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Published Sep 2021
416 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
An arresting debut for anyone looking for insight into what it means to be a Black woman in the world.
Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm as they build their new lives in the most open society run by the most private people.
Successful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi is lured from the U.S. to Sweden by Jonny von Lundin, CEO of the nation's largest marketing firm, to help fix a PR fiasco involving a racially tone-deaf campaign. A killer at work but a failure in love, Kemi's move is a last-ditch effort to reclaim her social life.
A chance meeting with Jonny in business class en route to the U.S. propels former model-turned-flight-attendant Brittany-Rae Johnson into a life of wealth, luxury, and privilege—a life she's not sure she wants—as the object of his unhealthy obsession.
And refugee Muna Saheed, who lost her entire family, finds a job cleaning the toilets at Jonny's office as she works to establish her residency in Sweden and, more importantly, seeks connection and a place she can call home.
Told through the perspectives of each of the three women, Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström's In Every Mirror She's Black is a fast-paced, richly nuanced yet accessible contemporary novel that touches on important social issues of racism, classism, fetishization, and tokenism, and what it means to be a Black woman navigating a white-dominated society.
You can see the full discussion here. This discussion will contain spoilers!
Some of the recent comments posted about In Every Mirror She's Black:
Autobiographical?
Not every author started out as an author! She could have been any of those things. or something else. But being a Black woman in Sweden gives her an interesting perspective on the main characters. - linz
How do you feel about Jonny being used as a linking figure? Do his backstory and potential diagnosis make him a sympathetic character?
I think the character of Jonny was essential in this book, but that doesn't mean that he was likable. - gaylamath
How does each main character deal (or not) with loneliness?
Eventhough Muna tried to deal with her loneliness, her everchanging circumstances prevented that from happening.She saw suicide as her only relief.
I didn't get the feeling that Brittany was all that lonely. At least it wasn't on ... - beckyd
Kemi seems to make a spur-of-the-moment choice to move to Sweden. Why do you think she did this? How did her sister's opinion factor into her decision?
I think she wanted to do something new and different, she was young and had no reason not to. If I had been in her position I would have wanted to do the same thing too. - gaylamath
Kemi, Brittany, and Muna only have one small interaction with all three of them on the page together. Why do you think the author chose for them not to interact more?
I think that the women had to be written separately so that it could be shown that even though they were totally different people, with totally different means in live, that racism was alive and it had to do with the race and not a person's ... - gaylamath
"A striking debut...As entertaining as it is revealing, Åkerström's novel has readers hoping that each of these women is able to break free from toxic expectations and achieve her every dream and ambition. Along the way, Åkerström also delivers poignant commentary on Swedish culture and the price Black women pay by virtue of the color of their skin. " - Booklist
"Åkerström, who moved to Sweden in 2009, has crafted an absorbing, if unsettling, narrative that dissects the realities of what it means to be a Black woman in the world today. She writes with genuine empathy for her characters and sheds light on their struggles with the understanding that there is no single Black experience. Rather than shying away from or oversimplifying difficult and complex topics, Åkerström has effectively packaged themes of racism, immigration, fetishism and otherness into an engrossing story that will enlighten its readers, regardless of their nationality or race." - BookPage
"A novel with thematic depth and complexity sometimes undercut by flat characters." - Kirkus
"The profusion of themes and plotlines, all tenuously connected to Jonny, can feel a bit unwieldy, but Åkerström powerfully conveys all of the women's experiences with race as Muna is pushed to the limit with racist taunts from strangers and Kemi gradually comes to terms with the realities of the city's currents of racism." - Publishers Weekly
"Beautifully complex and deftly drawn…In Every Mirror She's Black is a sexy, surprising, searing debut about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood." - Deesha Philyaw, 2020 National Book Award Finalist & award-winning author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
"In Every Mirror She's Black is a wise and complicated exploration of the lives of three Black women in America and Sweden. Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström offers a sharply written story with messy, deeply moving characters, raising brutal questions and steering clear of easy answers. A book that will stick with you long after you've turned the last page." - Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six
With a contemporary flair, highlighting the layered subtleties of the Black woman's plight. In Every Mirror She's Black will stay with readers for a long time." - Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of bestselling novels Here Comes the Sun and Patsy
"In her debut novel, Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström has given us a story that is at once enjoyable and disturbing as it explores the painful price millions of women around the world pay for walking around with black skin." - Imbolo Mbue, New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Nigerian-American and based in Sweden, Lola Akinmade Åkerström is an award-winning author, speaker, and photographer. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Sunday Times Travel, The Telegraph, New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Slate, Travel Channel, Adventure Magazine, Lonely Planet, amongst others.
In addition to contributing to several books, she is the author of the following books: 2018 Lowell Thomas Award winner for best travel book, Due North, bestselling Lagom: Swedish Secret of Living Well, available in 18 foreign language editions, and internationally-acclaimed In Every Mirror She's Black.
She has been recognized with multiple awards for her work, including being named a 2022 Hasselblad Heroine and receiving the 2018 Travel ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Lola Akinmade Akerstrom's Website
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