Customer Reviews
Everybody Should Read This Book - By: Jacqui Moore, 19 Nov 2008 
This book was on Oprah's list for a reason. Read it ... & weep. I did, again, & again, & again.
In a world where people take things for granted it's important to understand that others may have struggled. Without giving anything away the main character taught me a lot about compassion.
Beautifully written, one seamless poem .. & lessons that will remain with me for a very long time.
splendour beyond any singing of it - By: Sello Kekana, 12 Feb 2008 the beauty of this marvelous novel isin its language & that you cannot help but become one with long suffering Umfundisi Khumalo
likein often most quoted phrases `it was the best of time,it was the worst of time`by dickens & `turning & turningin widening gyre` w b yeatsin Chinua Achebe novel` things fall apart`
cry the beloved country has managed to secure it`s immortalized phrasing
`there is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo`
the langauge is beautiful beyond any singing of it,kind of that lingers on after you have long finished the book,
true it was written by white man,about mostly black country,but the book
came up with the idea of `truth & reconciliation `long before 1994in south africa,
`some fearin south africa that when white have turned to love,they will find blacks turned to hate`
this was written at the height of apartheid,the periodin Johannesburg after the massive urbanasation of blacks,has been protrait carefully ,skillful & with utmost care,as most peoplein south africa will tell you of the importantance of the period ,that gave birth to ANC,PAC,leaders like mandela.sobukwe,liberation/resistance movements
i would recommend this book to any one,especially book lovers,this will be like long lost joy,that one has been yearning for
in my humble opinion it is a classic/masterpiece,one of most important books to readin ones lifetime
An important vision of South Africa - By: Sam J. Ruddock, 29 Jul 2007 
It is having read this book that i understand Coetzee's Disgrace so much better. Between them they are almost like a conversation being shouted across the years, from pre apartheid to post-apartheid. It is a conversation about South Africa & its people, the terrible impossibility & the hesitant optimism.
There is such humilityin Paton's writing, such understanding & forgiveness. This is a book which lives & breathes South Africa. I feel this despite never having been there; for it is alivein these precious words.
Classic Tale in times of apartheid - By: Jay, 26 Mar 2007 Have you ever set up dominoes on their end allin a line, then once they are all set up you touch the first one & it sets off a cascade effect knocking them all over one at a time? The beginning of the game is slow & tedious, but the cascade effect is worth it. Some classics are like setting up dominoes. They begin slowly, & the unfortunate reader will put the book downin disgust & never return to it. A more persistent reader is richly rewarded for their patience. Cry, The Beloved Country is that kind of a classic, others are Tale of Two Cities, Dickens & Jane Eyre, Bronte.
The language is beautiful, I don't enjoy flowery descriptions of scenery, butin Cry the descriptions helped you feel as if you were there without being too lengthy. The characters are well developed, & some are people I would really love to know. However, because I did care about the characters, the storyin the beginning, is just so sad that I almost fell into that catagory of unfortunate readers who quit reading early & miss out on the treasure. I'm grateful that I didn't.
Inspite of the difficult beginning, this has become one of my favorite books. It carries you from despair to hope. It is a story about South Africa & its people, but it is also a story that has something for each of us.
Cry, The Beloved County leaves you a better person when you put it down than when you started it. It is a journey not to be missed.
cry, the beloved country - By: Ellen, 01 May 2006 
'Cry, the beloved country' is a beautiful book about discrimination of black people. It is situatedin South Africain 1948. It is written from different viewpoints, so you can accept the role that you like the most. The landscape has been described splendidly. The story never stops, however many personages appear & that do not simplify it.
