The Year of Living Danishly

A surprising little nugget of awesome.

Ok, I'm impressed with this book for many reasons. The author was relateable and her situation was epathtically lamentable. In the end, this is upper-class writing.

As non-fiction goes, an author's voice is often dull and mechanical, unless you are Helen Russell. She was witty, glib, and completely normal from start to finish. As I do, she assigned nicknames to most of those she interacted with. Examples include “Judgy Face” or “Lego Man.”

Her research was neither tediously academic nor jeuvenile. The majority of her research is based on interviews, jotted notes, and humerous internal monologue.

From start to finish the reader loves the story woven around her main goal to identify what makes Danes so happy. The project is broken up into 12 months, with each month ending in a summary of her findings. The best of her observations, interviews, and internet research are highlighted throughout. The reader stands to learn more about rural Danish life and tradition than you thought possible. Certainly more than you previously thought interesting.

In summary, well done Helen. Please write more so I can read all of your work.