Finland is one of the world's most extraordinary countries. It's also one of the least understood. Joel Willans has been trying to explain it since 2002, when he left Britain for Helsinki and discovered a culture so fascinatingly, bafflingly different from his own that the only sensible response was to document it.
The result has found readers in dozens of countries.
101 Very Finnish Problems: The Foreigner's Guide to Surviving in Finland is a collection of short, sharp essays on what it's actually like to live in, visit, or be romantically involved with Finland, from the unwritten laws of the sauna to the existential weight of sitting next to someone on a bus, from the nation's heroic relationship with coffee to the quiet thrill of a red pedestrian light with nobody watching. It's affectionate, dry and accurate in the way that only 20-odd years of bemused observation can produce.
"A fantastically funny book. My 102nd very Finnish problem was that it ended too soon." — André Wickström, comedian
This edition is personally signed by Joel Willans. If you know someone who lives in Finland, is moving to Finland, is Finnish and wants to see themselves described with uncomfortable accuracy, or simply married into a family that views silence as a full conversation, this is the book.
Ships from Helsinki. Signed by the author. No small talk included.
Absolutely a MUST read if you have plans to visit Finland or have Finnish friends. It explains so much that as a Brit I found odd ! Really well written with humour and fun galore by someone who obviously knows the Finnish oddities in life 😂😂
Designed in Helsinki by someone who actually lives here
Very Finnish Problems is run by Joel Willans, a British writer who moved to Finland over twenty years ago and never quite got around to leaving. Every design comes out of real Finnish life he's had with his Finnish wife, Anna and their kids, and a community of more than 1.3 million people who know exactly what no niin means.
