If I’d just seen Michael Booth’s The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia, I never would have read it. First of all, the cover of the Finnish edition is hokey as hell. Bad publisher. Go to your room and think of what you’ve done. Second of all, what would you think, if you saw a book that’s just 300 odd pages about Scandinavia and Scandinavian people? Boring, right? Booth mentions very early on that many people to whom he talked about his book project over the years had a similar reaction: “A book about Nordic countries? But we’re so boring!”
Luckily, I read an interview with Booth just before Christmas, and was charmed by his occasionally mean British with, and his nevertheless flattering take on Finland. So when I did come across the book on one of my usual library wanderings, I knew I had to read it. And I’m glad I did.
Booth is a British journalist who, for his sins, has lived for a good while in Denmark and still does. The seeds of The Almost Nearly Perfect People were sowed by those semi-regular happiness surveys where Danes are always found to be the happiest people on earth. How is that possible, Booth wanted to know. Denmark has terrible weather, and the highest taxes in the world. How can they be so freaking happy? The result of that puzzlement is this book in which Booth observes each Nordic country in turn (technically only Sweden, Norway, and at a stretch Denmark are Scandinavian), talking to locals, telling stories of the country’s history and present day, and trying to figure out what makes us tick as societies and as individuals. He ends up making a lot of assumptions, simplifications and generalizations, but he’s also aware of that himself, and tries to paint as complete a picture as possible.
I found the book delightful. It’s funny, and a breeze to read. An outsider’s perspective is also a breath of fresh air in the sometimes stagnant discussion we tend to have of our countries, and what makes us exceptional or doesn’t. In Finland at least, when we hear of studies and surveys that show us doing something right, there seems to be only two possible ways to react. One way is to vehemently deny that there could be anything good about our country. This is not modesty, it’s lack of proper perspective. When someone claims that Finland is as oppressive as Belarus, they’re not being modest, they’re being blind. The other way is the complete opposite, but no less repulsive assertion that of course we’re good, we’re white Europeans. Booth avoids both pitfalls.
Despite all that is good here, I have to pretty big points of criticism. Published in 2014, the book is already a bit dated. For example, no-one in their right mind would say that the economy in Finland is doing all that great. Then again, that wasn’t true even last year. And remember those simplifications I talked about? At least once, when writing about historical events, Booth simplifies matters so much that he ends up giving factually incorrect information.
When I win the lottery, I will buy this book and then travel to the countries in question.
I still haven’t been to Denmark or Iceland, and I live here! Although as Booth points out, Iceland is halfway across the Atlantic, so that’s understandable.
For a few years before the economic collapse, Iceland was pushing hard to be THE place to go. Flights were fairly cheap and I was thinking about it.
The book says that it’s no longer as expensive to visit stay there as it was before the collapse. But it’s apparently still fairly expensive.
My husband wants to move to a Nordic country for Nordic skiing. It sounds like I’m being flippant but I assure you, I’m not. I’m highly tempted because in every measure (probably these surveys you’re talking about) these countries have the best public education in the world. So I sit here, frustrated with our local schools thinking, “Yes, let’s move to Norway!”
Of course my knowledge is pretty superficial, so I should probably check this book out. However if my husband gets his hands on it may solidify his decision to move, so maybe I had better not risk it?
It could go either way, because it also does not shy away from shining a light on some less than fantastic aspects of these societies. Might be worth a risk. It’is an entertaining read at the very least.
And for a skiing enthusiast, Norway is the place to go. They take their skiing very seriously there.
This is not really related to your review, but I was just thinking . . . you guys all write/speak perfect English, and it makes me feel like a stupid American that I don’t speak any of your languages. I barely speak Spanish and I studied it for years, and live about 45 minutes from Mexico. And when I speak Spanish to people who actually speak Spanish I’m sure I sound really, really stupid.
Maybe I will buy this book, learn Danish or Norwegian or Swedish and then come visit y’all. Of course, like Emmalita, I will have to win the lottery to do this. If that happens, I will bring as many Pajibans/CBR peeps with me as I can.
This has been my fantasy for the day.
That’s a great fantasy and I will join you in it. Also, I grew up in Texas so of course I took German instead of Spanish. Now I can only speak German when I go to Mexico.
I’m sure that goes over real well :)
It ranges from “adorable idiot” to “fu*king racist.” So, fun.
I took German as well, because it was the only language besides English and Swedish that was on offer. It’s a beautiful language. So melodic.
It just rolls off the tongue.
Upvote!
My passport is up to date and I’ve always wanted to visit Scandinavia. I’ll keep my fingers crossed next time there’s a big power ball prize.
See you then! :D
Berry – you’re Scandinavian?
Oh yeah, Finnish as all get out: tall, blonde, not a big talker (off-line).
Well that makes your trip to California even more exciting :) (You’re going to CA right? Or I dreamt that? I can’t keep track via mothership, FB, etc.)
I’ve traveled across Norway and Sweden and loved it. Could I live there? Unsure. I am tall and not blond. I wear sneakers a lot (I’m clearly a tourist running around with my sneakers on) so I would have to get used to wearing cool leather shoes and skinny jeans. Who knows – if we ever move out that way I’ll definitely need a local friend to show me the scene :)
You remember correctly, we are going to California. And Arizona.
I’ve never worn skinny jeans in my life, and sneakers are the best. Except in the winter, when leather boots are the way to go. :D If you ever want to ask me about anything Scandinavian related, I’m more than happy to try and answer. My husband worked for two summer in a hotel in Norway before we met, so we even have some Norway knowledge in the family.
Oooh! Arizona! That’s where I live! No one ever comes here! You have to find some good Mexican food before you leave.
I can’t reply directly to Narfna for some reason, so let’s hope she sees this anyway.
But Arizona has Grand Canyon! That’s where we’re going. Predictably touristy, but it’s one of those places you just have to see, if you get a chance. And good Mexican food is on the agenda. :)
Does anyone get notifications? I always mark ‘notify me of follow up comments’ and I never get any emails, so I have to check back periodically on the conversation. Help, MsWas!!
Anyway, yes the Grand Canyon! I have only been there once despite living in AZ for almost my entire life (minus a three year stint in Florida). I was very young at the time. I think around three years old. My parents are very fond of telling me the story of just how unimpressed I was by one of the natural wonders of the world. Apparently I told them “you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all” in protest of driving to so many different overlooks and getting out, and the driving again, etc. I feel like if I were to go as an adult, I would have enough context to actually be impressed.
It’s just that we hear English everywhere. I can’t go a day without hearing English, sometimes not an hour, because so much of the music you hear in the radio is American or English. And then there’re TV and movies. And our native languages are so small, we know we have to speak some other language if we don’t want to isolate ourselves. Right now the worry in Finland at least is that people will only speak Finnish and English. Other languages are not popular to study. Hardly anyone takes Russian. I took Swedish for six and German for five years, and I absolutely can’t use either today.
So have you known English since you were a kid, then? That’s kind of neat.
Yeah, we start studying it at third grade in elementary school, so at 10-11. Or you can choose to start some other foreign language at that point, but most pick English.
I remember enough to know that “Sprechen sie Deutsch?” and “Sprechst du Deutsch? Are the exact same question but asked of different people.
The first is the formal one. You should always err on the side of more formality when speaking to Germans, I’ve been told. I can say “Ich verstehe nicht” which means I don’t understand, and that pretty much sums up my skills in German these days.