‘Does my chest sound tight to you?’ The first 40 days; notes from a South African lockdown, by Nadia Davids


Editor’s note: by agreement with the author, this article has been removed from The JRB, ahead of its reappearance in her forthcoming book of essays. Watch out for the book soon!


  • Nadia Davids is an award-winning writer who works across a range of forms: plays, articles, short stories and screenplays. Her theatre works, including the well-known At Her Feet and Cissie, have been staged in South Africa and abroad and her writing has appeared in various newspapers and anthologies. Her debut novel, An Imperfect Blessing, was published in 2015.
Header image: John Gutierrez

14 thoughts on “‘Does my chest sound tight to you?’ The first 40 days; notes from a South African lockdown, by Nadia Davids”

  1. I can so relate to the myriad of feelings and thoughts that Nadia Davids writes about. So beautifully captured.

  2. I was swept along as I read this, and thought how perfectly you articulated the very human moments of life turned upside down during this strange time.

  3. This piece aptly personifies the human qualities of hope and optimism amidst the horrors and realism of the times of Corona. These times will inevitably inspire many artistic canvases, melodies and literary masterpieces. Perhaps a new Garcia Marquez, Picasso or Mozart will be awakened amongst us.

    1. An excellent read that captures perfectly my own feelings and thoughts and probably of millions other.
      Keep walking into the unknown. Light will await us there.

  4. Beautifully written, and so closely mirroring the full gamut of emotions that we are all experiencing.

  5. Absolutely superb description of the situation as it is and l could identify with everything she wrote.

  6. Did you have a spy camera in my house or something? This incredibly sounds like my experience word for word?

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