The Sisters

In 2009, just before leaving for a fellowship in Berlin, Jonas threw a large 30th birthday party, inviting many people from his past and present. Jonas’s father, who was visiting, initially refused to attend upon learning that Jonas’s mother would be there with her partner. Jonas convinced him to come by offering a taxi and free drinks. Jonas’s father promised that he wouldn’t hit the other man. 

Jonas also made a special effort to invite the Mikkola sisters, with whom he had lost touch. After finding an email for Ina, Jonas sent an invitation mentioning that their old neighborhood peers were coming, but he received no reply.

In February 2009, Evelyn meets her friend Cecilia for a walk, speculating that Cecilia will confess a long-held crush on her. Instead, Cecilia reveals her true secret: She has decided to apply to the prestigious National Academy of Mime and Acting (Nama), which she feels is her destiny. 

Cecilia asks for Evelyn’s help preparing her audition monologues. Though Evelyn agrees to help, she’s privately struck by a wave of envy and sadness over her friend’s newfound purpose and happiness. Later, Cecilia points out that Evelyn talks more about Simon than herself. As they part, Evelyn struggles to hide her true feelings of jealousy.

Jonas arrived in Berlin on a writing scholarship but felt alienated by the large apartment he occupied and moved several times. Later, his German Tunisian cousin Younes contacted him and invited him to the wedding of Alma, his half-sister whom Jonas hadn’t seen since childhood. 

Jonas recalls a family vacation in Sousse, where his father used connections to grant them access to a luxury hotel. There, a lifeguard, mistaking Jonas for a local boy who had snuck in from the street, physically assaulted him. Jonas’s father confronted the lifeguard by picking up a stick and invoking the name of their contact, Fathi, until the guard backed down. Jonas was pleased by the guard’s mistaken assumption that he was a local. 

Deciding to attend the wedding, Jonas traveled to southern Germany and was picked up by Younes. He learned that his own father wouldn’t be there. As they drove to the hotel to join their extended family, Jonas felt a strong sense of belonging.

Evelyn visits Cecilia to help her rehearse monologues for an acting school audition. She’s mesmerized by Cecilia’s talent as she performs pieces from plays like Death of a Salesman. At Cecilia’s request, Evelyn begins offering directorial notes, which Cecilia incorporates into her performance. Evelyn becomes completely convinced that Cecilia’s talent will guarantee her a spot in the competitive program.

Later, after they have finished rehearsing and eaten dinner, Evelyn finds a monologue from a character named Trofimov that Cecilia had skipped. Curious, Evelyn decides to read the lines aloud herself to see how it feels. When she finishes, she expects Cecilia to be impressed, but Cecilia simply stares at her with a crooked smile before changing the subject.

Jonas traveled with Younes, who informed him that Alma was getting married to a Kurdish man who had recently become very religious. The wedding ceremony would be traditional and solemn, officiated by an imam with no alcohol served. Younes speculated that Alma was likely fine with this arrangement as a reaction to her previous out-of-control boyfriend. 

After arriving at the hotel, Younes left to run errands but suggested that they meet for a drink before the ceremony. Jonas checked into his small room, which reminded him of his father’s post-divorce apartment.

Cecilia visits Evelyn at work to announce that her first audition is the following Monday. She begs Evelyn to come for moral support. Evelyn initially declines because she has to work, but her coworker Kattis overhears and offers to cover the shift. Evelyn reluctantly agrees. 

In the days before the audition, Evelyn helps Cecilia rehearse so often that she memorizes the lines herself. The Chekhov monologue begins to echo in Evelyn’s mind at all times.

Jonas arrived at the wedding and was greeted by relatives, who pronounced his name with an Arabic accent, “Younes.” Jonas reunited with his grandmother Yamina Khemiri, who once again urged him to learn Arabic to write her life story. 

Jonas then joined his cousin Younes at the bar. Younes worried about his father’s (also named Younes) failing memory, which the narrator calls the “Khemiri curse.” They encountered the uncle at the same bar, where a brief, tense exchange revealed the uncle’s harsh demeanor toward his son. 

Back at the hotel, the family engaged in prolonged photo sessions. Jonas noticed that Alma looked terrified and that her friends were absent, apparently due to a conflict with the groom. A final delay occurred when Yamina refused to ride in her son’s Škoda, only relenting after an argument. The ceremony began later than anticipated.

Evelyn accompanies Cecilia to her drama-school audition. While Cecilia is nervous but determined, Evelyn feels out of place and is encouraged to audition by a woman from the jury. After Cecilia completes a successful but strange audition, Evelyn spontaneously decides to try out herself. She lies about having registered and is endorsed by the woman who told her to audition. 

Evelyn delivers her Chekhov monologue and experiences a deep, temporary release from her constant self-hatred. The jury cuts her audition short without giving notes, leaving her feeling manipulated and resolved to stay at her mundane job. Three weeks later, both Evelyn and Cecilia receive letters informing them that they have advanced to the second round of auditions.

Jonas observed that his loud family contrasted with the groom’s serious Kurdish family at the wedding reception. He felt self-conscious when he heard his grandmother Yamina make prejudiced comments about the groom’s family. 

Jonas snuck outside with Younes to drink alcohol from a car trunk. They were caught by Uncle Younes, who, instead of being angry, joined them for a drink. The uncle then revealed a major family secret: Years ago, Jonas’s father helped a woman with a bad reputation immigrate to Sweden and later donated sperm for her when her partner couldn’t father children. Jonas was left stunned, asking his uncle to confirm what he just heard.

Evelyn and Cecilia both reach the final audition for Nama, where they’re among the last 24 applicants. Their friendship has become strained. Evelyn questions if pursuing acting is worth losing Cecilia but realizes that it’s the most fulfilling thing she has ever done. During a break, Cecilia confronts Evelyn, accusing her of only auditioning to copy her and suggesting that she has only advanced because the teachers are attracted to her. 

On the last day, during an acting exercise where students point at objects and call them by incorrect names, Cecilia targets Evelyn. While standing behind her, Cecilia points at Evelyn and says, “FRIEND,” making several more passive-aggressive comments to vent her anger. Evelyn decides that the best revenge will be to get accepted into the school, even if she isn’t certain it’s what she truly wants.

During the wedding reception, Jonas and Younes repeatedly snuck outside to drink. A brief, tense encounter with the groom’s brother was resolved when they shared a beer. 

Back inside, they were caught off guard by a Kurdish tradition of guests making large cash donations to the couple. Jonas’s family, feeling ashamed of the meager €320 they could collect, was shocked when the announcer declared their donation as €3,200. Jonas later discovered that it’s the groom’s family’s tradition to publicly add a zero to donations to help guests save face. After the reception concluded with traditional circular dancing and the newlyweds departed, Jonas’s family gathered in a hotel room. They got drunk and mocked the groom’s family’s customs. Uncle Younes silenced them by stating, “They are family now” (470).

The final audition results reveal that Evelyn has gotten into Nama while Cecilia has not. Disturbed by this outcome, she walks through the city and sits watching the statue of Linnaeus, whose imagined voice reminds her of her family curse, warning that if she pursues her dream, something terrible will happen to her sisters. The statue suggests that she give her place to Cecilia. 

Fearful of tempting fate, Evelyn decides to decline the school’s offer and continue working at the store. However, when she arrives at work, she abruptly informs her boss that she’s quitting and becomes happy to have done so.

After returning to Berlin, Jonas lived an isolated existence, unable to form relationships or contact the Mikkola sisters. He believed that he had to speak to his father first about their potential relation, which felt impossible.

In December, Jonas traveled to Stockholm for a medical check-up and attended his uncle’s St. Lucy’s Day party. There, he was captivated by a woman named Diane, but their conversation was cut short by the intervention of her boyfriend. Back in Berlin, Jonas found Diane on social media and messaged her. They corresponded, but she declined to meet him.

Jonas’s friend Nico visited and observed that he glowed when he spoke of Diane. When Jonas asked about the Mikkola sisters, Nico told him that Evelyn was dating a lawyer named Simon and that Anastasia was seen organizing a record release party. Nico knew less about Ina, though the last time he saw her, she was with a stroller and children, looking like she was walking on clouds.