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*The title may or may not have been inspired by Nina Simone’s Blackbird.
In Every Mirror She’s Black tells the stories of three very different Black women living in Sweden and trying to build a life for themselves there. The main thing I liked about this book is that it was set in Sweden, a country that does not easily come to mind. However, with her impeccable writing, the author easily transports you to this unknown place and you can see the scenes in your mind’s eye.
The 394-page book is the author’s debut novel, published in 2021. It doesn’t feel that way though; she does a stellar job of intricately weaving the stories around intense topics. I love that she’s also a photographer and I may just be obsessed.
“A book that will stick with you long after you’ve turned the last page” - Taylor Jenkins
Kemi, a smart, top marketing executive, moves to the country after she’s poached by a leading marketing firm. Brittany-Rae, a flight attendant, falls madly in love with a man she meets on one of her flights, ends up marrying him and moving to Sweden. Muna, the third co-protagonist, is an 18-year-old refugee from Somalia who finds herself there after she, her mother and brother fled their country.
The three women had brief interactions with each other but they are connected in more ways than one. [Enter Jonny]. Kemi’s boss, Brittany-Rae’s husband, and owner of the company where Muna works, Johan von Lundin is a complex character who always gets what he wants. I could not decipher if going above and beyond to tie up loose ends was due to his personality or privilege. We see him all through this book’ at first, it’s easy to sympathise with him but as the stories unfold, not as much. I didn’t like him at all.
A few chapters in, I knew I would write a review on this book almost immediately.
I was worried that it would be my toughest one yet but I was going to give it a try regardless. Two of the themes—racial discrimination and familial acceptance—in this book resonated deeply with me, and I can only hope to find the right words.
In this place where Kemi thought she could shake up her life, she soon discovers that Swedes are nothing like Americans. Talk about culture shock, even in the Western world. She can hardly grasp the language, even with classes, and she constantly feels like an outsider. It eventually begins to feel like Sweden merely seduced her and she fell, as she realizes that she was nothing more than a token to the company, to begin with; they only needed to fill their diversity quota.
For Brittany-Rae, being Black seemed to be the reason her husband’s family would not accept her. It wasn’t something she had done, or was incapable of doing. It seemed to them, she just wasn’t good enough for their son, thanks to the colour of her skin. His parents refused to see her or their child, Maya. Jonny could give her the world—everything except one of the things that mattered the most.
“Privilege comes in levels, Brit…you have the privilege he has given you. But you will never have the privilege he has just because he breathes.” - Tyrone, Brittany’s father.
With Muna being a janitor, she is often overlooked. She feels so helpless every day and could hardly explain that to Gunhild, her social worker-turned-friend, and the only person she considered family. Hers is a story of being at a disadvantage in life, simply because of where you’re born. Her war-torn home country had nothing to offer her and she had to flee. She loses her family in the process and I daresay, parts of herself too. Even in the new country that grants her asylum, she’s still at a low station.
Fortunately for Kemi, who had been unlucky—being seen in America as nothing more than a bed warmer (because Black woman)—she finds love in this strange place and all seems well until she almost self-sabotages. She also made a few good friends. Brittany-Rae eventually finds out what it was about her that her husband’s family was so tight-lipped about. Muna wasn’t so lucky; the person she fell in love with ended up going the way of others she had loved. She was so young yet she carried such a huge weight.
Along with themes of fetishization and others mentioned above, we also see a subtle theme of disbanded friendships with Yasmin & Muna, and Kemi & Ngozi. I don’t think they were truly friends to begin with but that’s just my opinion.
Although some of the issues in the book are heavy, it is rather easy to read and the women’s stories will stay with you long after you’ve dropped the book. I think about Muna sometimes, how terrible it must have been to feel so hopeless. Her plight reverberates something I came across in a book I’m reading.
“One of life’s greatest cruelties is that those who are innocent suffer more than those who inflicted the harm.” - Mansi Shah
Sweden and Swedish (and by extension, the culture) are not top of the lis when someone thinks about Europe. It has been said that some European countries are dour and rather unaccepting of outsiders, and the author paints a perfect picture.
I used Google Translate for some of the phrases in the book and I have placed Swedish along with Welsh, at the top of the list of languages I think are near impossible to learn as a second language. I still want to add the currency to my collection though; it won’t be the first name I can’t pronounce properly.
P.S.: the sequel, Everything Is Not Enough drops in October so I shall be back!
Also, I like this version of the song better though. Muna made me remember it.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Leave a comment, maybe? 😉
If you read this book after reading this review, do come back and share, thank you!