Title: All Love Prohibited
Author: Anders Eklof
Publisher: Toplink Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 1949804666
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 388
Reviewed by: Aaron Washington
Synopsis
“All Love Prohibited” is a dramatic story of a young, idealistic, and naïve foreigner who falls in forbidden love with an exquisitely beautiful black woman in the tense Alabama of 1961. Before arriving in the United States, he has never seen a black person face-to-face, and his reactions to her contain passions he has difficulty in understanding. He experiences love, lust, terror, hatred, and agonizing heartache as he pursues their dangerous, doomed romance. In the process, he discovers things about himself and America that are not altogether flattering and shatter many illusions. It is a reminder of the grim era of segregation where interracial intimacy was illegal and could become lethal.
He leaves Alabama for Pennsylvania and makes several black friends, which gives him yet another perspective on the racial situation in America. But he cannot forget the girl in Alabama. A surprising ending of the story and a bittersweet epilog sets the narrative in a unique framework.
About the Author
Anders Eklof was born and raised in Sweden. In college, he studied electronics and communications technology and also took an interest in political and social issues. In 1961 he found himself at a military base in Alabama to be trained to operate and maintain an anti-aircraft missile system bought by Sweden. An incident in a cafeteria gave him his first personal observation of Southern white disrespect for black people. The incident created a lifelong feeling of loyalty to America’s black population. His first marriage was to an African-American woman, with whom he has two children. His second marriage is to an African woman with whom he also has two children. He has lived his professional life among people of mostly European and Asian ancestry but his private life mostly in the Africa-American community, providing a rare insight into American racial prejudices and tensions.