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sauvageloup's reviews
526 reviews
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall, very well-written and poignant, just hit a few personal sore points for me.
Pros:
- Ove definitely grows on the reader in a fully complete and lovable person. I was worried initially that I was going to completely dislike him in the first chapter, but though he stays totally grumpy, his generosity is enough to make him likable. His character is also helped explained by the flashbacks to his past, which were well handled and enjoyable.
- All the side characters were probably my favourite, with Parvanah, Jimmy, Rune, Anita, etc. They were all really well developed and played perfectly into Ove's narrative. Their emotions and actions made up for his suppressed emotions and passivity.
- Despite Ove being a backwards grump, the book makes it clear that that's no reason for a decent person to be homophobic or racist, or ableist either, even if he doesn't have the words for it.
- It was also satisfying how the narrative looped back round. Partly with Ove accepting the use of the internet to get back at the council bloke, and also him buying an iPad for Parvanah's daughter.
Cons:
- I found the suicidal bits very uncomfortable. Which, like, duh. But I didn't feel like they had as much gravity as they should have. Ove's POV plays everything down, but I never felt like the book validated how awful his suicidal intent was. Parvanah makes a comment once about 'we all know how terrible Ove is at dying!', making it clear she did know he was trying to kill himself and yet she never addressed it.
- I felt like there was some fatphobia against Jimmy. Just the descriptions of him felt off.
- The book's pace was also a little slow. Which isn't really a bad thing, it suits the story and how it was told and Ove's character, but it didn't make me rush to the finish.
Overall, a very well crafted book. But it would probably hit even better with someone who wasn't me.
Pros:
- Ove definitely grows on the reader in a fully complete and lovable person. I was worried initially that I was going to completely dislike him in the first chapter, but though he stays totally grumpy, his generosity is enough to make him likable. His character is also helped explained by the flashbacks to his past, which were well handled and enjoyable.
- All the side characters were probably my favourite, with Parvanah, Jimmy, Rune, Anita, etc. They were all really well developed and played perfectly into Ove's narrative. Their emotions and actions made up for his suppressed emotions and passivity.
- Despite Ove being a backwards grump, the book makes it clear that that's no reason for a decent person to be homophobic or racist, or ableist either, even if he doesn't have the words for it.
- It was also satisfying how the narrative looped back round. Partly with Ove accepting the use of the internet to get back at the council bloke, and also him buying an iPad for Parvanah's daughter.
Cons:
- I found the suicidal bits very uncomfortable. Which, like, duh. But I didn't feel like they had as much gravity as they should have. Ove's POV plays everything down, but I never felt like the book validated how awful his suicidal intent was. Parvanah makes a comment once about 'we all know how terrible Ove is at dying!', making it clear she did know he was trying to kill himself and yet she never addressed it.
- I felt like there was some fatphobia against Jimmy. Just the descriptions of him felt off.
- The book's pace was also a little slow. Which isn't really a bad thing, it suits the story and how it was told and Ove's character, but it didn't make me rush to the finish.
Overall, a very well crafted book. But it would probably hit even better with someone who wasn't me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Medical content
The suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts are frequent through the book and a 'plot point', for want of a better word. Proceed with caution.
Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Just as the quote on the front said; 'a sexy, fun, charming romp of a novel'!
Pros:
- I loved the queer spin on this, with the great inclusive of bi-characters and the main, w/w romance. Not something I read a lot of, so that was a fun change!
- The writing was peppy, humourous and nicely descriptive. Quite different from the more serious, lyrical vibes of Lana Popovic's earlier books that I read.
- Just quite gripping and a lot of fun, like watching a rom-com (but one without all the squicky, kinda-sexist, very-heteronormative bits), with magic and a cool setting added in.
- That it dealt with heavier parts, like how Emmy leaving had affected her parents, her best friend and her cousin, and how she started to repair those relationships and admitted that she was at fault for some of it. Lots of character growth.
- The side characters all had their own shit going on and were rly nicely developed overall. Especially liked Talia, Emmy's nana, Emmy's parents, the whole Avramov family and Monty the bartender lol.
Cons:
- Admittedly I didn't *love* Emmy. She's fundamentally a good person but a bit annoying at times which, while realistic, didn't endear me too much to her.
- It was also not the most original, and whilst the tropes and Harper's spin on things was fun, there was the undercurrent of Fresh and New that, say, 'The coldest girl in coldtown' had. But that might be a me thing, not being a massive lover of rom-coms.
- Also a little predictable, but that was fine really.
(- Contrary person that I am, I kinda wanted to know more about Gareth and to see him do a proper turnaround >.>)
Overall, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed this and there's certainly a few friends I think would love this even more than I did, since I do tend to like a bit more angst to spice things up.
Pros:
- I loved the queer spin on this, with the great inclusive of bi-characters and the main, w/w romance. Not something I read a lot of, so that was a fun change!
- The writing was peppy, humourous and nicely descriptive. Quite different from the more serious, lyrical vibes of Lana Popovic's earlier books that I read.
- Just quite gripping and a lot of fun, like watching a rom-com (but one without all the squicky, kinda-sexist, very-heteronormative bits), with magic and a cool setting added in.
- That it dealt with heavier parts, like how Emmy leaving had affected her parents, her best friend and her cousin, and how she started to repair those relationships and admitted that she was at fault for some of it. Lots of character growth.
- The side characters all had their own shit going on and were rly nicely developed overall. Especially liked Talia, Emmy's nana, Emmy's parents, the whole Avramov family and Monty the bartender lol.
Cons:
- Admittedly I didn't *love* Emmy. She's fundamentally a good person but a bit annoying at times which, while realistic, didn't endear me too much to her.
- It was also not the most original, and whilst the tropes and Harper's spin on things was fun, there was the undercurrent of Fresh and New that, say, 'The coldest girl in coldtown' had. But that might be a me thing, not being a massive lover of rom-coms.
- Also a little predictable, but that was fine really.
(- Contrary person that I am, I kinda wanted to know more about Gareth and to see him do a proper turnaround >.>)
Overall, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed this and there's certainly a few friends I think would love this even more than I did, since I do tend to like a bit more angst to spice things up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Alcohol
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Rating this book for how much I liked it, versus how well I thought it achieved its purpose, feel like totally different things.
Pros:
- Taddeo definitely has a pretty way with words. Sometimes it hit exactly right and was very astute and/or moving. She weaves the stories together really well and collected all the threads into one big carpet of 'desire in women' which I know from trying to bring fiction plots together AND bringing university essays into a neat but inpactful conclusion is really hard.
- it was definitely thought-provoking. When i couldn't sleep because of my cold, I thought about this book and the women in it, trying to puzzle them out at the same time as my reaction to it, and how it related to my life, my gender.
- I liked very much that Taddeo acknowledged that Black and poor (and other maginalised) women have it much harder. The book wants women to go after their desires without being limited by society, or men, or other women, or shame, or the law. But it does admit this is far easier for some than others, and the women it focuses on in the book are all (to my knowledge) white.
- Some of the parts on desire did ring true to me. Women shamed for wanting sex, or wanting part but not all of it, of the word 'slut' hanging in the air even when it's not said, of being terrified of sex but desperate to abate the loneliness at the same time. Somewhere in there, it did hit a chord at times.
Cons:
- Primarily, I found it hard to relate? or objectively view? this book because of my own feeling around woman-ness. I'm non-binary, I've deliberately rejected being called a 'woman' in whichever places I feel comfortable enough to come out. But in society at large and my own home with my parents, I'm still considered, against my will, to be a woman. I feel so strongly about not being a woman that I've gone out of my way and caused myself pain trying to figure this truth out inside me, and yet I was brought up as one, are viewed as one 90% of the time, and have the body parts of one. So that alone makes any book trying to "cut to the heart" of being a woman very difficult.
- That said, I didn't feel like i could relate to much of what the women were feeling or doing, either in what I'd observed in women around me or in the feminine parts of myself. How much of that is down to my own denial, me not being a woman, me not being observant or experienced or cynical enough, or even me being British not American, I don't know. I had a visceral rejection to many things in each of the women's story's that just said 'that doesn't feel True'. Not the events, of course, I don't doubt the trauma and the awfulness the women went through, but how they reacted to men and the cruelty between women didn't feel true to me. I haven't met women so consumed by men, or women being so cruel. Maybe I'm naive. (but then there's all the reviewers saying that the book 'gets to the heart of who we are' and i'm just like ????
- I also felt that the book was trying to be brand new and yet didn't feel that original at all. It said here, look at these women's pain and feel shocked and angry on their behalf. I've read other books that talk brutally about rape and abuse (Notes to self by Emilie Pine and Escape by Carolyn Jessop) in real life as well as the struggles of parents who didn't do right, who didn't protect their daughters. I suppose the fact that Maggie wasn't believed in her rape trial shows that these stories need to be out there, but I feel it's preaching to the choir sometimes. But I don't know how much is me trying to be like, I'm different, I wouldn't act like that, I would believe the women and support them and be happy for their successes and I know the world is complicated and wouldn't judge them for having an affair, or being too brash, and goddammit i'd say something if someone got an eating disorder. But there's always the doubt of, would I actually?
- Sometimes the flowery writing was just A Bit Much, and sometimes it was painfully blunt. Both of which I could more used to as the book went on, but it felt like unnecessary excess at times, in crudity and in flowery-ness. (But I think maybe Taddeo was aiming for that - to try to capture something bigger than the literal, and to be brutally honest. So here's where what i like and can manage to read splits away from reviewing whether or not Taddeo wrote a good book.)
- There was also the problem of the assumption that to be a woman you must experience sexual desire. That they all do. That it's normal. Impying that it's not normal if you don't. If you're asexual for example. I don't know, perhaps I'm expecting too much. I know this focuses on three allosexual women who like men, but when a book is claiming to be trying to include the whole of female desire, i felt it could have at least touched on women who don't want sex, or on women who have a penis. (also the implication that men are wrong if they don't want sex?? Lina's damp-fish of a husband, who's described as 'smirking' after the therapist validifies his desire not to want to kiss. Like, he *is* valid. He's just wrong for Lina, as she's wrong for him.)
- Finally, I feel uneasily like Taddeo might be the type to be a terf. I can't find anything that suggests so, but the literal one mention of queer people in her book (a gay man) is followed immediately by him acting badly. There's no discussion of gender beyond the binary, and Sloane's experiences as a queer woman seem primarily to be at her husband's bequest and not hers. Taddeo talks about women's desire, but never about women's desire for other women.
So yeah. Complicated.
Pros:
- Taddeo definitely has a pretty way with words. Sometimes it hit exactly right and was very astute and/or moving. She weaves the stories together really well and collected all the threads into one big carpet of 'desire in women' which I know from trying to bring fiction plots together AND bringing university essays into a neat but inpactful conclusion is really hard.
- it was definitely thought-provoking. When i couldn't sleep because of my cold, I thought about this book and the women in it, trying to puzzle them out at the same time as my reaction to it, and how it related to my life, my gender.
- I liked very much that Taddeo acknowledged that Black and poor (and other maginalised) women have it much harder. The book wants women to go after their desires without being limited by society, or men, or other women, or shame, or the law. But it does admit this is far easier for some than others, and the women it focuses on in the book are all (to my knowledge) white.
- Some of the parts on desire did ring true to me. Women shamed for wanting sex, or wanting part but not all of it, of the word 'slut' hanging in the air even when it's not said, of being terrified of sex but desperate to abate the loneliness at the same time. Somewhere in there, it did hit a chord at times.
Cons:
- Primarily, I found it hard to relate? or objectively view? this book because of my own feeling around woman-ness. I'm non-binary, I've deliberately rejected being called a 'woman' in whichever places I feel comfortable enough to come out. But in society at large and my own home with my parents, I'm still considered, against my will, to be a woman. I feel so strongly about not being a woman that I've gone out of my way and caused myself pain trying to figure this truth out inside me, and yet I was brought up as one, are viewed as one 90% of the time, and have the body parts of one. So that alone makes any book trying to "cut to the heart" of being a woman very difficult.
- That said, I didn't feel like i could relate to much of what the women were feeling or doing, either in what I'd observed in women around me or in the feminine parts of myself. How much of that is down to my own denial, me not being a woman, me not being observant or experienced or cynical enough, or even me being British not American, I don't know. I had a visceral rejection to many things in each of the women's story's that just said 'that doesn't feel True'. Not the events, of course, I don't doubt the trauma and the awfulness the women went through, but how they reacted to men and the cruelty between women didn't feel true to me. I haven't met women so consumed by men, or women being so cruel. Maybe I'm naive. (but then there's all the reviewers saying that the book 'gets to the heart of who we are' and i'm just like ????
- I also felt that the book was trying to be brand new and yet didn't feel that original at all. It said here, look at these women's pain and feel shocked and angry on their behalf. I've read other books that talk brutally about rape and abuse (Notes to self by Emilie Pine and Escape by Carolyn Jessop) in real life as well as the struggles of parents who didn't do right, who didn't protect their daughters. I suppose the fact that Maggie wasn't believed in her rape trial shows that these stories need to be out there, but I feel it's preaching to the choir sometimes. But I don't know how much is me trying to be like, I'm different, I wouldn't act like that, I would believe the women and support them and be happy for their successes and I know the world is complicated and wouldn't judge them for having an affair, or being too brash, and goddammit i'd say something if someone got an eating disorder. But there's always the doubt of, would I actually?
- Sometimes the flowery writing was just A Bit Much, and sometimes it was painfully blunt. Both of which I could more used to as the book went on, but it felt like unnecessary excess at times, in crudity and in flowery-ness. (But I think maybe Taddeo was aiming for that - to try to capture something bigger than the literal, and to be brutally honest. So here's where what i like and can manage to read splits away from reviewing whether or not Taddeo wrote a good book.)
- There was also the problem of the assumption that to be a woman you must experience sexual desire. That they all do. That it's normal. Impying that it's not normal if you don't. If you're asexual for example. I don't know, perhaps I'm expecting too much. I know this focuses on three allosexual women who like men, but when a book is claiming to be trying to include the whole of female desire, i felt it could have at least touched on women who don't want sex, or on women who have a penis. (also the implication that men are wrong if they don't want sex?? Lina's damp-fish of a husband, who's described as 'smirking' after the therapist validifies his desire not to want to kiss. Like, he *is* valid. He's just wrong for Lina, as she's wrong for him.)
- Finally, I feel uneasily like Taddeo might be the type to be a terf. I can't find anything that suggests so, but the literal one mention of queer people in her book (a gay man) is followed immediately by him acting badly. There's no discussion of gender beyond the binary, and Sloane's experiences as a queer woman seem primarily to be at her husband's bequest and not hers. Taddeo talks about women's desire, but never about women's desire for other women.
So yeah. Complicated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism and Emotional abuse
Minor: Biphobia, Incest, Mental illness, and Acephobia/Arophobia
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Brilliant, gripping and highly enjoyable!
Pros:
- FINALLY FINISHED A FICTION BOOK AHHHHH. and this book made it easy - it was almost exactly what i enjoy, whilst still being fresh, with great writing and very engaging.
- I liked the explicit but casual inclusion of Valentina as a trans woman. Its not made a big point of, Jameson and Tana immediately accept her and it was just great to see in a book from 2013! Aidan is also bisexual and though he isn't a perfect guy (and yes kinda plays into the awful 'bisexuals are promiscuous' trope, is still a likeable and desirable character who is never shamed for liking guys too.
- Tana hits just right as a character trying to do the right thing most of the time,,, but also being human and messy. Her desire for Gavriel and his for her never tries to excuse itself as healthy or romantic, it just is. In fact, the book deals seriously with how media portrays dangerous situation and how it lures people in, the good, the bad and the misguided, with delusions about achieving your desires. It deals with how capitalism handicaps proper progress in how the Coldtowns still mainly exist because of how much money they bring in. The troubling abuses of this, especially in how Tana's sister is able to go there alone, is explored and how the underdogs (the humans, the poor) are the ones who have it worse. The vampires from old money, they aren't even bound to the Coldtowns at all. So yeah, the political commentary is subtle but fascinating and on point.
- Tana's trauma from that night is palpable throughout. It's never brushed away, but shows how she struggles to go on, how she suppresses it throughout. The violence never felt gratuitous but always hit right on with the horror of each bit. And if the reader ever got complacent with the gore, it's brought back home again.
- Overall, she just felt a lot like a real person, tryna do the right thing, keep herself human, protect her sister, whilst also dealing with own desires. I liked that there was no perfect ending, though it was still hopeful. Tana has a plan, a sister to go back to, Aidan's going to be okay and the big bad, Lucien, was defeated. Gavriel and Tana might have a future together or probably not, but he's what she needs in the moment, which is someone a bit too dark and fucked up to be healthy, but exactly what she needs to survive.
- The shots of humour in there were also great, and I liked the worldbuilding a lot. The premise isn't the most original thing, it's how it was carried off that really made it special.
Cons:
- Maybe i was never fully convinced by Gavriel's reason for being attracted to Tana, but there were reasons given and they weren't bad ones.
- I don't know?? maybe i didn't LOVE Tana or tear-up when the bad shit went down, but honestly I was racing through it and enjoyed every bit.
All in all, a thrilling angst-fest that definitely makes me want to read more Holly Black.
Pros:
- FINALLY FINISHED A FICTION BOOK AHHHHH. and this book made it easy - it was almost exactly what i enjoy, whilst still being fresh, with great writing and very engaging.
- I liked the explicit but casual inclusion of Valentina as a trans woman. Its not made a big point of, Jameson and Tana immediately accept her and it was just great to see in a book from 2013! Aidan is also bisexual and though he isn't a perfect guy (and yes kinda plays into the awful 'bisexuals are promiscuous' trope, is still a likeable and desirable character who is never shamed for liking guys too.
- Tana hits just right as a character trying to do the right thing most of the time,,, but also being human and messy. Her desire for Gavriel and his for her never tries to excuse itself as healthy or romantic, it just is. In fact, the book deals seriously with how media portrays dangerous situation and how it lures people in, the good, the bad and the misguided, with delusions about achieving your desires. It deals with how capitalism handicaps proper progress in how the Coldtowns still mainly exist because of how much money they bring in. The troubling abuses of this, especially in how Tana's sister is able to go there alone, is explored and how the underdogs (the humans, the poor) are the ones who have it worse. The vampires from old money, they aren't even bound to the Coldtowns at all. So yeah, the political commentary is subtle but fascinating and on point.
- Tana's trauma from that night is palpable throughout. It's never brushed away, but shows how she struggles to go on, how she suppresses it throughout. The violence never felt gratuitous but always hit right on with the horror of each bit. And if the reader ever got complacent with the gore, it's brought back home again.
- Overall, she just felt a lot like a real person, tryna do the right thing, keep herself human, protect her sister, whilst also dealing with own desires. I liked that there was no perfect ending, though it was still hopeful. Tana has a plan, a sister to go back to, Aidan's going to be okay and the big bad, Lucien, was defeated. Gavriel and Tana might have a future together or probably not, but he's what she needs in the moment, which is someone a bit too dark and fucked up to be healthy, but exactly what she needs to survive.
- The shots of humour in there were also great, and I liked the worldbuilding a lot. The premise isn't the most original thing, it's how it was carried off that really made it special.
Cons:
- Maybe i was never fully convinced by Gavriel's reason for being attracted to Tana, but there were reasons given and they weren't bad ones.
- I don't know?? maybe i didn't LOVE Tana or tear-up when the bad shit went down, but honestly I was racing through it and enjoyed every bit.
All in all, a thrilling angst-fest that definitely makes me want to read more Holly Black.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Extraordinary Dogs by Elizabeth Wilhide
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Very good!
pros:
- informative and interesting, written in a very readable style with plenty of pleasant pictures
- the facts, data and science that was in there was interesting and most of it was new to me
- a great variety of dogs' jobs were included, and the ones to preserve the environment were particularly new to me
- though the terminology wasn't quite up to date in terms of political correctness, i didn't feel it was ableist in its descriptions of autistic people and people with disabilities
cons:
- a touch repetitive at times, perhaps because the book is meant to be dipped in and out of, rather than read straight through
- also likely aimed as younger audiences, as the science and facts were put in simplified terms and most of it was written in generally informative language rather than academic, with lots of statistics. I might have liked a bit more science, to show exactly how and why dogs react the way they do
- could also have gotten into dogs' training and how exactly they learn
- while the variety of subjects was good, it did seem to jump around with the chapter topics, between working dogs and pet dogs, pretty randomly
All in all, could have been specific and organised, but a quick, interesting read :)
pros:
- informative and interesting, written in a very readable style with plenty of pleasant pictures
- the facts, data and science that was in there was interesting and most of it was new to me
- a great variety of dogs' jobs were included, and the ones to preserve the environment were particularly new to me
- though the terminology wasn't quite up to date in terms of political correctness, i didn't feel it was ableist in its descriptions of autistic people and people with disabilities
cons:
- a touch repetitive at times, perhaps because the book is meant to be dipped in and out of, rather than read straight through
- also likely aimed as younger audiences, as the science and facts were put in simplified terms and most of it was written in generally informative language rather than academic, with lots of statistics. I might have liked a bit more science, to show exactly how and why dogs react the way they do
- could also have gotten into dogs' training and how exactly they learn
- while the variety of subjects was good, it did seem to jump around with the chapter topics, between working dogs and pet dogs, pretty randomly
All in all, could have been specific and organised, but a quick, interesting read :)
The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
2.0
Probably being a bit harsh with the star rating but, whilst the book has useful bits I didn't think it deserved a 3.
Pros:
- Interesting concepts about community, cosiness, happiness and hygge, which has elements of all of those. Talks about the importance of food, lighting, company, safety, quiet, the weather and preparation for events, and about taking time to enjoy the small things, and to set up opportunities for that enjoyment.
- was a light read, very comprehensible, not much text compared to pictures and diagrams. Personal anecdotes and lighthearted asides included, and stats were always presented well.
Cons:
- highly repetitive and became boring. Got very sick of the word 'hygge' and all the cringey adjacent words just by how much the writer needlessly uses them. A lot of the concepts were repeated in different sections, or very similar ideas presented.
- could have been much better structured. Felt to me like a half-baked essay, with little chunks of ideas dotted around and little flow or coherency. It was all pretty basic, too, with not much in the way of application to the broader context. I would loved more about controversies of hygge, history of it, how it might differ between genders or generations, etc. It was very very briefly touched on that Denmark is not welcome to foreigners and it takes work to get into tight friend groups, but this was only a couple of sentences. I understand that the author probably didn't want to make the book too heavy or make the reading of it 'uncosy' by bringing in topics like xenophobia, but it would have made it far more interesting, and less patronising and basic.
- whilst being so easy to read, i did get bored enough that I nearly DNF for a good few weeks, even though the end only took me a few hours to read.
Overall, a fun book but could've been half the side with some editing to reduce repetition and improve the flow. Nicely presented but not very rigorous or entertaining for long periods.
Pros:
- Interesting concepts about community, cosiness, happiness and hygge, which has elements of all of those. Talks about the importance of food, lighting, company, safety, quiet, the weather and preparation for events, and about taking time to enjoy the small things, and to set up opportunities for that enjoyment.
- was a light read, very comprehensible, not much text compared to pictures and diagrams. Personal anecdotes and lighthearted asides included, and stats were always presented well.
Cons:
- highly repetitive and became boring. Got very sick of the word 'hygge' and all the cringey adjacent words just by how much the writer needlessly uses them. A lot of the concepts were repeated in different sections, or very similar ideas presented.
- could have been much better structured. Felt to me like a half-baked essay, with little chunks of ideas dotted around and little flow or coherency. It was all pretty basic, too, with not much in the way of application to the broader context. I would loved more about controversies of hygge, history of it, how it might differ between genders or generations, etc. It was very very briefly touched on that Denmark is not welcome to foreigners and it takes work to get into tight friend groups, but this was only a couple of sentences. I understand that the author probably didn't want to make the book too heavy or make the reading of it 'uncosy' by bringing in topics like xenophobia, but it would have made it far more interesting, and less patronising and basic.
- whilst being so easy to read, i did get bored enough that I nearly DNF for a good few weeks, even though the end only took me a few hours to read.
Overall, a fun book but could've been half the side with some editing to reduce repetition and improve the flow. Nicely presented but not very rigorous or entertaining for long periods.