I like this study guide. It's very useful for test preparation and to get familiar with the primary characters. The guide is well organized, with information about the plot and themes. There's lots more, too--like original critical essays by established writers. This is great for paper-writing. I couldn't find any of this free on the 'Net, so it's worth the price, for sure.

I have always been Paton's admire. His tool of words in acting against the injustices that took part in South Africa, draw me closer to his books.

Finally, someone decides to honor this unbeleagured figure. Our white captain!

At the heart of this charming story lies a meditation on the uncanny power and beauty and mystery of music. The watercolor illustrations are quite lovely and fit in smoothly with the mood of the tale. It took me just five minutes to read, but I immediately wanted everyone I know to read it, too. (Makes a great gift for your favorite church musician!)

... think "lots of highly intelligent people with recognizable names give their best parting words of advice to graduates"... it reads like quick snippets from commencement addresses that these people may well have given at some point. The words are true and often poetic and full of hope for aspiring young people. The phrase "sage advice" wants to work its way in here somewhere. What I wonder is... is this a book that young graduates will WANT to read? I appreciate it as a resource to offer with students I work with, but I'm also 5 years out... I'm sure I would not have picked this up to read straight through at 21. If you sat through your own graduation speaker, chances are you don't have a burning need to read through 15 more mini-speeches that offer the same basic "make your mark on the world" challenge. This is the book parents and well-wishers give to grads, though I'm not sure they're gonna read, so that's why I gave it 4 stars.

I haven't even read this book and I know it's good. How do I know? Because Madeline L'Engle's in it!

In my junior year of high school, I was required to do a research paper on two books. I was looking for something different to read and write about and I came across Alan Paton's novels, "Cry the Beloved Country" and "Too Late the Phalarope". Reading these books, I am aware of the harsh realities of apartheid but was mesmerized by the literary input that Alan Paton wrote of his countrymen and South Africa. Peter was a travesty to himself and to his family. He had an affair with a native and caused a rift between his father and himself. He is forced to confront the reality of how people in society are treated. Frankly, I got a B for the research paper.

This is the first time I have been so moved by a book that I have written a review of it. When I think of "the lieutenant" and his goodness, his sin, his longing - deep longing - for fulfilled love with his spouse or his father or his G-d, my heart aches. Because of his physical beauty and bearing, others have set him apart. Where is he at home? Not in either of his own homes, not in his own body or mind. Locked in the unforgiving and puritanical society of the Afrikaaners, the lieutenant is doomed to destroy himself and all around him. The characters are multi-layered, fully believable. His Aunt, as narrator, serves as the conscience of the times. She reveals herself as she details the downfall of the family and as she does, she and the captain question man's right to condemn self-righteously - when G-d condemns and then forgives.

This is the first of Alan Paton's books that I have read. I was struck by his Steinbeck-ish style of writing (which is fabulous, of course!) But comparison's aside, Paton has crafted an intriguing and extremely meaningful story. I'll avoid going over the plot but suffice to say there was not a moment when I did not feel a strong connection to the characters and their motivations. The views into Pieter's mind contributed to an intense emotional line through the book. Apartheid was not the focus but through Pieter's entries we can definitely understand the horrors of the situation (and perhaps apply the knowledge to our own situations). Truly an inspirational work! I encourage you to read this book ASAP!

I read this book in my sophomore year of high school, and wasn't very fond of it. My classmates agreed.
The book had an interesting plot, I can give it that at least. Kumalo, a South African priest, travels to Johanessburg, a huge city, to find that his entire family has basically forgotten him. His brother doesn't recognize him, his sister lives in the slums, and his son... well, I won't go there as I don't want to give away the plot.
My major complaint about the book is the writing style. It's confusing, lengthy, and one of my friends said they could have cut an entire page of what Paton said into about 3 words. Another complaint I have was that when reading it, it was hard for me to understand who was talking, because the dialogue same as Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. There aren't any quotation marks in the entire book.

All in all, the writing style is just plain tedious for those who don't enjoy it. Who knows, maybe my 15 year old mind can't quite fully appreciate the "genius" of Paton's writing. But that's just me. As you can tell from other reviews listed here, other people obviously love the writing style. Although I found it confusing and unnecessary.

To wrap things up, I would give this book a 2.5 if it were possible... I enjoyed the story, but I disliked the way it was written.

When first published in 1948 in apartheid South Africa, Cry, the Beloved Country raised more than eyebrows as a powerful book about the power of unity and an author's unflinching hope of a future where segregation no longer exists. The book summoned feelings of pride, optimism, and anticipation of a long-desired goal. But Paton's lyrical, poetic prose is not your typical run-of-the-mill anger evoking story about discrimination. The story is a humanizing experience that evokes feelings of sympathy and understanding, not hatred for a system so blatantly wrong.

In Cry, the Beloved Country, readers feel an uncanny connection to three things: the land, an old black rural priest searching in a corrupt city for his son, and an old white rural man confronting the loss of his son. All three aspects of the book are connected by a common thread. And a great thing about the book is that Paton doesn't feel the need to build up to the emotional climax by setting the readers against a well defined antagonist, or even an antagonist at all; on a micro-scale, the story is a moving tribute to man's inherent dignity; on a macro-scale, the themes and plethora of symbols are applied to man's all-too mortal nature.

This book is also a can't-miss for any fans of poetry who want to read a good work of prose. As the New Republic puts it, Cry, the Beloved Country is "the greatest novel to emerge out of the tragedy of South Africa, and one of the best novels of our time." I would be inclined to agree.

I first read the book when I was in high school for our novel section of AP English. As a writer now, it is strangely thrilling to see how Paton's ideas and poetry influenced my own prose. "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck was good, but I felt that it lacked the words of the heart that Paton writes with. Never have I read a more simple and profound book, so lovingly crafted, so authentic and natural, that some fifty years later after Paton wrote the novel, it still has not been superceded. Kumalo's plight is everyman's plight; his burden our burden; his son our son. Dear students, don't read this book because your teacher tells you to, you will learn nothing that way. Read it, because you earnestly desire it, because it is well worth it.

How can anyone find this confusing? This is a pretty simple work, and I find it difficult to believe that anyone can be confused as to what it's about. And why would you need Cliff Notes for this?

In any event, my problem with this play is that its just too simple: not enough meat and the characters aren't all that interesting. Yes, it shows us how narrow-minded the Puritans were. It's also an allegory for McCarthyism, for those of you who don't know. But do we really need this play to point out what it tells us about human nature? I personally find it overly long and overly dull for what it's trying to convey.

i was required to read this book for an english class, and am glad i did, because it really made one think about how narrow minded the puritans were and how that really brought on the hangings of the so called witches. this is definately a book to read.

this is a great piece of art by arthur miller. he catches your attention with the lies and injustices of the 1600's. this is a good book because of it's content. the speech is, as it was in that time. it tells a tale of a little girl who gets caught being "naughty" and blames it on the circumstances of those she doesn't like or has problems with. this book teaches that to lie about something that could have been small makes it much larger and much more complicated to deal with. the girl in this this book is in witchcraft and is caught dancing naked in the woods by her uncle who is the reverend. with her are two other girls, a servant, and a cousin. the town is brought down to a level where every one is accusing every one else for past happeneings. farmowners are accusing neighbors of it so that the land is auctioned off at low prices so that they can increase the quality of their own land. it becomes a big issue when it could have been solved completely with a simple confession. the subject is blown out of proportion and it destryos a lot of lives and families. the truth is finally found after nine-teen people are hanged for the crime of witchcraft. i reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys "a good book".

It was excellect, though very dark in it's discription of the injustice of the apartide. And continuing motifs of oppresion and curruption and hoplessness made it very deppresing. Not as good as his other book, Cry the Beloved Country.