Lead Review
- Book: In Every Mirror She’s Black
- Location: Stockholm
- Author: Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
3.75*
This is the story of three black women who have all found their way to Stockholm and who are connected in different ways to the von Lundin family and the hugely successful von Lundin business, renowned throughout Sweden.
Kemi is head-hunted by Jonny, son of the family and CEO of the von Lundin company and he seeks her out to head up the diversity and inclusion side of the marketing company. He and his team realise that they are a thoroughly white organisation, which of course needs addressing. So Kemi is lured from the States to start a new life in Sweden.
Brittany-Rae is a cabin attendant at the front of the plane, and a chance encounter with Jonny changes her life. He woos her in a ham fisted way but succumbs, and heads to Stockholm to be with him. She leaves behind her boyfriend of many years, and startles her family and friends by her seemingly knee-jerk decision.
Muna is a refugee and works as a cleaner at the von Lundin head office. She has lost her family, is a very good friend at the refugee centre and is now doggedly working towards getting residency in the country. She has a tough time finding her feet.
I listened to this as an audiobook and found it very engaging and in many ways absorbing. It is inspired storytelling, and the author captures really well the sense of displacement for all three women. The Swedes certainly do not come out of this very well, as they are portrayed as innately racist, sexist and emotionally buttoned up. She describes the culture with an appropriate gravitas and objectivity.
However, this is a novel with flaws in the narrative that, at times, felt a little immature. This is a great debut, and with more experience, the real talent for storytelling will shine through:
Kemi struggles with her personal life but soon finds a young man with whom she is happy to spend time. In the wings is a white male giving her the eye and she finds it hard to resist. The reader needs more than just fires burning to understand why she might be tempted to jump ship, or that making ill-judged decisions when it comes to men is just how she is. There is such a great opportunity for deeper psychological explorations.
Brittany drops everything when Jonny comes calling – already there are early signs that he is socially awkward, with his permanently balling fists, drumming fingers and a social unawareness that seems quite debilitating, both for him and the ripple effect of his behaviour on those around him. We need to know just why she fell for his stalkerish behaviour and his dismissive episodes with her. His financial assets don’t cover this. His dynamic is revealed and much focus is placed on him, but less on her and why she might have been drawn to him and his idiosyncratic ways.
One of the characters also has behaviour traits described as a ‘fetish’, which becomes apparent as the story unfolds. Only it is not a fetish, it is an obsession, they are different – maybe an editor should have picked this up?
The author is much more comfortable when she is writing Muna’s story, there is a compassion, insight and sensitivity that the other two characters – although fascinating – just don’t have.
I did enjoy listening to this and despite the shortcomings it was an involving read.
Stockholm makes a good backdrop for the story, Swedish is sprinkled throughout which adds to the sense of setting and of course there is ‘fika’; and as the characters pick up cinnamon buns around the city, I just had to make some to eat along with the story – love the hold that fiction can have over a reader!!
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