101 Very Finnish Problems Softback

Name: 101 Very Finnish Problems Softback
Brand: Very Finnish Problems
SKU: B-VFP-02-20-8-20-2019
Price: 22.95 EUR
Availability: InStock

3 total reviews

€22,95 EUR

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Paperback, posted free anywhere in the world
Short, sharp essays on what life in Finland is really like
A gift for anyone who lives in, loves or married into Finland

Buy it with More Very Finnish Problems and the second book is 20% off, so the pair costs €41,31 instead of €45,90.

Finland is one of the world's most extraordinary countries and one of the least understood. Joel Willans has been trying to explain it since 2002, when he left Britain for Helsinki and found a culture so bafflingly different from his own that the only sensible response was to write it down. 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 is actually like to live in, visit or be romantically involved with Finland. It covers the unwritten laws of the sauna, the existential weight of sitting next to someone on a bus, the nation's heroic relationship with coffee and the quiet thrill of a red pedestrian light with nobody watching. It is affectionate, dry and accurate in the way only twenty-odd years of bemused observation can be.

“A fantastically funny book. My 102nd very Finnish problem was that it ended too soon.” (André Wickström, comedian)

If you know someone who lives in Finland, is moving to Finland or married into a family that treats silence as a full conversation, this is the book. It ships free anywhere in the world, with no small talk included.

Look inside

Here are two passages from the book, set big enough to read on a phone.

When ice tries to kill you

If you survive the random ice spears, you should also watch out for the pavement. What on a sun-kissed day is a mundane path of tarmac, in winter becomes a silver sheet of slippery potential pain. Don’t be lulled by the speed at which Finns cruise down the street. Without their scarily innate sense of balance, you’ll be faceplanting in no time. Stay low to the ground and ignore the 85-year-old woman whizzing past with a look of confusion as she spies you creeping like a rheumatic tortoise. The pain of humiliation is nothing compared to sliding, toboggan like, down the hill on your arse. In short, always be wary of winter.

This is problem number seven.

When your trolley is too small for the booze you bought in Tallinn

You only need to go on the ferry to the Estonian capital Tallinn, the home of wallet-friendly booze binges for Finns, to see why that might be. Like kids suddenly given the key to a candy store after being rationed one salmiakki a week, Finns go mad for their drink when it’s cheap and plentiful. Imagine Black Friday, but for booze, and you get the idea.

This is problem number eleven.

Delivery and returns

Shipping is free to anywhere in the world, with no minimum spend and nothing added at checkout.

If anything is wrong with your book, email joel@veryfinnishproblems.com within 30 days and we will sort it out. The refund policy has the full details.

Who wrote it

Joel Willans is the author of 101 Very Finnish Problems and More Very Finnish Problems. He has lived in Finland since 2002, married into the place, raised two Finnish children and still cannot roll an r. Very Finnish Problems reaches more than 1.3 million followers across six social channels.

Read Joel's story

5 stars: 2 (67%)
4 stars: 1 (33%)
3 stars: 0 (0%)
2 stars: 0 (0%)
1 star: 0 (0%)

For someone who used to live in Finland and misses it dearly (me), this book is wonderful! It brought me so much nostalgia and joy! A smile, a lot of nods, and reading parts to my partner who too nods and laughs. Definitely recommend this book if in any way you're connected to Suomi.

I receive visitors from different countries. I often need to ansvered their questions. It’s nice to hand this (positively humoristic) book for them after answering their acute need of practical information.

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 😂😂

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101 Very Finnish Problems Softback