The Xenophobe's Guide to the Norwegians

The Xenophobe's Guide

by Dan Elloway

The Norwegian man-hug is more a show of strength than a greeting and is usually a painful experience for the smaller of the two.

There is nothing more important to Norwegians than enjoying the great outdoors. Happily, they have a lot of outdoors to enjoy.

Foreigners brought up with the belief that relaxing involves lounging on the sofa may find leisure time in Norway challenging.

What makes the Norwegians Norwegian? A witty guide to the views and values that shows why their way is the Norway.
What makes the Norwegians A witty guide to the views and values that shows why their way is the Norway - See more

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Humor

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2013

Reviews

[Line · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly entertaining read! As a Norwegian I don't agree that everything in this book fits the general population, but some parts had me laughing out loud because I recognized it so well.

[kaluchovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ja wiem, że to wszystko jest dość tendencyjne i mocno subiektywne, ale ta książka zawiera wszystko, czego oczekuję od tego typu pozycji.
Nawet jeżeli opisane tu stereotypy można faktycznie podciągnąć do (dajmy na to) 10-15% społeczeństwa, to i tak dowiedziałem się czegoś nowego i innego od tego, co mi znane.
Lekka, zabawna, zwięzła. Polecam każdemu bez wyjątku.

[Mashed Potato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of the stay home reading rush 2020 challenge! (Prompt: Read a book set somewhere you wish you could go)

Fy faen, this told me everything I needed to know about Norway

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those days I will read the whole series and it will be awesome.

what I'm taking with me
• I really would love to visit Norway
• I'm curious about the author's life and how he had the chance to live in so many different places.
• Dialects will never not confuse me.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at another Scandinavian race...

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant laugh out loud for any person encountering norwegians.

[Giulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

as a norwegian in norway I found this hilarious and on point!

[Outdoors Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous, simple introduction to the people and customs. The content is light so don't expect a deep understating without further research.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For now, the most interesting book in the series!

[Gordana Vuckovic-Glusac]

Amusing, but questionable...

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite interesting

[Beverly Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining book. As someone living in Norway for a number of years, there are some things and behaviors that I never noticed are just specifically for Norwegians. I thought that’s just how normal people are. This book gave me the insights and explanations why they are who they are, although I do not entirely agree on everything the author wrote hence the 4 stars. It’s funny because most of what I read here rings true to the core. 👌🏻👍🏻

[Katharina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be put off by the title! The small book is a funny account of stereotypes about Norwegians. Having travelled Norway for three weeks this summer, I must admit I did encounter a lot of the described phenomena :D However, there's still plenty of pretty bizarre info in the booklet.

[Ada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny and fairly accurate. Some parts definitely apply more to middle aged rural folks than to young urbanites like me, but I’ll definitely share some passages from this book with my foreign friends.

[Melissa Helton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, quick read that covers the idiosyncrasies and stereotypes of Norwegian culture and society. It can be hard at times to know what is fact and what is a joke if you don't already know, but that's the nature of humor.

[Nyleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and informative!

[Filip Sekkelsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Elloway tar mange fasetter av norsk kultur på kornet, og informerer på en morsom måte hvordan det er å leve i Norge. Noen ting er overdrevet, andre er feil, men stort sett er det veldig riktig!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty! Fun! it’s entertaining to not know how true all of the author’s information is.

[Andrew Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty take on the lovely people we met in Norway. Perceptive look at our northern neighbours with great cultural insight. Recommend this to anyone who has or is going to make the trip to Norway.

[Thea · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing book

[Sam Dodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sharp but had me laughing out loud in multiple points.

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and worth a read. Quite funny and useful.

[Maria Isabel Chang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining book to read, although I found that many statements in the book are not actually representative; it was a great resource for me, an ex-pat living in Norway.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, funny, wish it were longer 🇳🇴

[Caity C · Rating 5 out of 5]

hilarious. insightful

[Michael G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, not bad. Perhaps a Norwegian needs to tell me if this is deeply cringe? But it is worth the £1.

[Svitlana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny to read and, of course, as any short book on a specific culture it is oversimplified, but many of the points one can relate to

[Cristina E. Lozano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conciso, acertado y divertido. Excelente manual para comprender las claves del día a día noruego, desde qué es un russ hasta la importancia de la naturaleza sin olvidar gastronomía, sistema educativo o idiomas, entre otras muchas cosas. Muy recomendable si vas a viajar en Noruega y no quieres quedarte solo con 'qué bonito es el paisaje'.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly funny, nice short read

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very humorous look at the people I have desended from. Makes me want to go to Norway. And it made me want to read other books in this series.