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A review by dingakaa
The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well by Louisa Thomsen Brits
1.0
I feel bad for what I am about to say because the author seems very passionate about the topic and is making a donation to those who are under-housed for every copy sold. Nevertheless, here goes...
This is not a good book. Brits does a poor job of giving it a direction. The subtitle ("the Danish art of living well") indicates there will be some exploration or explanation of what the art itself is. However, there is no real historical exploration save for a few early paragraphs that don't do the subject any justice. Early in the first paragraph, she writes, "throughout this book, there are suggestions on how to weave Hygge into daily life." This is an understatement; there are so many suggestions strung together through 187 pages which robs the book of any boundaries or focus.
I might be a salty because Brits is not one to use an Oxford comma, which is particularly painful when the book is chock full of lists filled with flowery language. However, if this is where my complaints ended, I would simply state the author has a writing style that isn't for me. But... there's more.
The book, in short, is word salad. Brits combines words and imagery that frankly don't make any sense. One gets the impression she is trying to inspire or uplift and it just doesn't work. For the parts where my eyes didn't glaze over, the meaning of the sentences was more often than not difficult to extract.
When she does manage to avoid metaphor or abstract imagery, her writing is painfully repetitive. At times it becomes contradictory as she tries to give examples of what Hygge is to fit a chapter. On other occasions, the title or subtitles of a chapter are in no way related to the writing that follows.
Unfortunately, she also has the habit of discussing Danes as a monolith instead of Hygge itself, painting the entire group with a broad brush that makes Denmark's citizens seem like automatons of cosiness.
The book does have some standout parts, but none of these are good:
- (p. 133) "Danes regularly express gratitude and satisfaction without lacquering it in mawkish sentiment." This smacks of irony as this entire book is best described as "mawkish sentiment."
- (p. 145) "The naked togetherness and heat of a sauna, or bathing alone outside in warm water, enveloped by dusk, green leaves and birdsong, both dissolves our boundaries and holds us in intimacy." My first thought while reading this was "where can anyone bathe in warm water outdoors in Denmark?" She answered my question by placing a picture of a bathtub in the middle of the woods with a fire under it on the opposing page. I shit you a not. A bathtub. Outside. With a fire under it.
- (p.156) There is a quote on this page by Ludwig Wittgenstein which made me laugh out loud because my only thoughts conjured at the thought of him are anguish, self-flagellation, and asceticism.
This brings me to my last issue: the quotes. At first, it seemed all the quotes were directly related to Hygge and I found myself thinking "Yikes, the quotes are the best reading in this book." However, it soon became clear she was inserting quotes as long as they were even only minimally related to the topic at hand. The quoted person was often in no way related to Denmark or Hygge itself. And this, to me, is the crux of the issue. This book is more concerned with making an artistic impact than delivering anything of substance. Unfortunately, it fails to do even this.
This is not a good book. Brits does a poor job of giving it a direction. The subtitle ("the Danish art of living well") indicates there will be some exploration or explanation of what the art itself is. However, there is no real historical exploration save for a few early paragraphs that don't do the subject any justice. Early in the first paragraph, she writes, "throughout this book, there are suggestions on how to weave Hygge into daily life." This is an understatement; there are so many suggestions strung together through 187 pages which robs the book of any boundaries or focus.
I might be a salty because Brits is not one to use an Oxford comma, which is particularly painful when the book is chock full of lists filled with flowery language. However, if this is where my complaints ended, I would simply state the author has a writing style that isn't for me. But... there's more.
The book, in short, is word salad. Brits combines words and imagery that frankly don't make any sense. One gets the impression she is trying to inspire or uplift and it just doesn't work. For the parts where my eyes didn't glaze over, the meaning of the sentences was more often than not difficult to extract.
When she does manage to avoid metaphor or abstract imagery, her writing is painfully repetitive. At times it becomes contradictory as she tries to give examples of what Hygge is to fit a chapter. On other occasions, the title or subtitles of a chapter are in no way related to the writing that follows.
Unfortunately, she also has the habit of discussing Danes as a monolith instead of Hygge itself, painting the entire group with a broad brush that makes Denmark's citizens seem like automatons of cosiness.
The book does have some standout parts, but none of these are good:
- (p. 133) "Danes regularly express gratitude and satisfaction without lacquering it in mawkish sentiment." This smacks of irony as this entire book is best described as "mawkish sentiment."
- (p. 145) "The naked togetherness and heat of a sauna, or bathing alone outside in warm water, enveloped by dusk, green leaves and birdsong, both dissolves our boundaries and holds us in intimacy." My first thought while reading this was "where can anyone bathe in warm water outdoors in Denmark?" She answered my question by placing a picture of a bathtub in the middle of the woods with a fire under it on the opposing page. I shit you a not. A bathtub. Outside. With a fire under it.
- (p.156) There is a quote on this page by Ludwig Wittgenstein which made me laugh out loud because my only thoughts conjured at the thought of him are anguish, self-flagellation, and asceticism.
This brings me to my last issue: the quotes. At first, it seemed all the quotes were directly related to Hygge and I found myself thinking "Yikes, the quotes are the best reading in this book." However, it soon became clear she was inserting quotes as long as they were even only minimally related to the topic at hand. The quoted person was often in no way related to Denmark or Hygge itself. And this, to me, is the crux of the issue. This book is more concerned with making an artistic impact than delivering anything of substance. Unfortunately, it fails to do even this.