THE PLOT: ‘In Every Mirror She’s Black’ by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström is contemporary fiction about three Black women living in Stockholm. Nigerian Kemi is tired of dating all the wrong men and is wooed to Sweden by an exciting job opportunity. Somalian Muna is a refugee seeking asylum and struggling to find community. African-American Brittany is a former model swept off her feet by a wealthy Swede. All three women are connected by one man; Kemi’s boss, Muna’s benefactor, and Brittany’s partner. But his money and influence can tear them down just as quickly as he’s built them up. And beneath the city’s glittering exterior, the struggle of being a Black woman in an alien culture is ever-present.

SUMMARY: This novel took me a while to get into as I kept bumping up against the writing style. This is probably a matter of personal taste, but I found the sentences clunky and the POV changed too quickly for me to really get to grips with each character. However, once I sunk into it, I enjoyed seeing Sweden from another perspective and became invested in the up’s and down’s of Kemi and Brittany’s storylines, particularly when they interacted with each other. Overall, I wish the characters were a bit more nuanced with more coherent decision-making, and that the stories intersected into a bigger overarching narrative. Therefore, it’s three stars for an enjoyable but forgettable read.

GOOD BITS:  This book does well to depict the microaggressions that Black women face, particularly utilising an intersectional lens to pick up themes of sexism, racism and fetishization. Each character was distinct and successfully portrayed a different stereotype of a Black woman, yet they all faced similar issues being an outsider in Sweden. I enjoyed Kemi’s storyline the most and there were very interesting scenes about being a Black woman in the workplace. I also appreciated the author’s note, which explained her decision making regarding the depiction of autism in the novel.

NOT SO GOOD BITS: I usually enjoy reading novels about characters who make different choices to me. But, man, these characters were annoying. I think the ultimate issue is that each of their controversial choices were unnecessary and the personal stakes were low. Yes, novels are full of characters making dumb choices, but when the choices aren’t coherent and there are viable alternatives, the story feels weak. Additionally, I don’t think the plot built up to enough of a climax that brought together the three storylines. It felt like the entire narrative could’ve been more cohesive and the premise could’ve been executed better.

For example, as a refugee Muna’s character suffers from a lack of agency and she doesn’t really “do” much in the novel. I would’ve preferred if she actively affected Kemi’s storyline. Similarly, I liked the surprising ending, but I don’t think it had enough build up. If it had been rooted in Muna’s mental state a bit more, it would’ve made sense, but the trigger of a random incident means it didn’t feel like a natural conclusion.

My advice to each of the characters:

• Kemi, they doubled your salary so just store up the cash, use all the extra vacation days to tour Europe and apply for Director-level marketing jobs back in the U.S. after two years.
• Brittany, admit to yourself that you like the money. It’s okay. Everyone knows money and privilege and power are seductive. Go back to America after a year and file for divorce (getting that no-pre-nup dollar).
• Muna, you weren’t in love with Ahmed – you barely knew him – and stop pestering Yagiz, he’s dangerous. Work part-time washing dishes, enrol in educational courses to get the equivalent of a high-school diploma and make new friends at school.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘Wahala’ by Nikki May, ‘Dele Weds Destiny’ by Tomi Obaro, and ‘Such A Fun Age’ by Kiley Reid. If you want a contemporary multi-POV novel that links together protagonists in a social commentary on classism and racism, then this is for you.

You can purchase this book with a discount and support @aminasbookshelf via my bookshop.org account.