Alan Paton wrote a masterpiece which fed him and his family for the rest of his life. Cry, the Beloved Country is set in 1946 in South Africa. I loved it. It reads fast and easy.
The plot moves rapidly, despite repetitions and descriptions. Paton writes well, what can I say?
Even though Africa has never fascinated me, this book kept my attention. The fact that they mention the Tennessee Valley Authority on page 204 made me smile. What in the world? Two books in a row now have mentioned my state of residence. Kind of funny.
I plan to watch the movie adaptation of this book, too. Movies are never better than the books they are based upon, but it would be interesting to see the landscape and the casting for the different roles.
You will not get the plot out of me because I do not want to spoil the fun of discovering the story. I highly recommend this book. It will move and touch you and transport you. Great books do that to us.
I believe I enjoyed this book a lot because the story is told through the perspective of parents. Both sets of parents have to deal with the conflict between their sons. Their feelings and thoughts come to the forefront. As a parent myself, I felt the story close to my heart.
I felt for them. How terrible, to go through such an ordeal as theirs! I shuddered and kept on reading, wanting to find out the story ends.