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lootcard's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
3.0
English family moves to Denmark and discuss and troubleshoot how the Danes maintain such high happiness levels. Interesting but I didn’t warm to the characters or rate the humour particularly.
popgoesthereader's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
The Year of Living Danishly is a fun exploration of a culture that intrigues so many. Helen Russell does a wonderful job of blending humour and charm with hard research to attempt to answer a simple question, why are Danes seemingly happier than the rest of us? What really shines through in this one besides Russell's charming writing style is the fact that while this book could easily be a propaganda piece or a fetishization of Danish culture, the author does make pains to examine critically her view of both the good and bad of Danish society. If you are looking for an academic examination of the Danish happiness phenomenon, you might look elsewhere as this book is more a surface level analysis filled with personal anecdotes and stories rather than a truly deep dive from a sociological lens, there are no deep conclusions reached here. However if you are curious about Danish culture and are looking for a light read about travel and cultural differences, this is a good one.
hashtag_emma's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
This was easy to read but I wasn’t super motivated to pick it up and read it all the time. I think it had some good tips for improving quality of life!
ekarcha's review
3.0
3.5 stars. Honestly, I felt the author was too polite and accepting of some of the Danes being rude and snobbish to her as an immigrant. Maybe it’s because I’m an American, but if someone stopped me while riding my bike out in the middle of a sunny day to yell at me about having a specific kid of headlight installed on my bike, I’d just tell them to go eat a bowl of dicks.
I did appreciate the epilogue update for the 2020 edition, which addressed the deep-seated issues of racism and xenophobia in Danish society that I believed should’ve been brought up in the original 2014 edition.
I did appreciate the epilogue update for the 2020 edition, which addressed the deep-seated issues of racism and xenophobia in Danish society that I believed should’ve been brought up in the original 2014 edition.
emscott_94's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
janefstevens's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I have never seen another culture as clearly from just one book.
sandysmith's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
It was an enjoyable enough read, with the author moving to Denmark with her husband initially for a year. As a journalist, she went freelance, and this book does feel more like a well developed magazine article rather than a dry research book. I liked the chatty, easy to read writing style. However, parts didn't sit well with me. Calling her husband legoman for the entirety of the book got old very quickly. Asking everyone she interviewed as part of her research to give their happiness out of ten with no one being lower than an 8 smacked of being a bit like she screened their happiness, cynic that I am, maybe I need to be more Danish and trust more.... I did consider a lower rating, but the entire idea of their pasties wonderfully described and "hygge" the bunkering down for the winter with a blanket, a good book, and lit candles sold it to me. It was an easy enough non-fiction read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment