Fiela's Child (1984 in Afrikaans, 1992 English Translation) By Dalene Matthee

 

Earlier this year, I blogged a book by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart.  In the blog post I admitted that I have read very few books by native African writers and asked for recommendations.  I received several, one of which was Fiela’s Child by Dalene Matthee from South Africa. It is an excellent read.

Set in the mid-1800s, the book tells the story of Fiela, a “coloured” woman living in rural South Africa with her husband and their children; and a three-year-old Caucasian boy who shows up alone on their doorstep one night. When there are no reports of a missing child, they will name the boy Benjamin and raise him as one of their own. Fiela, a deeply religious woman, considers Benjamin her “hand-child,” handed to her by God to care for. 

Enter the outside world.  Nine years later, census takers sent to the countryside by English colonial administrators note that one of Fiela’s children is white. They begin to ask questions.  Weeks later, they will return to claim Benjamin as possibly the long missing child of English loggers who live in the mountainous forests between the farmland and the coastal settlement of Knysna.  

When the census takers return, they convey Benjamin, now twelve, to the Magistrate’s office in Knysna for a hearing. At the hearing, the white mother and father who had lost their child are brought in to see if they recognize the child as their own. The mother claims to, claims he is her son Lukas. They are given custody and take the terrified child back home with them to the forest where they will “teach him to be white” again.

While the above is the beginning of the novel, it is not the full story by any means.

The novel is about the power of love and upbringing, the racial and economic caste system in Nineteenth Century South Africa, the geographic landscape of the country, the colonial system, the divide between the “Cape Coloureds,” Afrikaners, and the English administrators, and the differing viewpoints people have of the natural environment.

As I was reading Fiela’s Child I was imagining what a great movie it would make, turns out there have been two movies. The first, made in 1988, ranks as one of the worst movies (acting and production quality) I have ever tried to watch. In 2019 a second movie was made based on the novel. I understand it is quite good, though I can’t locate a link to it.

Recommendation:  YES, as a social justice treatise, an environmental essay, a partial history of South Africa, or just as a good novel, absolutely.