Fly on the Wall Press Acquires Haunting Debut Novel Set in Post-Independence Zimbabwe

Zahirra Dayal's The Whispering Jacarandas Explores Identity, Trauma, and Sisterhood in Southern Africa's Indian Diaspora

Fly on the Wall Press is proud to announce the acquisition of The Whispering Jacarandas, a powerful debut novel by Zahirra Dayal that illuminates a rarely told chapter of African history through the intimate story of two sisters navigating childhood trauma and fractured identity.

Set in newly independent Zimbabwe, the novel follows sisters Zaynah and Amira as they grow up within a close-knit Indian community. When a single night of violence shatters their childhood, an unspoken rift forms between them, and their paths diverge dramatically. Against a backdrop of political upheaval and racial tensions, the sisters must confront their trauma and the complex bonds that tie them together.

"I was inspired to tell the little-known story of Passenger Indians, like my grandparents, who migrated from Gujarat to Southern Rhodesia," said Dayal. "I wanted to explore the racial hierarchies that were the legacy of colonialism. It was also important for me to write a story for outsiders, the ones who don't fit in, those who stand on the margins, so I centred the voices of two sisters who experience layers of othering in both their family and the wider society."

Dayal was born in Zimbabwe and now lives in London, where she works as a university lecturer. Her work has appeared in The Mechanics' Institute Review and Tesserae. She has been longlisted for the Deborah Rogers Prize and the SI Leeds Literary Prize, and shortlisted for the Owned Voices Award.

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.

The Whispering Jacarandas will be published by Fly on the Wall Press on 28 August 2026 (300 pp, ISBN: 9781915789624).

For review copies, interview requests, or more information, please contact: isabelle@flyonthewallpress.co.uk