Cry, the Beloved Country

Cry, the Beloved Country is truly a beautiful book. It’s one I’ve never gotten around to before now, but after reading this review at Hope Is the Word I put it on my TBR list. Now I’m moving it to my “best ever” list.

Part protest against the social structures in South Africa that later led to apartheid, part mourning over the loss of tribal society and the cancer of racial fear, and part tribute to the beauty and power of redemption, this book centers around native Anglican priest Stephen Kumalo. He makes a personal quest into Johannesburg in search of several community members (most importantly his son, Absalom) who left the exhausted land of their native place for the promise of urban life, and disappeared. What Kumalo finds is the worst possible news. This novel tells the story of his deeply spiritual, but also deeply this-worldly, response.

What moved me the most?

1. The story. This is powerful stuff: a father searching for his son, a land in decline, a worldview put to the test, a piece of history. Coming to the tale with only minimal knowledge of the South African story, I found myself educated and drawn in by this absorbing plot.

2. Beautiful language. I can imagine this book being read aloud, and almost want to find and listen to an audiobook because the rhythms of the language are so appealing to the ear. The dialect is musical, the turns of phrase and ritual exchanges permeated with courtesy and tradition.

3. Hope. This is a compelling portrait of true Christianity. It’s heartbreaking and yet more strongly hopeful than anything I’ve read in a long time. It shows what can happen when someone is willing to endure the pain of extending compassion in humility.

Honestly, reading this book hurt. But it was worth it. It’s unsparing in its observation of the tragic and the heroic in human life. I look forward now to exploring the screen adaptations of the story, starting with this one.