Cry Freedom - John Briley

Published by Penguin Books: London, England, 1987.

 This book had been sitting on my shelf for a while before I finally read it, and had seemed quite familiar. Once I got a bit of the way in, I realised that its familiarity came from the fact that I had seen the movie years earlier. Unlike most books I have read, this book was based on the screenplay of the movie, rather than the other way around. Thus it reads like a movie, jumping from scene to scene in a shorter time than many books, and also describing scenes as if we were witnessing them through a camera lens.

The story itself - a true story - is powerful, highlighting the life of Steve Biko, a black activist in apartheid-era South Africa, and his growing friendship with journalist Donald Woods. In the movie Steve is played by Denzel Washington, and as I began to remember more of the movie I found myself picturing Denzel in the role even in my head.

Strangely, despite the power of the story I felt a bit as thought I was being kept at arms length, rather than engaging with the emotions of the characters as much as in some books. I can't help but feel that this is a result of the book being adapted from a screenplay. When watching the movie version of Cry Freedom we can get swept up in the nuances of Denzel's performance (or that of Kevin Kline, who plays Donald Woods), whereas a novel based on just the screenplay will not have those same nuances.

The story is an important one, and I'm glad it has been told, but in this instance I would recommend the movie over the book.

Completed 25 June 2019.

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