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Cry, the Beloved Country
- Author
- Alan Paton
- Narrator
- Michael York
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 1 May 2008
- Run Time
- 9 hours 49 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
A worldwide bestseller when it was first published in 1948, Alan Paton’s impassioned novel about a black man’s country under white man’s law is a work of searing beauty.
Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu pastor, and his son, Absalom. Set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s, it is also the story of a land and a people torn by racial injustice. The book is written with such keen compassion and understanding that the listener shares fully in the gravity of the characters’ situations.
Paton said of his book: “It is a song of love for one’s far distant country.” Thus, it is a tale that is passionately African while also being timeless and universal. Ultimately, Cry, the Beloved Country is a work of love and hope, courage and tragedy, born of the dignity of man.
Critics Review
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“One of the best novels of our time.”
New Republic
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“A beautiful novel, rich, firm, and moving.”
New York Times
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“The marvelous British actor Michael York brings the white South Africans, with their idealism, their prejudices, and their own provinciality, vividly to life…This is a polished, elegant production of a true classic.”
AudioFile
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“This great classic…remains relevant today for providing understanding of how the mining business destroyed native families and the African tribal system…Actor York creates fully voiced characters—young, old, male and female—that enhance this important work and make it a spellbinding tale.”
Kliatt (audio review)
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“With a deep yet gentle voice rounded out by his English accent, Michael York captures the tone and energy of this novel….[and] injects soul into characters tempered by their socioeconomic status as black South Africans.”
Publishers Weekly (audio review)
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Alan Paton
- Narrator
- Michael York
- Duration
- 9 hours 49 minutes
- Release Date
- 1 May 2008
- ISBN
- 9781481583084
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Fiction: general and literary, Classic fiction
Synopsis
A worldwide bestseller when it was first published in 1948, Alan Paton’s impassioned novel about a black man’s country under white man’s law is a work of searing beauty.Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu pastor, and his son, Absalom. Set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s, it is also the story of a land and a people torn by racial injustice. The book is written with such keen compassion and understanding that the listener shares fully in the gravity of the characters’ situations.Paton said of his book: “It is a song of love for one’s far distant country.” Thus, it is a tale that is passionately African while also being timeless and universal. Ultimately, Cry, the Beloved Country is a work of love and hope, courage and tragedy, born of the dignity of man.
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