Dalila

An extraordinary journey, following 21-year-old Dalila through a novel that is both hard to put down and hard to continue… Beautifully observed…what is being built transcends plot, emerging as a study of the nature of despair and memory. – Roma Tearne * Guardian *
Donald grafts Dalila’s experiences together with the precise pace of a thriller, and it is as compelling as it is tough, sidestepping piety in favour of clear-eyed infectious anger. – Rebecca Nicolson * Sunday Times *
Just as history is written by the victors, the foreign is typically viewed from the perspective of the powerful, an imbalance to which Jason Donald’s earnest, accomplished new novel Dalila is a corrective. – Jessica Loudis * Times Literary Supplement *
Writing fiction that deals with social issues can be a tightrope walk… Jason Donald has walked that tightrope superbly. – Doug Johnstone * Big Issue *
Jason Donald’s writing is vivid and immediate, told in the present tense, with a constant sense of danger and often heart-rending to read. His heroine is one person who represents countless people; her story is no less powerful because it happens every day. Uncomfortable, but intensely truthful. – Kate Saunders * The Times *
A vivid, vital novel, it’s shot through with humour and tenderness. – Anthony Cummins * Metro *
Dalila is written with such immense empathy. – David Robinson * Scotsman *
Donald is a powerful literary writer, an author with real empathy and an unflinching eye. – Jane Graham and Doug Johnstone * Big Issue, 2017 Books of the Year *
An achingly brutal depiction of how society treats asylum seekers – a tale that is especially relevant in today’s world. * Irish Tatler, 2017 Books of the Year *
Dalila does for the Home Office what I, Daniel Blake did for the Department of Work and Pensions… stands to shine a light on the side of the migration story that never makes the news. * UK Press Syndication *

Jason Donald was born in Scotland and grew up in South Africa. He studied English Literature and Philosophy at St Andrews University and, in 2005, graduated from Glasgow University’s Creative Writing Masters Degree programme with distinction. His first novel, Choke Chain, was published by Cape in 2009.

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