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The Whispering Jacarandas
The Whispering Jacarandas is a haunting debut that unfolds in the charged aftermath of Zimbabwe’s independence. In the leafy suburb of Belvedere, sisters Zaynah and Amira grow up within the shelter of a close-knit Indian community, until one night of violence shatters their childhood and drives an unspoken rift between them.
As the sisters navigate adolescence under the shadow of silence, their paths diverge: one drawn inward into secrecy, the other seeking escape in rebellion. Against a backdrop of political upheaval and simmering racial tensions, they must confront the weight of trauma, the fragility of identity, and the unbreakable, yet fractured, threads of sisterhood.
Lyrical and devastating, The Whispering Jacarandas evokes the beauty and resilience of its namesake blooms while exploring how love, loyalty, and the search for belonging endure in even the harshest of landscapes.
'How could a root forget her flowers? How strong and beautiful they were. Like jacaranda trees they could survive and bloom wherever they were planted.'
As the sisters navigate adolescence under the shadow of silence, their paths diverge: one drawn inward into secrecy, the other seeking escape in rebellion. Against a backdrop of political upheaval and simmering racial tensions, they must confront the weight of trauma, the fragility of identity, and the unbreakable, yet fractured, threads of sisterhood.
Lyrical and devastating, The Whispering Jacarandas evokes the beauty and resilience of its namesake blooms while exploring how love, loyalty, and the search for belonging endure in even the harshest of landscapes.
'How could a root forget her flowers? How strong and beautiful they were. Like jacaranda trees they could survive and bloom wherever they were planted.'
304 pages, Paperback
Published August 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 19, 2026
I found it hard to start with, the close familiar ties were a struggle. However, the writing and the fragility of the main characters won me over. Enjoyed the backdrop of post independent Zimbabwe too, of which I know relatively little.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Whispering Jacarandas is a beautifully written debut that quietly broke my heart.
Set in post-independence Zimbabwe, the novel follows sisters Zaynah and Amira, whose lives are forever shaped by one devastating event and the silence that follows. Rather than focusing on a single moment of tragedy, Zahira Dayal explores how trauma echoes through years of unspoken words, fractured relationships, and the impossible weight of family expectations.
What I loved most was the prose. It is lyrical, poetic, and deeply atmospheric, giving even the heaviest moments a haunting kind of softness. Every page felt immersive, drawing me into the sisters’ world while allowing the emotions to unfold with quiet intensity.
The emotional heart of the novel lies in the relationship between Zaynah and Amira. Watching them carry the same wound in completely different ways was heartbreaking. One is consumed by guilt, the other by anger, and the growing distance between them becomes just as devastating as the event that first tore them apart.
What stayed with me long after I finished was the way the book examines family loyalty and the damage that comes from choosing reputation over truth. It is an honest portrayal of inherited pain, silence, and the lasting consequences of what remains unsaid.
A haunting, tender, and beautifully written novel about sisterhood, grief, and the stories families choose to protect.
Thank you to Zahira Dayal for writing such a moving story, and to Fly on the Wall Press for kindly sending me an ARC/proof copy.
Set in post-independence Zimbabwe, the novel follows sisters Zaynah and Amira, whose lives are forever shaped by one devastating event and the silence that follows. Rather than focusing on a single moment of tragedy, Zahira Dayal explores how trauma echoes through years of unspoken words, fractured relationships, and the impossible weight of family expectations.
What I loved most was the prose. It is lyrical, poetic, and deeply atmospheric, giving even the heaviest moments a haunting kind of softness. Every page felt immersive, drawing me into the sisters’ world while allowing the emotions to unfold with quiet intensity.
The emotional heart of the novel lies in the relationship between Zaynah and Amira. Watching them carry the same wound in completely different ways was heartbreaking. One is consumed by guilt, the other by anger, and the growing distance between them becomes just as devastating as the event that first tore them apart.
What stayed with me long after I finished was the way the book examines family loyalty and the damage that comes from choosing reputation over truth. It is an honest portrayal of inherited pain, silence, and the lasting consequences of what remains unsaid.
A haunting, tender, and beautifully written novel about sisterhood, grief, and the stories families choose to protect.
Thank you to Zahira Dayal for writing such a moving story, and to Fly on the Wall Press for kindly sending me an ARC/proof copy.
August 30, 2026
The patriarchy, to my mind, is outdated and stiff. That’s why that all that seems to come from it is the double edged sword that is racism, and trauma. The price of failure to adapt to the needs of modern society is far too often paid by women and girls.
These are my general thoughts after reading haunting yet hopeful debut The Whispering Jacarandas, a story
The story is set in a newly independent Zimbabwe, where sisters Zayna and Amira live in an Indian Muslim community in the suburbs.
The sisters first pay the price of failed patriarchy as little girls, during a holy period where they should have felt the most protected. The book shows the impact of the violence they suffered in the years to follow, though that feels unfair. The girls suffered three types of violence over the years: the physical offence, the violence of silence/rejection, and then blame/shame for their trauma.
And while the very different ways trauma manifested in the sisters and how it distanced them, it also explored the pain other women, surrounded by weak and dangerously passive men, also suffered and dished out around them.
Let’s not forget that those patriarchal principles were fused with that double edged sword: racism. And that sword had turned on them all.
The community was racist towards everyone darker than themselves, but poison showed up as colourism and texturism in their own communities. The casual poisonous remarks were constant and damaging to a sense of self-worth. As a Black woman, reading about colourism and texturism from this perspective was interesting.
While the content is heavy, the writing itself was confident and beautiful. I loved the descriptiveness of a tea ritual and other rituals mentioned throughout. In the later years a lot was covered and I would have liked more of the lyrical style nearer the beginning - for me the style shifted where it felt less introspective in that latter half. But I loved the overall message.
What I liked the most was that the power of choice and change were still available, despite everything. Of course there was a price, as there is with everything. Face up to individual and family secrets. Be willing to have conflict and communicate and grow. To do this during a period of political upheaval and with generations of indoctrination was, of course, no easy ask. But prices will always be paid, either way.
This was a shattering, yet ultimately hopeful read.
These are my general thoughts after reading haunting yet hopeful debut The Whispering Jacarandas, a story
The story is set in a newly independent Zimbabwe, where sisters Zayna and Amira live in an Indian Muslim community in the suburbs.
The sisters first pay the price of failed patriarchy as little girls, during a holy period where they should have felt the most protected. The book shows the impact of the violence they suffered in the years to follow, though that feels unfair. The girls suffered three types of violence over the years: the physical offence, the violence of silence/rejection, and then blame/shame for their trauma.
And while the very different ways trauma manifested in the sisters and how it distanced them, it also explored the pain other women, surrounded by weak and dangerously passive men, also suffered and dished out around them.
Let’s not forget that those patriarchal principles were fused with that double edged sword: racism. And that sword had turned on them all.
The community was racist towards everyone darker than themselves, but poison showed up as colourism and texturism in their own communities. The casual poisonous remarks were constant and damaging to a sense of self-worth. As a Black woman, reading about colourism and texturism from this perspective was interesting.
While the content is heavy, the writing itself was confident and beautiful. I loved the descriptiveness of a tea ritual and other rituals mentioned throughout. In the later years a lot was covered and I would have liked more of the lyrical style nearer the beginning - for me the style shifted where it felt less introspective in that latter half. But I loved the overall message.
What I liked the most was that the power of choice and change were still available, despite everything. Of course there was a price, as there is with everything. Face up to individual and family secrets. Be willing to have conflict and communicate and grow. To do this during a period of political upheaval and with generations of indoctrination was, of course, no easy ask. But prices will always be paid, either way.
This was a shattering, yet ultimately hopeful read.
October 8, 2026
This is a great read that presents an insight into a different culture at a historical time of change in southern Africa, while telling a truly powerful story about trauma and how it affects people differently.
I have to say, the way Dayal drives forward the narrative of how a traumatic event experienced by the same people can lead to two completely different reactions is brilliant.
The story is about how two sisters who suffer a horrifically traumatic event together while young take very different paths as a result.
The way the dynamics of the sisters' large family and community shape the narrative is eye-opening, especially the parts about how religion and the desire to protect the image of the family shape so much of the decisions by the family.
A truly powerful read, with an ending that leaves you feeling hopeful.
All in all, if you like books that give you an insight into a different culture while showing that trauma is the same no matter where we are, highly recommended!
I have to say, the way Dayal drives forward the narrative of how a traumatic event experienced by the same people can lead to two completely different reactions is brilliant.
The story is about how two sisters who suffer a horrifically traumatic event together while young take very different paths as a result.
The way the dynamics of the sisters' large family and community shape the narrative is eye-opening, especially the parts about how religion and the desire to protect the image of the family shape so much of the decisions by the family.
A truly powerful read, with an ending that leaves you feeling hopeful.
All in all, if you like books that give you an insight into a different culture while showing that trauma is the same no matter where we are, highly recommended!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
From reading the blurb, I had really high hopes for this book. I expected something along the lines of Adichie's 'Half of a Yellow Sun' or Owour's 'Dust' but was sadly disappointed. The blurb made it sound as if there would be a lot on the politics of post-independence Zimbabwe. These are definitely mentioned, but only superficially. It feels like the book happens to be set in post--independence Zimbabwe, as the backdrop does not contribute anything significant to the narrative.
Contrary to expectations, the trauma that the two sisters, Amira and Zaynaah, live through, takes centre stage. There is no room for other topics in the narrative, as this overshadows everything else. From very early on in the book, it becomes clear what the trauma is that the sisters lived through. From then on, it follows their journey to adulthood. At times, the narrative felt rambling and there was no real direction for the plot.
Having said that, the writing is beautiful and evocative, which is why I kept reading.
The writing did however feel a bit clunky and too instructional at times. Just to give one example, without spoilers: At one point, Aunt Nabeela is described as follows:
"She had developed a nervous habit of washing her hands every few minutes, so the skin on her hands had become dry and scaly." It is at this point fairly obvious to the reader why she would be doing this, but the narrator goes on to say in the next sentence: "Like Lady Macbeth, she washed off dirt nobody else could see." This is just one example of jarring elements in the narrative - at no point before or after is Shakespeare mentioned, and there is also no indication that Zaynaah, from whose perspective this chapter is written, would be aware of Macbeth and use this as her frame of reference.
So, all in all, while the writing for the most part is beautiful, the narrative could have been polished a bit more. I also think the reader can be trusted to infer certain points in the narrative, and they don't need explaining as much.
I would still recommend reading the book, but don't expect too much on Zimbabwean politics and history -I would describe it as a coming of age novel of two very different sisters.
Contrary to expectations, the trauma that the two sisters, Amira and Zaynaah, live through, takes centre stage. There is no room for other topics in the narrative, as this overshadows everything else. From very early on in the book, it becomes clear what the trauma is that the sisters lived through. From then on, it follows their journey to adulthood. At times, the narrative felt rambling and there was no real direction for the plot.
Having said that, the writing is beautiful and evocative, which is why I kept reading.
The writing did however feel a bit clunky and too instructional at times. Just to give one example, without spoilers: At one point, Aunt Nabeela is described as follows:
"She had developed a nervous habit of washing her hands every few minutes, so the skin on her hands had become dry and scaly." It is at this point fairly obvious to the reader why she would be doing this, but the narrator goes on to say in the next sentence: "Like Lady Macbeth, she washed off dirt nobody else could see." This is just one example of jarring elements in the narrative - at no point before or after is Shakespeare mentioned, and there is also no indication that Zaynaah, from whose perspective this chapter is written, would be aware of Macbeth and use this as her frame of reference.
So, all in all, while the writing for the most part is beautiful, the narrative could have been polished a bit more. I also think the reader can be trusted to infer certain points in the narrative, and they don't need explaining as much.
I would still recommend reading the book, but don't expect too much on Zimbabwean politics and history -I would describe it as a coming of age novel of two very different sisters.
October 22, 2026
TW: SA, eating disorder, self-harm
This book broke me, and then healed back. An astonishing debut that deserves all the praise!!!
Zaynah and Amira, two sisters, are growing up in newly independent Zimbabwe. They belong to the “Passenger Indian” diaspora from their father’s side, with their Mum being a different shade of brown, and something that the family never lets them forget. Zaynah is the curious one, with a thousand questions for her grandma, while Amira is the feisty little one. Their childhood is normal, fun and joyful, until an unspeakable violence comes to both of them, from a place that nobody expects, and shifts the course of their lives forever.
Zaynah’s trauma makes her muted for years, and Amira gets filled with rage. Unfortunately, no one around them seems to grasp that something has gone terribly wrong. As they stay burdened with this secret and pain, Zaynah could make her way out to Cape Town for studies. Unfortunately for Amira, that never becomes an option, and life only takes a downward spiral for her.
What happens when the bubble bursts and everything is out in the open, I will let you find out for yourself. I can instead tell you how this book made me feel every spectrum of emotions. Dayal’s writing is so evocative, that in many of the places I felt like being right inside the pages. No character is underdeveloped; even the smallest presence comes with some sort of connection. My heart broke for the sisters, and I found myself sobbing in the end. I adored Carlito and Zaynah’s Cape Town people, for being there for them when their families didn’t. Ma, the grandmother, with her transcendent presence, was captivating to the extent that I want a spin-off on her. Mostly, I have been so disheartened and yet not surprised to see the ugly truth of patriarchy and oppression. But as the Author rightly intended, I did walk out of their lives with immense hope and love for them.
This book broke me, and then healed back. An astonishing debut that deserves all the praise!!!
Zaynah and Amira, two sisters, are growing up in newly independent Zimbabwe. They belong to the “Passenger Indian” diaspora from their father’s side, with their Mum being a different shade of brown, and something that the family never lets them forget. Zaynah is the curious one, with a thousand questions for her grandma, while Amira is the feisty little one. Their childhood is normal, fun and joyful, until an unspeakable violence comes to both of them, from a place that nobody expects, and shifts the course of their lives forever.
Zaynah’s trauma makes her muted for years, and Amira gets filled with rage. Unfortunately, no one around them seems to grasp that something has gone terribly wrong. As they stay burdened with this secret and pain, Zaynah could make her way out to Cape Town for studies. Unfortunately for Amira, that never becomes an option, and life only takes a downward spiral for her.
What happens when the bubble bursts and everything is out in the open, I will let you find out for yourself. I can instead tell you how this book made me feel every spectrum of emotions. Dayal’s writing is so evocative, that in many of the places I felt like being right inside the pages. No character is underdeveloped; even the smallest presence comes with some sort of connection. My heart broke for the sisters, and I found myself sobbing in the end. I adored Carlito and Zaynah’s Cape Town people, for being there for them when their families didn’t. Ma, the grandmother, with her transcendent presence, was captivating to the extent that I want a spin-off on her. Mostly, I have been so disheartened and yet not surprised to see the ugly truth of patriarchy and oppression. But as the Author rightly intended, I did walk out of their lives with immense hope and love for them.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This was such a moving and thought-provoking read. Zaynah and Amira were both beautifully written, believable characters, and I became completely invested in their story. Their lives were shaped so profoundly by the horrific experiences they endured during childhood, and I found the way the author explored the long-lasting impact of trauma particularly powerful. It was heartbreaking to see how the events of their childhood continued to affect their relationships, choices and lives as they grew older. I found myself thinking about Zaynah and Amira long after putting the book down.
I also really enjoyed the setting. I haven’t read a book set in Zimbabwe before, so it was fascinating to experience the country through the story.
Overall this was a beautifully written story about trauma, resilience and family relationships.
I also really enjoyed the setting. I haven’t read a book set in Zimbabwe before, so it was fascinating to experience the country through the story.
Overall this was a beautifully written story about trauma, resilience and family relationships.
September 18, 2026
There is nothing I enjoy more than picking up a historical fiction novel set in a culture I know very little about. I love that feeling of being transported somewhere completely unfamiliar to me and coming away with an insight into a different history and worldview. The Whispering Jacarandas fits that bill perfectly.
Set in post-independence Zimbabwe, it tells the story of sisters Zaynah and Amira, whose lives are irrevocably altered by a traumatic event in childhood. The two sisters respond to what happened in completely different ways, and I found it fascinating to see how that experience shapes not only the women they become, but also the roles they assume within their complicated family.
Perhaps what I loved most, though, was the extraordinary sense of place. I felt completely transported to the jacaranda-lined streets of Belvedere. The humid air, the fallen purple blossoms, the trees overhead: it is all so vividly drawn that Zimbabwe doesn’t simply provide the backdrop to the story, it feels absolutely integral to it.
I came away feeling that I had learned so much too. I knew nothing about Zimbabwe’s post-independence history or the experiences of the Indian diaspora there, and I loved how seamlessly both are woven into the lives of these characters. It never feels like you are being given a history lesson. Instead, you absorb so much simply by inhabiting their world. For me, that is historical fiction at its best: a novel that sends me off wanting to learn more about a country, a period and the people who lived through it.
And then there are Zaynah and Amira themselves. Their relationship really moved me, particularly because of the complex family dynamic surrounding them. Their relationship felt so believable to me. Two people can grow up in the same house, experience the same events and yet carry completely different versions of their childhood into adulthood. Neither sister is wholly right or wrong, and I could understand both of them, even when I desperately wanted them to understand one another better.
This is a quiet novel in many ways, which I really appreciated. It doesn’t rush its characters or its revelations. The secrets emerge gradually and the emotional weight quietly builds alongside them. By the final chapters, I realised I was deliberately slowing down because I genuinely didn’t want to leave these women or this world behind.
I finished The Whispering Jacarandas feeling moved by the story and slightly bereft that it was over. Beautifully written, immersive and full of humanity, this is exactly the kind of novel I love: one that takes me somewhere I know very little about, makes me care deeply about the people I meet there and leaves me wanting to know more long after I’ve closed the book.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Whispering Jacarandas explores the bond between sisters and how it can become fractured. It’s a heartbreaking story set within the Indian community in Zimbabwe.
The writing is beautiful and the novel will stay with you after reading.
Thank you for the proof.
Publishing 28th August.
The writing is beautiful and the novel will stay with you after reading.
Thank you for the proof.
Publishing 28th August.
August 23, 2026
A beautifully written read!!
August 24, 2026
3.5 stars
October 5, 2026
4.5 Stars.
This was a beautifully written read based in the early to mid 90's in Zimbabwe following 2 sisters Zaynah and Amira and a traumatic incident that shaped both their lives.
This was a beautifully written read based in the early to mid 90's in Zimbabwe following 2 sisters Zaynah and Amira and a traumatic incident that shaped both their lives.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews