Cape Fever

By Nadia Davids 
** Publication Date 9 December 2025**
4 stars




Books about places I’ve never been are always fascinating to me. Same with books about another time. Colonial South Africa is not a place I’m familiar with at all. The time and place are fascinating.


Soraya Matas is a young Muslim woman who lives with her family in the Muslim Quarter. They are near the ocean as it is a place Soraya has visited with her father. Soraya is the oldest child of three. Her mother is a wash woman. Her father creates religious art. At her current age, Soraya must go out to work to help provide for her family.


She is most recently employed by a widow who lives in one of the grand old houses. Mrs. Hattingh has a son who fought in the war and now resides in London. It is apparent to Soraya that Mrs. Hattingh’s house is in need of updating. Pictures missing from walls, drafty windows. Soraya’s first night in her small room removed from the house, she discovers that there is a spirit present. Later, a painting comes to life for Soraya. 


The spirits are not the only unusual thing in this household. Mrs. Hattingh herself is rather strange. She offers to write letters to Soraya’s fiancé Nour. Mrs. Hattingh is unaware that Soraya can both read and write. Soraya does not correct Mrs. Hattingh’s belief, as she feels this way she can keep Mrs. Hattingh happy knowing she was in some way superior. Only over time, Soraya starts to have suspicions about her employer and her son, as well as those letters to Nour.


Such an unusual novel. Soraya loves to tell tales that have come down through the ages. She believes she can see the spirits, but you are left wondering if that is real, or just her imagination. She’s a fierce young woman, wanting to protect her loved ones. There is an element of racism to the novel, which was likely the way things were at the time. While it is never explicitly stated what Soraya’s race is, we know that Mrs. Hattingh is English. 


I greatly enjoyed this tale. 
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