Cry, the Beloved Country

Rating:
Summary: Excelleny
Review: I also had to read this for my sophomore english class, and i really enjoyed it! The descriptions are beautiful, but our teacher really made this book great by using it as a follow up to Thing Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, another book about Africa, and the effects of the white man. I recomend both.

Rating:
Summary: It was interesting story about family relationships.
Review: I liked this book because it showed the comparison between two different families -- a rich, white family and a poor, black family. Both families went through pretty much the same things, in that the parents lost their son. It was somewhat emotional and the details about South Africa were interesting as well.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Interesting book
Review: Cry The Beloved Country was a great book. I had to read it for my sophmore english class and I thought I would hate it. It turned out to be very interesting. It had a powerful message. I think that the South African Government should get that and do what Paton suggests.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!!!
Review: This book is an amazing novel that beautifully weaves the imagery of the land and language of south africa with dynamic symbolism. Right from the start, the book draws the reader into this new world of wonder. From a personal view, I am not a fan of fiction novels with the exception of any and all Shakespearean plays. But, i must say that this book is amazing. Beyond the level of a great plot, it walks the reader through a deeper symbolic world. The underlining meaning enlightens the reader with tantalizing new ideas. Hands down, this is a fabulous novel and I fully recommend it to anyone!

Rating:
Summary: It's my Literature textbook... what can I say??
Review: Frankly, I hated this book after reading Book I. However, I was forced to read this cos hey I have an exam on it. It got slightly better after Book II so it ain't so bad, it fact I'll even go as far as to say that it's touching.

Rating:
Summary: TIMELESS PICTURE OF RACIAL DISPARITY AND HOPE.
Review: I cannot help but wonder under what context the readers who panned this book undertook reading it. (I didn't find it to drag, and breezed through it over a weekend.) The sentences ARE short and pointed, and dashes instead of quotation marks ARE used for dialogue, but not consistently. But does this distract from the story, or give it the flavor of the the country and peoples of South Africa? I cried several times during this story both in feeling the pain of a son convicted of murder, and in the joy of hope. As a middle age woman, the wisdom conveyed through advice both to and from the priest spoke so clearly to the youthful rebellion our generation played out in the 1960s. I was so pleased to find high school students giving it five stars! Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Great but boring novel
Review: This novel by Paton is probably the most important novel in the history of South Africa because it opened the eyes of many in the world about the hardships and the cruelities of South Africa. Without this book South Africa may have not went through the renaissance that it went through in the early 90s. But I gotta admit it is one of the boring novels out there.

Rating:
Summary: Crap, the Beloved Country
Review: Employing a mock-prose manner of writing, Paton has successfully written one of the most boring books that I have ever had the misfortune of reading. Unwilling to leave something unfinished, I struggled to complete this seemingly short book. Constantly expecting something of interest to develop, as pages went by I slowly realized that my hopes would be in vain. Unless you enjoy a struggle, I wouldn't recommend this monotonous tale.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: This is a wonderful story about a Zulu Paster, his family, and a white man named Jarvis. The story tells about the injustices of the time in South Africa and the beauty of the country. The story is wonderfully written with vivid describions and the charactors almost come to life. Although it did have some slow parts overall this was a very good book and I would recommend in to anyone!

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: I'm a sophmore in high school and I voluntarily read this book. I finished about 1 week ago and I cannot stop thinking about it. If you are interested in South Africa, Africa in general, or a wonderful novel then this book is for you. This book is written so beautifully I went out and bought 2 other books by Paton- "Ah, But Your Land is Beautiful," and "Too Late the Phalarope." READ THIS BOOK!