The Whispering Jacarandas
The perfect summer read for fans of ‘A History of Burning’ by
Janika Oza and ‘We Need New Names’ by NoViolet Bulawayo
• Lyrical and devastating, The Whispering Jacarandas has been compared to
Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half for its nuanced exploration of family,
identity, and the ways silence shapes our lives.
• Zahirra Dayal’s The Whispering Jacarandas Explores Identity, Trauma, and
Sisterhood in Southern Africa’s Indian Diaspora
About the book
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 leaves 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 and the fragility of identity, as they
struggle to repair the 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.