The Year of Living Danishly

This book was a little boring. The problem is that it's a mixture of non-fiction (facts about Denmark) and a novel (the story of a journalist moving to Denmark for a year), but none of the two is good enough. Facts and statistics are outdated (despite the “recent studies show” lines without any date indication) and the novel itself doesn't have any conflict or interesting plot, you can't emotionally connect with the main character (and her husband - whose name remains unknown: she calls him “Lego Man” and that in itself was, well... cringy.

I found this story fascinating at times I was dazzled with the idea of living in Denmark and other times I had second thoughts. It was interesting to learn about this culture and style of thinking. I love the idea of having trust and and finding joy. I like the idea of equality and available resources. I love the passion for the nation and the care of the environment. But this book did show some of the dark sides too gender equality isn't as great and we first thought also high divorce rates and drinking rates are questionable. Overall I think I'd like to live a year Danishly.

The Year of Living Danishly is a memoir of Helen Russell's move to Denmark for a year. Russell used the year to take a close look at why Danish people report themselves to be the happiest people in the world. I am happy to have learned more about happiness from this book.