Nah, I haven't. I managed to snag a male Finn, and that's quite enough for me at the moment. My husband apparently had some trouble with this task himself, however, as he had to dip into the genetically inferior pool of eligible American woman in order to find a lady.
This book is rather harsh on Finnish men, and on Finns in general. It espouses the usual stereotypes and covers very little intellectual property that hasn't already been rightfully claimed by Roman Schatz . The author seems to think that the book's acerbic tone is some sort of novelty -- as if there hasn't ever before been someone with the guts to call the Finns out on their cold weather, hot women, bad food, and propensity toward alcoholism. Wow, if only some foreigner would comment on Finnish culture with a caustic yet affectionate affectation. It's been done before, thanks.
The book is funny, though. It has a lot of very decent witticisms and jabs that are both humorous and insightful. The thing is, that's all this book really manages to be; in fact, a large portion of the book is interrupted by a series of Schwarzmann's tweets. I don't have a problem with that method per se, but the book's cohesive vision, while present, is pretty damn dull and unoriginal. Given this overarching flaw, I'd think it would behoove Phil Schwarzmann to weave his best jokes into the narrative, to the extent that there is one, rather than to sling them at us one by one, hoping they'll impress us.
I don't know. My perspective is different than Schwarzmann's. For one thing, I'm what he claims is an anomaly -- I'm a woman of some first-world descent who moved here for love. I mean, Finnish women are intelligent, strong, and physically attractive whereas Finnish men are drunk, socially inept, and emotionally unavailable. If one is to move to Finland for love (or sex) it's more likely to be for a woman (and not a man), right? God, could those stereotypes be any older?
Whatever. Listen, Schwarzmann, I'll give you what I think I owe you: Finnish women are some beautiful, high caliber women. Finnish culture is idiosyncratic and worth writing about. Winter is inevitably sucky. The True Finns are weird. [Hey, are they really any more racist than the American Republicans?] You're a funny guy. Maybe your next book will be a little more "novel." Don't actually write a novel, though.
And I'm just glad I figured out How to Marry a Finnish Boy.
This book is rather harsh on Finnish men, and on Finns in general. It espouses the usual stereotypes and covers very little intellectual property that hasn't already been rightfully claimed by Roman Schatz . The author seems to think that the book's acerbic tone is some sort of novelty -- as if there hasn't ever before been someone with the guts to call the Finns out on their cold weather, hot women, bad food, and propensity toward alcoholism. Wow, if only some foreigner would comment on Finnish culture with a caustic yet affectionate affectation. It's been done before, thanks.
The book is funny, though. It has a lot of very decent witticisms and jabs that are both humorous and insightful. The thing is, that's all this book really manages to be; in fact, a large portion of the book is interrupted by a series of Schwarzmann's tweets. I don't have a problem with that method per se, but the book's cohesive vision, while present, is pretty damn dull and unoriginal. Given this overarching flaw, I'd think it would behoove Phil Schwarzmann to weave his best jokes into the narrative, to the extent that there is one, rather than to sling them at us one by one, hoping they'll impress us.
I don't know. My perspective is different than Schwarzmann's. For one thing, I'm what he claims is an anomaly -- I'm a woman of some first-world descent who moved here for love. I mean, Finnish women are intelligent, strong, and physically attractive whereas Finnish men are drunk, socially inept, and emotionally unavailable. If one is to move to Finland for love (or sex) it's more likely to be for a woman (and not a man), right? God, could those stereotypes be any older?
Whatever. Listen, Schwarzmann, I'll give you what I think I owe you: Finnish women are some beautiful, high caliber women. Finnish culture is idiosyncratic and worth writing about. Winter is inevitably sucky. The True Finns are weird. [Hey, are they really any more racist than the American Republicans?] You're a funny guy. Maybe your next book will be a little more "novel." Don't actually write a novel, though.
And I'm just glad I figured out How to Marry a Finnish Boy.
Elena, I totally agree with your review. After posting my own comments on the book (http://telefinn.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-how-to-marry-finnish-girl.html), I began to think I might be a lone voice. Now I know my view was not unique.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Olli. I guess I had been hoping for some new stuff on Finnish culture. It's in there, but mostly in the form of one liners. I'm glad you agree!
ReplyDeleteHiya! Thanks for the review! "The book is funny..." ...that's all I was trying to achieve, and I'm glad you got some LOLz out of it. Trust me, I'm the last person who'd be writing anything serious and meaningful. :-)
ReplyDeleteFair enough. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Elena, thanks for stopping by my site to say hello! Are we an anomoly if there's two of us here? Fellow New Englander married to Finnish boy. This is the first I've heard of Phil's book. I'll definitely have to check it out. I haven't written about contemporary Finland, but have spent so much time digging into the history that I have a new vision of the Finnish culture I didn't possess beforehand. I'd like to refine your statement to sometimes caustic always affectionate because isnt' that the way it is?
ReplyDeleteDeb, I thought you might've been from New England based on your description of autumn. Nice to know there are two of us. I was beginning to feel a little anomaly-like. :)
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