Great reviews for Abrahamson's first novel

”Abrahamson knows how to portray culture clashes in a drastic way, and she pushed the boundaries, making you laugh without contributing to a negative view of the Other /…/
It is high and low, told with a great helping of sarcasm and humor, though dark rays of sorrow are mixed in with the high spirits. The story has such flow that I can easily imagine it as a good movie. I read it from the beginning to the end in one sitting and I believe that many, young as old, will do the same.”
Borås Tidning
 
“The first person narrator Alicja has a Polish mother, a colorful woman who is both visible and loud - according to her daughter, too much so. Her Swedish father takes off for a study tour in the United States in the beginning of the novel. But the family is soon made larger with the arrival of one of Mom’s female cousins who comes to Sweden with her daughter in the hopes of landing a cleaning job and maybe a new husband. With this begins a drama that spins like a tornado through the pages.

Abrahamson parodies and makes fun of prejudices, cliché-like perceptions of people from other cultures and occurrences in time, like Polish craftsmen who work under the table. Parallel with this we learn about the conflict that arises when Alicja falls in love with the boy that her best friend has had a crush on for a long time. This unique novel, in which life’s difficulties are not denied but seen through a laughing mirror, is a much needed counter balance to the dystopias and problem filled stories that have long dominated the publication.”
Svenska Dagbladet

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