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...