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christine3's review against another edition
2.0
I expected more than a general overview of what we already knew presented in the Finnish lifestyle.
barareads's review against another edition
2.0
This book was very bland. Can't exactly call it boring (although at times it so was) as it read really easily and actually contained some useful info, however all that I consider useful could have fit in a medium length article. Maybe that way, the author wouldn't need to add so much unnecessary stuff and repeat herself so much. Unfortunately, I'm in a mood to make a top 3 list of the worst things in this book in my opinion. It's just one of those days. So.
Third worst thing is the sense of privilege that the author has that was present at all times and was attacking me while I read... This one is completely subjective, but it's my review and my experience. And my experience was that this book reads as, among other things, a brochure advertising life in Finland to people in America. Maybe it's dumb of me to interpret it this way, but I couldn't get this out of my mind. And I am so well aware of what life in Finland is like it's literally insane, but I'd have to win the lottery or get famous or something to be able to afford living there, given where I'm from and the level of education that I have. I was just annoyed at all the "hey guys, you think living in America is the dream, but look at this, this is even better" while I'm here dreaming of being able to move to Kazakhstan... Yeah, I sound so horrible, I know. But I'm not usually like this with books, actually in many of them I read about people living the good life, and it never feels like this.
Second worst thing here was the very questionable correspondence of the text to the name and the premise of the book. I've heard the word 'sisu' from my Finnish friends a couple of times, and it was used once in a joking manner, once as a word for resilience, perseverence and stuff - so like a translation or just a similar concept that can't be translated directly. But the author makes it sound like there's some magical essence to it, like it's a superpower and somthing that non-Finns cannot even comprehend. Like, it's not just resilience and mental strengh and hightened willingness to not give up, it's more, you don't get it... We do get it though. It's those things, but in Finland they have another word for them. And yeah, about how the contents don't really match the name - it's basically a consequence of her blowing up the sisu thing without actually being able to describe it in more than a few constanly repeated phrases. At some point it became just a book about what life in Finland is like in some specific areas that deal with well-being and stuff... and the attempts to tie it all to the sisu thing were not always successful, felt far-fetched and not really fitting.
And, of course, the worst thing was... the writing. Yes, that simple. It was just super repetitive, simplistic, kind of artless and low key inarticulate. It was easy to read, way too easy in my opinion, and even the parts that had actual substance read like filler. Another annoying indicator of poor writing quality were those constant references to terms, events and personalities that featured in the text, and they felt extremely inauthentic and forced, like these awkward passages copypasted from Wikipedia appearing in the middle of narration that was going smoothly without them.
I know I'm a little (a lot?) prejudiced here because I generally don't like self-help books and these types of non-fiction, but I tried to take it all into account and still was disappointed.
Good things: I was convinced of the benefits of winter swimming and biking, would like to partake in these because they sound fun as heck, especially the former.
Third worst thing is the sense of privilege that the author has that was present at all times and was attacking me while I read... This one is completely subjective, but it's my review and my experience. And my experience was that this book reads as, among other things, a brochure advertising life in Finland to people in America. Maybe it's dumb of me to interpret it this way, but I couldn't get this out of my mind. And I am so well aware of what life in Finland is like it's literally insane, but I'd have to win the lottery or get famous or something to be able to afford living there, given where I'm from and the level of education that I have. I was just annoyed at all the "hey guys, you think living in America is the dream, but look at this, this is even better" while I'm here dreaming of being able to move to Kazakhstan... Yeah, I sound so horrible, I know. But I'm not usually like this with books, actually in many of them I read about people living the good life, and it never feels like this.
Second worst thing here was the very questionable correspondence of the text to the name and the premise of the book. I've heard the word 'sisu' from my Finnish friends a couple of times, and it was used once in a joking manner, once as a word for resilience, perseverence and stuff - so like a translation or just a similar concept that can't be translated directly. But the author makes it sound like there's some magical essence to it, like it's a superpower and somthing that non-Finns cannot even comprehend. Like, it's not just resilience and mental strengh and hightened willingness to not give up, it's more, you don't get it... We do get it though. It's those things, but in Finland they have another word for them. And yeah, about how the contents don't really match the name - it's basically a consequence of her blowing up the sisu thing without actually being able to describe it in more than a few constanly repeated phrases. At some point it became just a book about what life in Finland is like in some specific areas that deal with well-being and stuff... and the attempts to tie it all to the sisu thing were not always successful, felt far-fetched and not really fitting.
And, of course, the worst thing was... the writing. Yes, that simple. It was just super repetitive, simplistic, kind of artless and low key inarticulate. It was easy to read, way too easy in my opinion, and even the parts that had actual substance read like filler. Another annoying indicator of poor writing quality were those constant references to terms, events and personalities that featured in the text, and they felt extremely inauthentic and forced, like these awkward passages copypasted from Wikipedia appearing in the middle of narration that was going smoothly without them.
I know I'm a little (a lot?) prejudiced here because I generally don't like self-help books and these types of non-fiction, but I tried to take it all into account and still was disappointed.
Good things: I was convinced of the benefits of winter swimming and biking, would like to partake in these because they sound fun as heck, especially the former.
teklagyorgy's review
4.0
http://www.teklakonyvei.hu/2018/10/katja-pantzar-sisu-es-en.html
Ez a könyv messze kitűnik a sok képes, rövid leírásos kötet közül, ahol inkább az életérzés visszaadása a cél, a Sisu és énben viszont az életmódbeli különbségek jótékony hatása az, ami meggyőzi az olvasót, hogy szuper hely Finnország. Nekem mindezek mellett nagyon tetszett az is, ahogyan a finneket is egy kicsit jobban megismertette a kötet, és gyakorlatilag sorról sorra győzött meg, hogy ha élni nem is, de ellátogatni muszáj ebbe a fagyos országba, ott pedig minden elsőre bizarrnak tűnő jóságot ki kell próbálni.
Ez a könyv messze kitűnik a sok képes, rövid leírásos kötet közül, ahol inkább az életérzés visszaadása a cél, a Sisu és énben viszont az életmódbeli különbségek jótékony hatása az, ami meggyőzi az olvasót, hogy szuper hely Finnország. Nekem mindezek mellett nagyon tetszett az is, ahogyan a finneket is egy kicsit jobban megismertette a kötet, és gyakorlatilag sorról sorra győzött meg, hogy ha élni nem is, de ellátogatni muszáj ebbe a fagyos országba, ott pedig minden elsőre bizarrnak tűnő jóságot ki kell próbálni.
c_sandman's review against another edition
3.0
I got this book from my Finnish family's family reunion! I had heard of Sisu, but this book helped me further understand this topic, as well as hear more about the Finnish culture and lifestyle. I especially appreciated the look into the mentality of the Finnish people and the commitment to a healthy lifestyle (mind & body).
awildernessofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read a few books on Nordic culture and found this to be the best one so far. I genuinely found myself wanting to keep reading and enjoyed the mix of storytelling and practical application suggestions. I can say that this book actually changed some of my daily habits and the way I think about holistic health.