Cry,The Beloved Country

I was lucky to buy this book,i never heard of this book before as i was browsing through books in a book exhibition i stumbled on this book which was lying down near the payment queue, i didn't think twice i put it inside by book basket.Now i realized i was really lucky to get this book.This  book one of  the best of all time i read.Alan Paton brings  Africa before our eyes, exclusive usage of words to bring the beauty of Africa.

The story starts with a Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo starting his journey in search of his son Absalom and sister,Gertrude to Johannesberg.He was never went to Johannesberg before, he was helped by Msimangu, a pastor in Johannesberg.The crux of the story was that his son Absalom was convicted of a murder, he killed a whiteman who was a good guy working for the empowerment of blacks and poor people.After a long struggle Stephen meet his son at the jail and asked him about how it happened , he told everything about how they(2 other guys, one is cousin, Stephen Kumalo's brother John's son) tried to rob a whiteman's house and how he fired the gun in fear.Many people show their support to Stephen specially the lawyer ,who work for the Lord,Msimangu in his prayers,Ms.Lithebe in whose house he stayed and young police officer who helped him to find whereabout of his son.

Stephen came to know that a girl is carrying his son's child ,out of marriage.He decided to arrange marriage for them and he took the little girl to stay with him in Ms.Lithebe's house.He also found her sister who has a small boy, he took them to Ms.Lithebe's house.He was happy to found her sister and her daugher-in-law.The story unfolds when Stephen found out that the whiteman his son killed was a son of Jarvis, who is living in the near by farm in his church at Ndotsheni,Natal.The Jarvis are good family, very helpful to their black workers.Stephen have seen them many times passing through the church..The father Jarvis understood his son's interest by reading his writings and the books he had in his room.

The two old men,one's son murdered another's son met first in Johannesberg ,Stephen was scared to meet Jarvis, as he felt immense pain.But Jarvis was good to him.Absalom was sentenced to death and the other two were released.Stephen arranged marriage for his son with the little girl with the help of Msimangu.Her sister left her son alone and went,leaving Stephen to take care of him.Stephen with immense pain left to Ndostsheni with his daughter-in-law and sister's son.The tragedy of Absalom's execution becomes a background for the renewal of the impoverished land. This renewal is made possible by a change in the attitude of a rich white landowner whose son was murdered by Absalom.Back in his village , he gets lot of help from Jarvis, who willingly spent his money on  building dam and teaching farming technique to the people.The mindset of two fathers was brought alive by the author's descriptive words.

This books was written shows love and hope, courage and endurance of a man.'Cry, The Beloved Country' was written around 1947 well before the implementation of apartheid, which shows the social protest against the structure of the society ( ruled and controlled by white people).The book sold over 15 million copies around the world before Paton's death.Two film version released one in 1951, Kumalo was played by Canada Lee, Jarvis by Charles Carson, and Msimangu by Sidney Poitier and the another version in 1995 ,Kumalo was played by James Earl Jones and Jarvis by Richard Harris .
Some quotes from the book:

"I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find that we are turned to hating."

"Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear."

"[W]e do what is in us, and why it is in us, that is also a secret. It is Christ in us, crying that men may be succoured and forgiven, even when He Himself is forsaken."

"It is not permissible to add to one's possesions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation."

"Nothing is ever quiet, except for fools."

"I am a weak and sinful man, but God put His hands on me, that is all."

"But when the dawn will come, of our emancipation, from the fear of bondage and the bondage of fear, why, that is a secret."

About author:
 Alan Paton, i liked his style of writing not too poetic and not dull at all, have to read his other books soon.
Wiki