Goal of the day: 662 words. Written: 297.
Where to start... The idea of this book is very cool. To tell about Finland and Finns to children (and adults) who don't know anything about this country, like me? Amazing!
I'm just not sure why the author chose to talk about the things she does.
- Why are sexist jokes about blondes with captions from the series "Well, catch me, type?" scattered among really interesting and unique stories.
- Why are transcripts from Wikipedia placed among interesting photos and facts, as if, well, someone wanting to know about her wouldn't go there first? (Or maybe it really doesn't work? I don't know, maybe it's just a source of knowledge for my age group).
- Why is it that among the cultural differences and similarities that Finns and Lithuanians can boast of, there are always statements directly humiliating one or the other nation. (Maybe I didn't like Lithuanians called idiots and alcoholics-all-like-us Finns).
I will warn you right away that I read the book of the 2005 edition. Perhaps in the updated version published in 2016 (where most of the facts were updated, it seems) such statements of a dubious style were reviewed.
Design: 9/10. The illustrations and the inside of the book are very cool! The text is legible, comfortable. It is true that the cover paper could be better - the corners of the book have already folded. Etc.
Writing style: 3/10. Reminds me of a newspaper. Maybe because the author is a "Lietuvos ryto" journalist. One way or another, if it wasn't about an unknown country, it would be insanely boring to read...
Book Content: 7/10. While it's full of the nonsense mentioned a moment ago, there's also some pretty exceptional content!
If until now you only knew about the Finns and Finland that it is cold there, that there are many lakes and therefore mosquitoes, that Lapland is the land of fairy tales about trolls and Santa Claus, read this book.
Journalist Laima Lavaste put in some work to tell about Finland and its people. There wasn't a lot of work, but it wasn't a little either.
True, there were also Finnish jokes in the book. Here's one I like:
Pekka returns home after six weeks of hunting. There is a knock on the door.
- What is out there? - asks the wife.
"Of course I am, Pekka." You better guess what I'm knocking.
not finnish
Daniel