What About Meera is
Durban writer Z P Dala’s debut novel and tells the tale of Meera Narain, a 22-year-old
woman from Durban who escapes her abusive arranged marriage to run away to
Dublin, where she takes up a job as a care-giver at a school for autistic
children.
Dublin becomes a refuge for Meera. In this faraway city she
starts a new life, working at a school for autistic children. However, her
psyche is damaged and she spirals into a doomed relationship with the father of
one of the children. Their obsessive affair uncovers frightening truths about
Meera’s childhood in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Fuelled by alcohol and dark memories, Meera commits a
horrifying act and is ostracised from the world where she thought she’d find
happiness. To take control of her life she must stand up for what she believes
is right – even if it means turning her back on the people she loves.
What About Meera
is the story of a woman’s attempts to shape her own destiny, and evokes the
streets of the Irish capital and the Indian community of Tongaat in rich
detail.
Z P Dala is a freelance writer who has degrees in
physiotherapy and psychology. Her writing has been published in a number of
print publications and her short stories have received several awards. She was
runner-up in the 2012 Witness True Stories of KwaZulu-Natal Competition. She
has lived and worked in Dublin, Ireland, and currently lives in Durban, where
she is a psychologist at a school for autistic children.
What About Meera
is the gripping story of a woman’s attempts to rise above her circumstances and
take control of her fate. It is published in softcover by Umuzi and retails at R190.
ISBN: 978-1-4152-0745-1 (print); ISBN: 978-1-4152-0628-7 (e-book), and ISBN:
978-1-4152-0629-4 (PDF)
NB: Watch this space
for a review of the book