The Year Of Writing Heinously more like!

The author of this book is so irritating, and the writing so bad, that I have been forced to go back on a personal rule I have, to not review a film/book/album etc. that I haven't actually finished. I simply can't bring myself to suffer through any more of this sub-Mumsnet-blogger tripe.

Worrying signs appeared early when the author thought it would be amusing to refer to her husband as Lego Man and only Lego Man, presumably for the entirety of the book. Because he has a job at LEGO. That's about the level of wit we're operating on here. She then ponders why he spends up to an hour in the toilet these days; "What's he doing in there? Decorating?" Cue the first of many tumbleweeds.

Then, when considering why Denmark might be consistently regarded as the happiest place to live, she puts forward the revolutionary idea that maybe "there's more to live than just money!". Well step aside Socrates! Take a break Descartes! There's a new philosopher on the block!

I actually couldn't believe the author was a journalist, until she revealed that she was a 'lifestyle' journalist, and then it all started to make sense.

When she gives herself a "pat on the back" for inventing the "brand new adverb" 'Danishly', as though adding the suffix 'ly' to the end of something hadn't been in existence for centuries, I knew I wasn't going to be able to persevere long. It became a case of whether I'd get any interesting information about life in Denmark before smashing my fist into my phone.

By the start of the second chapter, and their arrival in Denmark, I had began audibly (no pun intended) arguing with the poor woman who had to read this twaddle out loud. I really hope she got paid well by the way.

- "Something cold and soft is falling on us as we stand in darkness on a silent runway"
- It's called snow. Do you actually think you're being mysterious here?

- "We'd been pushed and barged by other passengers, ushered onto buses and shuffled around by ground staff"
- Translation: "I had a standard airport experience"

- "Mid-air, we'd been looked after by stewards in smart navy uniforms, plying us with miniatures and tiny cans of Schweppes."
- Translation: "We took a flight"

And my favourite, upon landing:
- "There are a few people around, of course, but we don't know any of them and they're all speaking a language we don't understand."
- YOU'VE TAKEN A PLANE TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY! THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS! I mean, this whole godawful page could have been made redundant by the words "We landed in Denmark after an uneventful flight".

So, at what point you may ask, did I finally give up on this monstrosity of a book? Was it the moment when they opened a bank account and weren't immediately handed a credit card, but had to make do with a debit card, to the author's astonishment? "Cash! I haven't carried actual money since 2004!" My God! The sheer horror of it all! How will they cope?

Was it the point at which she decides to consult a Cultural Integration Coach to help them settle in? (Shoot me now!)

I think what finally made me cave in was this absolute masterclass in tension building, when husband and wife have bought cakes and he goes to the toilet, telling her in no uncertain terms, not to start without him. If you can read this and not want to claw your own eyes out, then good luck!

"His caution isn't unfounded. I have form in this area and can't be trusted within a hundred-metre radius of a cake. I can feel my stomach knotting with anticipation and don't know how I'm going to keep from taking a bite until Lego Man is back!"

Ugh!

192 people found this helpful

I found myself wincing every couple of minutes

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I bought this book to unearth some facts about Danish happiness. Facts there are, gleaned from Google, and this did save me a lot of time looking for myself. However the techniques used by Helen Russell in order to make the story humorous are excruciating. From the very beginning she refers to her husband as 'Legoman', which was mildly amusing the first couple of times, but grates from them onward, and the term is used relentlessly until the very end, groan. It also seems incredulous that the writer who wants to 'uncover the secrets of the world's happiest nation' doesn't even think about learning Danish until her third month in the country, and then only because somebody suggests that it might be a good idea! The author borrows all of the staple literary tricks of this genre, the most common being exaggeration for dramatic effect, and caricature. However it feels somewhat forced, and comes across as rather unconvincing, and annoyingly self conscious. Imagine that Bridget Jones has been sent to a small town in Jutland to write about her experiences a la Bill Bryson and you get the idea. However the author falls way short of the comic genius of Helen Fielding and doesn't come anywhere near the dazzling narrative of Bill Bryson. The result an awkward and somewhat annoying book. If your intention is to 'uncover the secrets of the world's happiest nation' I would recommend the far more informative, insightful and well written 'The Cozy Life: Rediscover the Joy of the Simple Things Through the Danish Concept of Hygge' by Pia Edberg.

Has The Year of Living Danishly put you off other books in this genre?

It has made me a little more wary of books of this genre.

What does Lucy Price-Lewis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

A bubbly voice

Was The Year of Living Danishly worth the listening time?

Not really, I would have rather learned the interesting stuff and skipped the self-conscious, and not particularly funny observations from the author's 'journey'.

Any additional comments?

If you are genuinely interested in what makes Danish people happy, this is not your book. There are other better ones out there. In fact, the author seems to mock the Danish way of life more than trying to understand it.

35 people found this helpful

BRILLIANT

I am shocked by how much I loved this book. It's the sort of cultural exploration I love. The author presented the facts about Denmark - how amazingly happy it is as a coubtry, made some hypothesis about why this was and then went to test those ideas, usually ending in a very entertaining and insightful anecdote. Really, really good.

The narrator did just want narrators should in this sort of book, just made me feel I was listening directly to the author tell her stories.

8 people found this helpful

Completely fascinating and bonkers

To start with the overly 'arch' reading got on my nerves - read too fast and with too much comic emphasis - it was all a bit 'Bridget Jones' and over-egged. However, I got used to it as the narrative was so compelling. Just incredibly fascinating story of burned-out London couple's relocation to Denmark. Despite the fact she is a journalist, it comes across as pseudo researched, and a bit cliched, everything taken at face value, defined and tied up neatly - assumptions and massive conclusions seem to have been built on minimal experience/research about 'how things are' - but non-the-less incredibly interesting as a memoir of a first year in the land of 'Cosy'.

25 people found this helpful

Let's all be Danish!

Loved this book, funny and a really good insight into Denmark. I found it really interesting as I'm in the welfare to work industry. I think ill book a weekend to Copenhagen now.....

6 people found this helpful

An unexpected pleasure

If you could sum up The Year of Living Danishly in three words, what would they be?

humorous
interesting
comforting

What did you like best about this story?

The book is filled with statistics and information that really affirms some basic human instincts. It's interesting but balances the facts and figures with the very amusing narrative of the couples trials and tribulations as they settle into their new life in Denmark.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I found the chapter discovering new clubs and organisations really laugh out loud funny.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book is thought provoking. I recommended it to a an audible member friend, I knew she'd love it, but waiting for her to finish has been really hard, not being able to quote bits of the book so as not to spoil it for her, but there are so many issues that crop up in day to day conversation where you can refer to it and open up debate. It's written with lots of humour too. Although the author is a decade younger than me, there were lots of references to her childhood that I related to, and she made them quite hilarious.

Any additional comments?

I am ordinarily a fiction only kinda gal. I'm not sure what drew me to this book but I'm so glad I read it. It may well lead me to try a few more in this genre.

12 people found this helpful

A likeable and possibly true Nordic myth

I think the origin of this book is a series of Sunday newspaper magazine articles and it certainly comes across that way. This is a cosy and fairly lightweight insight into Danish society and an attempt to explain why everybody there is just so darned happy. Some of the reasons are fairly obvious. Denmark is a wealthy nation where the citizens enjoy job security, a great health service and abundant cheap childcare. If you like fatty pastries and joining clubs you will be in heaven. Some of the theories I found a bit less convincing. For example vegetarians are 'scientifically' proven to be miserable so as a nation of prolific eat eaters Danes are bound to be jumping for joy. I think it largely boils down to positive self-promotion but the idea of a nation of happy and trusting people is certainly an attractive one in these grim times. The author does overdo the Bridget Jones traits but she does raise some doubts and questions, so this doesn’t come over too much like an advert for the Danish tourist board. The reader was fine, and if she mispronounced some Danish words, I couldn't care less.

11 people found this helpful

Enjoyable

I really have no interest in Denmark and I've never heard of the author but something told me to give it a go and I was glad I did. Always looked forward to getting time to listen to it again.

17 people found this helpful

You need to have some determination....to finish this

I am not a quitter but sometimes I wish that I was . Everyone has a book in them and in most cases including this one that is where it should stay.

Her constant reference to legoman and sticksville were amusing first time round but she never stopped using the references, this passed the thresholds of boring, annoying to downright irritating.

Not best ever choice!

4 people found this helpful

Funny and Inspirational

This is a great story; very entertaining with accurate reflections on everyday modern life. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in travel or self help.

3 people found this helpful