'In Every Mirror She's Black'
I can't remember how long it has been since I read a book so quickly. Kudos to Lola Akinmade Akerstrom for writing an incredibly enjoyable novel.
This book, which is divided into 3 storylines of women of color who - not entirely by choice - ended up in Stockholm, each have their own focus. Whether it comes to choosing between love and career, between love and lust or even a socially engaged theme such as integration: each of these women is given their own unique story. At the same time, I also thought that was the downside, to have all three of the storylines in one book. I think I would have found it a stronger book if only one of the three storylines had been worked out in depth, instead of a forced coherence between the three stories. It was also written more plot driven and less with an eye for style than I expected in this genre of literary fiction.

But I thought it was a very humane book and I'm glad I had the chance to read early.
One of the strongest quotes in the book:
"Privilege comes in levels, Brit," he continued. "You have the privilege he has given you. But you will never have the privilege he has just because he breathes."

This is such a thought provoking read! I really didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did. Or certainly got me thinking

WHAT????!!!???
IT CAN'T END LIKE THAT!!!!!

What a rollercoaster.

The first 3 chapters introduce the 3 main characters and at this point, i couldn't tell you who i loved more. Immediately each one was intriguing me, their stories all so different,  yet all linked with one particular aspect.

Kemi seems like she has a good job and her story will revolve around that, Brittany is a flight attendant for business class and her first chapter was so interesting! Finally Muna, a refugee and a Muslim aswell so instantly i connected with her.

As the chapters went on, my views changed consistently. I was apalled at Brittany, i felt so bad for Kemi and i was just rooting for Muna the whole way through.

The struggles, the underlying racism, the work ethics and how women - especially black women are treated at work, and an unexpected undiagnosed condition, which pulled the whole story together.

I could not put this down. I was hoping all 3 women would meet but their stories aligned in a way i didn't expect.

The writing is beautiful. It pulls you in and it doesn't let you stop reading, i really struggled to find a good place to stop. I guarantee whilst reading this, you will start with one favourite character and end with another!!!

AND SPEAKING OF ENDINGS.... i cannot believe it ended like that.... 😱😱😱😱😱

This is an excellently written book. The story follows the lives of three black women in Sweden. Each in different classes of society. The American wife of an ultra rich man, a successful American advertising executive and lastly a refugee who had to leave her family and everything she knew with nothing. The text is tight and intense and the story line is fascinating and disturbing too but I have to admit that I started to feel it rather a chore to read and simply stopped picking it up. However I admire her work and do recommend it.

I found this novel slightly uneven - of the three almost-intersecting stories, one is considerably weaker than the other two and unfortunately comes to somewhat dominate the narrative.

The relationship between Jonny and Brittany is highly unconvincing and there is no attempt to understand Brittany’s thought process as she undertakes a fairly ludicrous series of decisions. The author also seems to think the allusions to Jonny being somewhere on the autism spectrum are much more subtle than they are in reality.

I also wasn’t entirely convinced about Kemi’s professional situation, working in a very similar space myself. However, I thought her experience as a Black professional woman was very well conveyed and the points about the immigrant experience were really well made. I also loved Muna’s story, easily the most sympathetic character here, and the resolution to her story made me audibly gasp. I’d say there’s a better book buried within this one but it gave me a lot to think about and it was very readable, despite its relative length. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a fabulous read and I'm very grateful to have the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Kemi, Brittany and Muna are all black women in Sweden, an interesting setting given the traditional perception of Sweden as a homogenous while country. On the surface these three women have nothing in common yet their paths cross and actually reinforce the fact they have nothing in common except the color of their skin. Kemi is a high powered American ad executive whois lured to Sweden to work for the Von Lundin company, a huge promotion for her but is she just a token face in the "diversity" push? Brittany is an airline hostess and former model who meets the elusive Jonny Von Lundin and ends up moving to Sweden. Muna is a Somali refugee who is living in a hostel that had been funded by Jonny Von Lundin. The three women all have different experiences living in Stockholm and their stories run parallel but rarely cross.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and felt that the author succeeded in her goal of highlighting black individualism and steering away from the idea of " black culture" and stereotypes.

3 black women who have nothing in common are connected by one white Swedish guy. I love the representation in the book and bonus points that one on the women are Muslim. The book had me gripped from the very first page and I couldn’t put the book down! Trigger warnings for self harm.