it anymore without qualification.

The narration was absolutely perfect!

Slow moving, lyrical and profound 1948 Classic

“The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that things are not mended again.” Alan, Paton.
The novel is a series of conversations and interactions as Stephen Kumalo a native village priest goes into Johannesburg to find missing family and friends from the village. The world of South Africa, the thoughts, beliefs, problems and challenges of many of the different groups are shared. I imagine impatient readers would hate this book as it slowly and symbolically unwinds... but I personally loved it. I saw and felt much of the symbolism, but honestly a peek at Cliff Notes helped me understand even more. Oprah has a web page about the book. Nelson Mandela calls it "a monument to the future." For me it belongs on a book "everyone should read once" list.

Cry The Beloved Country

Important Read!!!!!

Loved this Beloved Book

The movie was beautiful - the book is sublime.

Paton wrote a fable, cautionary tale about the destruction of "the beloved country" by destroying tribes and implementing a racial descrimination system that later would become apartheid.

Beautiful example of how people of different background can have epiphanies and open their hearts in the face of horrible darkness and tragedy Two neighbors from rural South African lives are brought together when one's son kills the other man's son. The main characters are a black Anglican Priest (Stephen Kumalo), and a rich white farmer (Arthur Jarvis). Through lessons they learned, Kumalo by seeing lives destroyed in Johannesburg, and Jarvis reading the writings of his son, who was an activist for fair treatment and equality for blacks, these two men come together to start what could be the healing of this country.

Michael York's narration made this book even more incredible.

Transported me to a place & time

What does Michael York bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love Michael York. Excellent reader. I felt like I was listening to different characters - each had his own voice, & each was perfect. The rhythm of Mr. York's voice invoked Africa in a way I wouldn't have been able to hear if I'd read the book myself.

Any additional comments?

I've heard of this title for a long time. Now I can't believe I've taken so long to read/listen to it. I'm recommending it to others. The writing is so perfect; the story & the setting & the characters just transported me to a place I've never been, but now I feel like I have been there. The feeling of the characters came through so strongly, in a very real & human way without being overdone. I can't say enough about this experience. Thank you.