The Shadow Girls

The inspirational tale of a writer who finds himself caught up in the extraordinary stories of three young immigrant girls in Sweden by the ‘Swedish John le Carre’, Henning Mankell

Tea-Bag, a young Nigerian girl, has fled a refugee camp in Spain for the promise of a new life in Sweden. Tania has made a long and dangerous journey to escape themisery of life in a brothel. Leila has travelled with her family from Iran. All of them are facing different challenges in their new home.

Meanwhile, celebrated poet Jesper Humlin is looking for inspiration. Harried by his mother and girlfriend, misunderstood by his publisher and tormented by his stockbroker, Jesper needs a new perspective on life. A chance encounter with Tea-Bag leads him into the shadow world of the immigrant experience in Sweden. Initially he sees the girls purely as material for his work, but they have very different ideas.

This inspiring novel encompasses both humour and tragedy and illuminates our understanding of those left on the margins of our society.