Books like Too Late the Phalarope

People try to pigeonhole Paton's novels as being about Apartheid and racial tension or simply lump him in with other African writers as a good portrayer of South African life in the 20th century.I think that Paton deserves to be listed among the all-time greats of English literature. He writes about universally understood concepts like love, parenthood, broken families, etc. Mostly, Paton writes about sin--from temptation to commission to confession to consequences. The fact that his work is layered with the massive institutional sins of the South African racial laws simply makes his portraits of the multiplying and ravenous destruction of personal sin that much more powerful. (From my review of Cry, the Beloved Country) Too Late the Phalarope is more nuanced and metaphorical in its storytelling than Paton's other novels, but it is perhaps the best showcase of his grasp of the effects of sin on the soul from an internal perspective. The plot centers around an adulterous affair between an Afrikaner man and a black woman, the racial and cultural consequences of which seem almost greater than the marital brokenness. In the process of showing the unraveling of the protagonist's life, Paton peels back the layers of parental and religious repression and their affects on his heart. The result is a powerful parable, not just of the consequences of sin, but of the dangers of a graceless, unforgiving response to the failings of loved ones.