Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton, 1948)

We're off and running here with the first "classic" of the year, with a return to Africa (albeit a different part) and Oprah's Book Club.

I would recommend any prospective readers of Cry, the Beloved Country do a little prep work before digging into the book. It is useful to read a biographical sketch of author Alan Paton and read a quick overview of South African history. Keep in mind the book was written in 1948, before the creation of the Republic, stepped up apartheid laws, and Nelson Mandela. Paton would become intimately involved in all of these matters later on, but as of the writing of his first book he wasn't nearly a political as he would later become, motivated to react to the course of events around him.

Briefly, the plot of the novel concerns the journey of Rev. Stephen Kumalo to the big city of Johannesburg to learn the fate of his family members that moved there and never returned. Meanwhile, a wealthy white landowner, Jarvis, has also come to the city with his wife to learn the truth behind the senseless murder of his son. The two plot lines intersect in a most unexpected way, forcing each man to confront the political realities of South Africa in 1946, but they also experience a certain helplessness when it comes to seeking any kind of change in the ways of the country.

Given what we know would happen in South Africa, and even in the United States, this book can seem fairly tame. Paton's narrative urges cooperation among the different ethnic groups of South Africa: native (black), British, Afrikaaner, and "coloured" (Indian and other ethnicities). Most of the characters are sympathetic, though at times the black militancy and white prejudices creep up among the minor characters and are clearly frowned upon by the main characters as misguided beliefs. The white characters generally respect (or come to acknowledge) the dignity of the native population, while the main black characters see the need to "evolve" from tribalism to become equal members of South African society.

The introduction has a good section about the role of Abraham Lincoln in the novel. Lincoln had boldly asserted that the antebellum United States were destined to become all free or all slave states, and that the current divided approach was only a temporary phenomenon. Likewise South Africa's more Afrikaaner regions had developed more stringent apartheid systems while the British regions had not. Yet, with the surge of Afrikaaner political fortunes throughout South Africa shortly after the publication of this novel, the entire region fell under the shadow of apartheid, in a sort of reverse outcome from the American experience. While at the time this novel was written Paton had no idea what would ultimately transpire, he shows great foresight in cautioning his native country to what possible path it may be taking.