Cape Town Calling: From Mandela to Theroux on the Mother City

by Justin Fox, J.M. Coetzee (contributor), Nelson Mandela (contributor)

From Paul Theroux and Peter Moore to Jonny Steinberg, JM Coetzee, Jonathan Kaplan, Nelson Mandela, Mamphela Ramphele, Tom Eaton, Breyten Breytenbach, Pieter-Dirk Uys and Gabeba Baderoon: Discover Cape Town with top contemporary authors both well-loved locals and international travel writers. Selected and with an introduction by Justin Fox.

Read how JM Coetzee fails to get into a good school. Nelson Mandela misplaces his spectacles on the Grand Parade. Jonathan Kaplan faces arrest at St. George s Cathedral. Paul Theroux meets a fellow pessimist at Cape Point. Jonny Steinberg is revolted by prison food. Joseph Lelyveld joins Crossroads residents singing hymns. Richard Rive walks with ghosts in District Six. Rian Malan haggles for snoek in Kalk Bay. Pieter-Dirk Uys attends a fake wedding on Greenmarket Square. Edwin Cameron climbs Table Mountain with the help of antiretrovirals. Judy Kibinge parties in Long Street. Plus many more...

Genres: Travel

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2010

About the author

Fox is a novelist, travel writer and photographer based in Cape Town, South Africa, and is the former editor of Getaway travel magazine. He was a Rhodes Scholar and received a doctorate in English literature from Oxford University after which he was a research fellow at the University of Cape Town, where he taught part time for 20 years. His articles and photographs have appeared internationally in a number of publications and on a wide range of topics, while his short stories and poems have appeared in numerous anthologies. He has written scripts and directed award-winning documentaries and is a two-time Mondi journalism award winner (1999 and 2004). Recent books include The Marginal Safari (Umuzi), The Impossible Five (Tafelberg), Beat Routes (Karavan), Place (Umuzi) and, most recently, a World War II series of novels, starting with The Cape Raider (Penguin and Sapere) and The Wolf Hunt (Sapere). Justin was longlisted for the 2011 Alan Paton Award for non-fiction, the 2012 Olive Schreiner Prize for Literature, and his debut novel, Whoever Fears the Sea (Umuzi 2014), was longlisted for the Etisalat Prize for African literature.

Reviews

[Jeanne Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I moved from Cape Town to London 6 years ago. My relationship with Cape Town is a romantic one and I've never stopped pining for it. I read this as a way of marking my return and readying myself mentally for my first journey home. This is a beautiful and enlightening collection that brought the city to life for me again.

Some of the stories are heart wrenching; the District Six chapter in particular. I visited the District Six Museum with the words freshly imprinted in my mind and it was an overwhelming experience.

This is the perfect travel book. Through it you will learn about the politics, geography, traditions, history, legacy and vernacular of the Cape. The spirit of resistance is apparent throughout. An essential read for travellers and lifelong Capetonians too.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting collection. However, I expected a collection that would place Cape Town in a good light. I encountered a collection of stories that focused more on the shady, underside of Cape Town. Rather disappointing I must say