Just finished reading Cry, The Beloved Country. A great book! Its essentially a story of South Africa but Alan Paton might as well had been talking about the Philippines because he talked about several issues that are exactly going on in the Philippines as well, including:
1. Urban overcrowding - country folk leaving their hometowns and crowding in the city to find opportunity.
2. Disintigration of family life.
3. Wide gap between the more powerful whites and the black majority (you could compare this to the rich and the poor here.)
4. Lack of development in the rural areas / countryside, hence leads to item 1.
But other than that, its a book beautifully written, filled with values including love, forgiveness, hope and optimism.
A must-read!
Check out my review here: http://wandafulworldofbooks.blogspot.com/2011/06/cry-beloved-country-by-alan-paton.html