A sad look back at the effects of a race-obsessed culture in the form of a coming-of-age story, the Lux Prize-winning Sami Blood follows a 14-year-old girl ("Christina") belonging to a people who many outside Europe will be completely unfamiliar with: the Sami, an indigenous people in Sweden and the Nordic region. Ethnic Swedish characters, even when not taking a literal knife to Sami, treat them horribly. The Sami look white, but are regarded as less than human. They're not allowed to use Sami in private conversations at school (similar to Canada's residential schools), they're poked, prodded, and forcibly photographed naked by race scientists, despite clear discomfort, and they're told flat-out their brains are not quite developed. It becomes easy to imagine how National Socialism found a base in Sweden in the time period, as referenced in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, though it never really took off as a major movement.
That said, it can be hard to understand Christina herself. When her teacher so blatantly looks down on her, and will never defend her, what is it that draws Christina to her so? She wants to leave Lapland- I wouldn't be happy there either- but why does she want so badly go with people who hate her? Her love interest, Niklas, shows no signs of wanting anything for her or from her but sex, and it's kind of a mystery why she keeps going back to him too. Some scenes get long and repetitive- the gymnastics scene has no real reason for being that long. Much of this is interesting, though as a coming-of-age it doesn't stand out too far from so many others.
That said, it can be hard to understand Christina herself. When her teacher so blatantly looks down on her, and will never defend her, what is it that draws Christina to her so? She wants to leave Lapland- I wouldn't be happy there either- but why does she want so badly go with people who hate her? Her love interest, Niklas, shows no signs of wanting anything for her or from her but sex, and it's kind of a mystery why she keeps going back to him too. Some scenes get long and repetitive- the gymnastics scene has no real reason for being that long. Much of this is interesting, though as a coming-of-age it doesn't stand out too far from so many others.