Maya Thoresen

Hygge is obviously a far-reaching lifestyle craze, popular for anyone who likes the idea of a warm, comfy life in front of a fireplace that’s compatible with nature (Footnote for Londoners: nature is a place where logs come from). This is a very short book which does encapsulate the principle but I was expecting there to be rather more to it. I mean, cynically, if I heard about the topicality of this lifestyle, did a couple of days of online research, wrote the key components up as an essay and published it under a nom de plume that sounded authentically Danish, would the result be any different to what we have here? I didn’t get the sense that the author had lived the life – perhaps they have learned it all through personal experience but that feeling didn’t glow off the page enough to create the essential air of infectious enthusiasm. Disciples and gurus should walk barefoot through the world living and breathing the soul of their message. Even so, the information itself was included. Right, now here’s a puzzle for reviewers: Should your rating of a book, how much you thought it was a good example of its type, be affected by how much you associate with the (pretty obvious) observations it makes and which you probably already have happy thoughts about? The friendly, snuggly warmth of wool clothes can make you feel happier. Having time for each other and listening improves your relationship. Hot chocolate in front of the fire on winter evenings feels good too. Home baking. Walks in the forest glades and out through the pretty scenery. Saint Paul of Tarsus, it isn’t. Then again, it does relate the subject in it component categories, it’s clear enough what to do and it is also a valid self-help approach to improve your lifestyle. So that’s good, isn’t it? Round peg, round hole. What I took from this is that Danish people apply the dreamy comforts that encourage happiness and that the rest of us do already know what they are but consistently fail to apply them. We give our pets comfortable, soft surroundings but not ourselves. Wacky. Okay, let’s be comfortable, calm down and re-engage with nature. That’s old wisdom, eternal common sense, not something newly discovered. No one can blame the author for this as they’ve fulfilled their remit of outlining what Hygge is and what you need to do to get something from it. If you are a hyper-active, nervous, status-aware, city-infesting work junkie, you can read this, take culture shock on the chin and re-learn a lot of feelings and humanity you’ve forgotten. That would be good for you and those in your orbit who have to put up with your soul-less antics. Become a better person through the Danish art of happiness. It’s a rediscovery of childhood happiness though, not a surprising new insight.… (altro)