Cry, The Beloved Country
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
Published in 1948 against the backdrop of a nation on the precipice of institutionalised racial segregation, Cry, The Beloved Country is a searing and profoundly moving novel set in the lush hills of the Natal province and the teeming streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. It chronicles the desperate journey of Stephen Kumalo, a humble Zulu pastor, who travels from his rural village to the city in search of his wayward son Absalom — only to find him entangled in a tragedy that will shatter both a Black family and a white one, binding them together in grief across the deepest of divides. Alan Paton writes with a lyrical, almost biblical cadence that transforms a tale of personal loss into a universal cry for justice, compassion, and reconciliation. The novel stands as one of the most important works of 20th-century literature, presenting a devastating indictment of apartheid and the social forces that corrupt and displace the human spirit. Paton's prose — tender yet unflinching — argues that love and forgiveness are the only true antidotes to systemic injustice, leaving the reader to wonder whether a beloved country can ever truly heal itself.
Author: Alan Paton
Format: Paperback
Genre: Modern fiction
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
Published in 1948 against the backdrop of a nation on the precipice of institutionalised racial segregation, Cry, The Beloved Country is a searing and profoundly moving novel set in the lush hills of the Natal province and the teeming streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. It chronicles the desperate journey of Stephen Kumalo, a humble Zulu pastor, who travels from his rural village to the city in search of his wayward son Absalom — only to find him entangled in a tragedy that will shatter both a Black family and a white one, binding them together in grief across the deepest of divides. Alan Paton writes with a lyrical, almost biblical cadence that transforms a tale of personal loss into a universal cry for justice, compassion, and reconciliation. The novel stands as one of the most important works of 20th-century literature, presenting a devastating indictment of apartheid and the social forces that corrupt and displace the human spirit. Paton's prose — tender yet unflinching — argues that love and forgiveness are the only true antidotes to systemic injustice, leaving the reader to wonder whether a beloved country can ever truly heal itself.