No.7G, Rainbow Colony,
MG Road, Dharavi,
Mumbai- 17.
10/08/2003
MY dear Najma,
You ‘ ve
asked me to send some detective novels. I’m sending two detective navels by
Agatha christie and Alan baton’s ‘Cry, the Beloved country'. I decided to send
the last novel, because I recently read it and was very much impressed with it.
’Cry, the Beloved country’ gives an authentic
picture of life in south Africa. It shows how ,mainly as a result of the
policy of racial discrimination followed
by the white rulers , there is so
much poverty, hatred, fear, and crime in that unfortunate country. The novel
portrays the sufferings of stephen Kumalo,
a man of deep religious faith; but the personal
sorrows of Kumalo stem from racial hatred and exploitation. Every page bears
witness to the writer’s deep love for
his country and sorrow for its present
condition.
Alan Paton's
style is remarkably simple , but capable of subtle effects. His English is
influenced by the idiom of African languages.
I
strongly recommended this book to you .If you learn to come under the spell of
such novels, you’ll not hanker after detective fiction. Please let me know
response to this novel.
Yours ever,
Hidhaya.
