The Beloved Country

Novelist Alan Paton creates an intensely moving narrative about the disintegration of tribal customs and the destruction of the land in South Africa under the laws of white man. The story follows the journey of a Zulu pastor, Stephen Kumalo, in search of his son Absalom. Positioned against the backdrop of a South Africa riddled with racial injustices, broken spirits and laws that create a divide between white and black, the story of Kumalo weaves a harrowing tale of a man who gains just as much as he loses on his journey to find his son.

Kumalo's character is why I love this book. His wonder and fear of traveling outside of the small South Africa town of Ndotsheni to Johannesburg transcend the pages of the book and creates a feeling of being right alongside him, during his travels. I like too that he is a pastor, but you find that his character does falter and lose his way.

Kumalo initially sets out on his journey because he receives message from a pastor Msimangu in Johannesburg that his sister Gertrude is sick. Msimangu will become an important companioning for him during his stay in Johannesburg. He is not only his guide, but also his rock and a voice of reason when all appears lost to Kumalo.

Kumalo finds his sister upon arrival in the great town of Johannesburg. The travels with Msimangu throughout the city in search of his son teach Kumalo and us about politics in Johannesburg, the gold mines and black laborers and native crime. The city provides fear and enlightenment for the old pastor of Ndotsheni.

His reunion with his son takes place in a prison. Absalom stands accused of murdering a white man. Although the son says he is guilty of the crime, he holds firm to stating that it is an accidental shooting. He kills the white man because he is afraid.

The death of the white man Mr. Arthur Jarvis weighs heavy on Kumalo. It is because his son is responsible for the death and because he remembers Arthur as a youth. He is from a neighboring town near Ndotsheni. There is also pain because Jarvis is what the natives call a good man. His ideas and writings support helping and educating blacks in South Africa.

Jarvis's father displays mixed emotions about the sentencing of Kumalo's son. It is a harsh sentence to some, but to others it is acceptable. For me, I can never understand the killing of another human. I certainly agree that Absalom is to be punished but death, I disagree with this outcome.

This book holds many memorable moments, but what I love is there is no lesson forced. It is entirely in my hands of how I view the circumstances as a whole. This narrative is powerful and poetic. Paton is presenting a society not unlike today's society. Where important customs peel away and leave fractured and broken souls. Where fear in educating a people and losing power prevails in the minds of those with power. This is a great read and I would strongly recommend it to others.