Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Macmillan Pub Co (1981), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 276 pages
Description
From the author of Cry, The Beloved Country comes a powerful novel of terror and remorse "written in exquisitely balanced prose" (Chicago Sun-Times) about a white policeman who has an affair with a native girl in South Africa. After violating his country's ironclad law governing relationships between the races, a young white South African police lieutenant must struggle alone against the censure of an inflexible society, his family, and himself.
User reviews
LibraryThing member herschelian
Written in the 1950s this, Alan Paton's second novel, is a story of how sexual temptation clashes with the apartheid regime with tragic consequences for the protagonists. This book deserves to be as well known as Paton's masterpiece "Cry, The Beloved Country".
LibraryThing member aulsmith
While I really appreciated this portrayal of an Afrikaner family and life on the veldt, I also found the ponderous religiousity of the viewpoint characters hard to take at times. Also, there is a lot of very heavy foreshadowing that contributes to the feeling that the book is dragging. However, the
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end was better than I expected and made me glad I'd waded through some of the earlier part. Show Less
LibraryThing member icolford
This second novel by Alan Paton, who acheived instant fame for Cry, The Beloved Country, is another work that highlights injustice in aparthied South Africa. Pieter van Vlaanderen, a police lieutenant, revered in his community as much for his moral rectitude as for his rugby skills, harbors a
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secret and shameful lust for the black girl Stephanie, against which he struggles but finally gives in to, in violation of the 1927 Immorality Act criminalizing sexual intercourse between natives and Europeans. The novel is narrated by his Aunt Sophie, who idolizes her nephew but is often confused and hurt by his dark moods. Admittedly heavy handed and somewhat contrived (how can she know what her nephew is thinking?), the narrative succeeds nonetheless by creating great suspense, even though we know in the end the great man falls. A powerful indictment of repressive laws that punish people for being human. Show Less
LibraryThing member Helena81
4.5 really (I don't give 1/2 stars).
A beautifully crafted book with an ominous sense of danger throughout. The themes of racial apartheid, temptation, and fall from grace permeate the novel. The prose feels masterful and gives the situation the gravity it deserves. Paton is also skilled at making
I'd give the book 5 stars, but it felt a little sparse, I wanted more depth. However, that this deep, sad story can be communicated with such sparing prose is also a strength of the book.
A beautifully crafted book with an ominous sense of danger throughout. The themes of racial apartheid, temptation, and fall from grace permeate the novel. The prose feels masterful and gives the situation the gravity it deserves. Paton is also skilled at making
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the reader piece things together, yet never letting you feel lost. The title is clever too--the phalarope symbolizes both the father's dominance and yet also a shared moment of tenderness that comes too late to save Pieter.I'd give the book 5 stars, but it felt a little sparse, I wanted more depth. However, that this deep, sad story can be communicated with such sparing prose is also a strength of the book.
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LibraryThing member CassandraT
I read this in middle school. It was disturbing.
LibraryThing member Gypsy_Boy
I had read that, as popular as Cry, the Beloved Country is, this work (published in 1953) is generally considered his best. Having only read these two novels and a collection of Paton’s short stories, I don’t know if I have enough familiarity with his work to pass judgment but I will say that
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this is a very impressive work. Paton succeeds brilliantly in getting into people’s minds and it is hard to imagine that his ability to do so or his understanding of how people think could be improved upon. It is not a surprise that Paton was brought up in the Christadelphian Church, a sect that believes in the absolute primacy of the Bible, among other things. His very deep knowledge of the Bible comes through on every page. More than intellectual familiarity with what the lines in the Bible say, Paton demonstrates a profound understanding of the complexity of human beings, of good and evil, and of the nature of shame, honesty, and acceptance. Indeed, much of the book is a meditation on belief and how it does (versus how it “should”) govern our behavior. The novel is the story of an upright young (white) police officer who transgresses the color line in apartheid South Africa in the 1950s. The act is not only a serious legal problem but far more so a family problem as he is from an old Boer (Dutch) family with strict cultural and religious standards. What happens is almost impossible to see happening any other way and Paton’s telling of the story, both in how and what people do as well as how and what they think, is masterful. He is especially impressive at depicting the conscience at work. Though I understand the compelling nature of Cry, the Beloved Country, I cannot understand why this novel isn’t far better known. Show Less
Awards
Notable Books List (1953)
Language
Original publication date
1953
Physical description
276 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0684185008 / 9780684185002
Local notes
Perennial Classics