Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful, by Alan Paton (used) (hardcover)

very good condition, 1982 edition, David Philips

Alan Paton's powerful new novel is set in the 1950s, the time of the Passive Resistance campaign, the Sophiatown removals, the emergence of the South African Liberal Party, and the early stages of the Nationalist government in power. In a series of vivid and compelling episodes, Paton explores the day-to-day experiences of a group of sharply contrasted men and women involved in and overtaken by these political events.

Among the memorable characters are: the beautiful Indian schoolgirl, Prem, one of the young leaders of the Defiance Campaign; her parents the Bodasinghs and their friends the Perumals, whose banter does not conceal their deep concern and anxiety; Mr Nhlapo, the headmaster with staff problems caused by his radical science master; Van Onselen, the perfect civil servant, and his self-questioning Aunt Trina; the charismatic Emmanuel Nene, energetic organiser of the Landowners Association; Mansfield, the white Liberal who finds himself and his children under threat; and strangest of all, 'Proud White Christian Woman', whose incessant and indecent anonymous letters accuse Mansfield - because of his politics - of sex across the colour bar.

Some well-known people appear as characters in this novel - Patrick Duncan, Father Trevor Huddleston, Albert Lutuli and Helen Joseph - and others like 'Dr Hendrik' are not very heavily disguised. Ah, but your land is beautiful is a book that jolts the reader into an unexpectedly vivid awareness of what was actually happening to the lives of individuals in South Africa during the 1950s. It is the first novel in a trilogy that will shock and move its readers in a way perhaps even surpassing the extraordinary impact of Paton's classic, Cry, the Beloved Country. Here is Paton writing at the peak of his powers.