Gul utanpå - Patrik Lundberg

This is maybe one of the most impactful books I have ever read. I got this as a Christmas gift around 2013-2014. I remember reading it, and wondering what the point of this book was. Then I read it again. And again. And possibly again, I don’t remember. It made an impact on me.

Patrik Lundberg is a writer and journalist from Sweden, and adopted from South Korea. The adoption is only mentioned because it is the main theme of this book. How it made him feel, and how he navigated through his young life as a student in rural Sweden.

Why this book spoke to me was that I had always felt like I had to conform to my surroundings, and I got the same feeling from this book. He mentioned how he was not seen as a 100% Swedish, even though he had a Swedish name, spoke Swedish and everything else that one could think that would make a person Swedish. The comparison Partrik Lundberg writes about, how some Swede compared him to a banana, white on the inside, yellow on the outside, stuck with me. I felt so bad for him, and somehow I recognized myself in the comparison (to be clear, I am not adopted). Possibly due to the fact that I had multiple rich friends, and I came from a normal background. Having to blend into the social landscape but not really being a true part.

I highly recommend reading this book, I am afraid it is only available in Swedish, but if that is one language you speak, well then READ THIS BOOK.