The Year of Living Danishly
Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
Book - 2016
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SPL_Robyn
Sep 01, 2015
When Helen Russell’s husband got offered his dream job to work for Lego (yes, they of the brightly-coloured-building-bricks), it meant relocating to Lego’s home base in Denmark. Helen, a high-powered London editor of an unnamed glossy women’s magazine, was not at all sure she wanted to trade her glam life and busy social calendar for a year abroad in a country famous for pastries and Hans Christian Anderson. But as it turns out, they are also famous for being happy. This was enough to intrigue Helen – she would use this opportunity to find out what made these Vikings happy and why. Thus began her own year of living Danishly.
Do not be fooled by this book’s light-hearted title, tone and the giggles evoked therein; evidence of Helen’s thorough research is dotted throughout, but never in a preachy, pedantic way. Her writing is self-deprecating, yes, but also thoughtful and very candid.
She comes to admire the enviable work-life balance that Danes value so much; their models of healthcare, social welfare and environmentalism are some of the best in the world too. They are incredibly patriotic, sexually liberal, and have one entire season dedicated to the coziness of hearth and home (hygge). Daycares are funded and described as “the most fun it is possible to have without artificial stimulants involved… like Lord of the Flies but with a happy ending.”
Denmark may sound like utopia, but Helen discovers some darker sides. For instance, Danish parents are ‘curling parents’ – parents who sweep away any obstacles in the paths of their kids, without letting the kids tackle the challenges themselves. Danes drink and smoke A LOT and have A LOT of esoteric rules. And although there is a high standard of gender equality (women have major roles in government and dads get a good chunk of paternity leave), sexist attitudes and violence against women persists.
But then again, Danish people trust each A LOT too, and that appears to be the key to their happiness – their trust in each other, their culture and even in their government means that things do improve over time to the benefit of all. Which makes them even happier. And to boot, they have the best ways of celebrating Christmas.
It almost makes one want to emigrate.
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Add a CommentInteresting - if you are interested in Denmark. And the author does have a great sense of humour, but that’s it. I made it to chapter 7 but was bored and tired of reading the phrase “according to a study by the...”. I decided to skip to the end - top ten tips for living danishly - and was disappointed.
A little slow at times, but certainly worth the read. Denmark is interesting but a bit weird too.
Enlightening, engaging and frequently hilarious.
Fun read. Very likely you'll experience some culture shock, even you are from the neighboring country, like the author, who is from UK.
A light read, fun, entertaining. Just what I needed at the time, and also makes me want to go to Denmark. Don't expect a sociological study or beautiful writing, this book is more at the level of a entertaining magazine article.
Decent book, but I was disappointed. I was so excited to read it as my paternal grandparents were Danish (but left Denmark and teens in the 1920's) and I will be visiting Denmark this summer. There was so much reference to ridiculous sex (co workers together at the company Christmas party? She made it sound like everyone who works for Lego had extramarital sex!). Although I liked several chapters, I found some references to be just a bit vulgar. Not like the Danes I know and love!
When Helen Russell's husband is offered his dream job working at the LEGO company in Denmark, the English couple uproots themselves from their urban London lifestyle and embarks on a hilarious year of culture shock as they immerse themselves in "the happiest country on earth." Helen, a freelance journalist, devotes each chapter to a month and a cultural topic, educating and entertaining the reader as she attempts to get to the bottom of just what makes Danes so happy.
Although I had some initial trouble getting used to Russell's tone, I was soon engrossed in this cultural study. Having lived in another Scandinavian country for a year in my youth, many of the topics were familiar, causing me to reminisce fondly about my own experiences. I can't help but contrast Danish society and culture with the consumerism-driven culture of my home, yearning for something a bit more simple and meaningful.
This was a nice read, but I was disappointed that the author / publisher did not include any pronunciations for the Danish words. And there were quite a lot of them! Since the author is British, there were a lot of phrases and references that we Americans might not be familiar with. This would have been a much more immersive book had it included graphics: maps, illustrations, photographs, and graphs of her many-quoted statistics.
An amusing long magazine article read. I did enjoy it and I did learn something about the Danish way of life. Some of the repeated jokes became very old by the end. If I had a glass of wine every time the author referred to an incident as _____gate I would be as happy as a Dane!
Great book about a country I didn't know much about. Was well written and kept my interest with the narrative feel.