In this deeply personal conversation, comedian and writer Meera Syal discusses how seeing herself in books helped her make sense of her own experience, the weight of intergenerational trauma and how humour saved her life.
Meera is one Britain’s best-loved comedy legends. She grew up in the small mining village of Essington in Staffordshire, where her Indian Punjabi parents settled after moving from New Delhi. Her early life there, as the only Asian family, later served as inspiration for her semi-autobiographical novel, Anita and Me, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 1997. Meera gained widespread recognition for her work in the late 1990s as a writer and performer in the multi-award-winning, iconic BBC comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and for portraying the character Ummi in the International Emmy-award-winning TV series The Kumars at No. 42. In 2023, she was awarded the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship and last month saw the publication of her memoir, Vigilauntie.
7:32 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
17:14 Finding A Voice: Asian Women in Britain by Amrit Wilson
26:17 The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
34:11 Beloved by Toni Morrison
43:50 I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron
You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops.
Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing.
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This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.
The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Women’s Prize Trust