francesmthompson's Reviews (976)

While this book flowed along quite comfortably and kept up with many a Nordic noir trope, it also wasn't as dark, fast-paced or tense as some of the stories I've read in this genre, and I was surprised how the main character was very relatable and "normal". The book had a lot of historical detail (which I haven't checked if it's true or not) that was woven into the plot better than some efforts. I do have to say, however, the writing hasn't aged well with fatphobic and sexist comments

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and a very ableist plot twist thrown in without a backward glance

so do keep it in mind that it was published before many socio-political movements that have thankfully educated (some of!) us to know and do better.

Sooooo I just re-read this as it's the prequel to a book I'm currently working on and I weirdly surprised myself by how fast-paced, easy-to-read, and page-turning this was. I also totally forgot some of the twists and turns I threw in it. Yes, I wrote it, so this is all quite weird to stay, but as a reader I stand by it all.

Downloaded and read this almost immediately after finishing the first in the series and it offered much the same as that book with some slightly different themes. I will say that there were A LOT of characters in this story and with much of the action taking places over 50+ years it was hard to fully understand who was who and how they were all related (both as family but also in the investigation) and so around 70% in I sort of gave up trying to "solve" the mystery, which is sometimes half the fun for me, but also sometimes not. Again I felt some of the language and key characterisations and plot points were ableist and dated, and I wonder if this will change as the books in the series have more recent publication dates...

Am really enjoying working my way through this series of books, and this one was my quickest read yet. If you like crime/mystery stories that develop fairly quickly and have multiple layers to them, AND you love Iceland, these books will tick a lot of boxes. I also really enjoyed the setting on the Westman Islands as I have visited this part of Iceland and written about it so knew the story of the 1973 Eldfell volcano eruption. I also liked that it was more modern history and a different type of story to previous two books that had "other worldly elements". My biggest criticism with this one was that I guessed 75% of the Whodunnit by about half-way through the story, which was satisfying until it was annoying because I was reading on for a long old time with no big reveal. Aaaand again I personally took some issue with there being some comments that felt misogynistic and fatphobic,

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and I also felt some elements of the rape culture which was touched on in various different ways could have been done with greater depth or exploration.

A must-read for any feminist, poet or human-being doing the heart-work that is unlearning.

I just wish it had been twice as long. Poetry I won't forget anytime soon.

I did NOT want this to end. What a beautiful, heart-capturing collection of short stories. Each one stood strong on its own, but as a collection it left me feeling so many things. Kudos to Sareeta Domingo for perfecting the order of the stories, and for embracing a really diverse set of characters and worlds. Will be thinking about many of the stories in this book for a long time, and will be highly recommending to any lover of modern fiction. Easily one of my top 10 books of the year, and top 10 short story anthologies.

I was so excited to get my hands on this book and my energy for the story - or rather, three stories in one - was maintained from the moment I started reading In Every Mirror She's Black through to when I read the final sentence just four days later (which is not how quickly I normally read books what with two young kids and being deep in the edits of two books of my own - a compliment in itself!).

As mentioned above, this book really tells three different stories, those of Kemi, Brittany and Muna, three Black women who all end up in Stockholm, Sweden. They are all three connected by a white Swedish man, Jonny van Lundin, and the role he plays in all their lives are quite different, which becomes a great angle to also tell his story, which itself is complicated.

As the title suggests, much of Kemi, Brittany, and Muna's stories are impacted by the fact they are Black and what this means living and working in Stockholm and Sweden (and indeed, I imagine, in many other countries in Northern Europe). I appreciated the three very different ways these women moved around the city with different backgrounds and socio-economic status', although at times this felt jarring and confronting - as indeed it should because to only focus on the "easier" or more "romantic" journeys in this book would be to not tell the full story and I respect the author for committing to this.

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The ending was also not what I expected - and indeed made me cry and feel a big wave of hopelessness and sadness for two of the characters - but again I give credit to the author for not wrapping their stories up in a nice neat bow, because it prompted me to be mindful of how life doesn't always work like that, especially not for a Black woman of any background, in a city like Stockholm.

At times, In Every Mirror She's Black, read like a beautifully- and urgently-written romance novel, at other times it was a raw and honest take on the failings of our (white-washed!) world and the darkest side of humanity, but always it was written with fully-developed and intriguing characters, fast-paced scenes that built relationships and tension adeptly, and it came together as a multi-layered work of fiction that straddles genres, as it should because Black women and their experiences are not singular, linear or binary. I hope this book is the first of many novels by the author because I finished the book wanting more of her sensitive, nuanced, and in many ways, hopeful take on the way Black women move, survive and thrive in this modern world.

Disclosure: I was given an ARC copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

What a *strange* book. I was fully prepared to give it a 3-star review by the time I got to roughly the middle of it, and considering it's only 111 pages long, that didn't leave it much time to perk up. It wasn't that I didn't like it; it was more that it felt quite abstract and peculiar. Sometimes, these are things I like, but when much of the tone of the first half was set about describing how hard, how torturous writing is, as a writer myself, I sometimes find that a little hard to swallow (especially from established, applauded, admired middle-class white authors!). I won't go into great detail why the second half earned it another star because I do think it's worth writers reading it for themselves, but I am glad I persevered.