Michael Lewis' new book Boomerang is proof that American novelists really love national stereotypes
Despite all that, I really enjoyed the book.
It's not really that new either and even thought it's topical it's definitely still worth a read. And that's the case even if you have little to no experience or even interest in the GFC, as it now seems to be affectionately called.
You might remember that, along with Lehman Brothers, Iceland was a first chip to fall in the GFC. Here are a few notes/stereotypes from the chapter on Iceland that I found most amusing. Having been there this past weekend for a wedding I've added my own conclusions afterwards.
Iceland
Many Icelanders believe in the existence of so-called hidden people, or elves. [This is cool enough that I purposely avoided asking questions that might disprove it.]
All Icelanders know Bjork. [Met some people that regularly saw her at the pool. Met others who just knew where she lived (a house painted completely black with swans in the windows). Spotting Icelandic celebrities in Reykjavik seems as easy as knowing who they are.]
Icelandic women appear to lack a genuine connection to Icelandic men. (Since I was there for a wedding between two natives, I can say that this one appears to be a bit of an exaggeration at best.]
Icelandic men like stubble. [Unequivocally.]
You know how when two people (usually males) are walking towards each other on the sidewalk, and both refuse to adjust their path or the trajectory of their shoulders to avoid bumping into each other? Apparently Icelandic men seek out the contact. [Didn't have any problems.]
And now for a couple of my own preconceptions with comments having actually experienced the place:
Icelandair seems like an awesome airline. [No, it's not.]
Icelandic people eat strange food, like sheep brain. [I think so. Strangest thing I ate was whale sashimi.]
It looks like mars there. [It looks like mars there.]
It's not really that new either and even thought it's topical it's definitely still worth a read. And that's the case even if you have little to no experience or even interest in the GFC, as it now seems to be affectionately called.
You might remember that, along with Lehman Brothers, Iceland was a first chip to fall in the GFC. Here are a few notes/stereotypes from the chapter on Iceland that I found most amusing. Having been there this past weekend for a wedding I've added my own conclusions afterwards.
Iceland
Many Icelanders believe in the existence of so-called hidden people, or elves. [This is cool enough that I purposely avoided asking questions that might disprove it.]
All Icelanders know Bjork. [Met some people that regularly saw her at the pool. Met others who just knew where she lived (a house painted completely black with swans in the windows). Spotting Icelandic celebrities in Reykjavik seems as easy as knowing who they are.]
Icelandic women appear to lack a genuine connection to Icelandic men. (Since I was there for a wedding between two natives, I can say that this one appears to be a bit of an exaggeration at best.]
Icelandic men like stubble. [Unequivocally.]
You know how when two people (usually males) are walking towards each other on the sidewalk, and both refuse to adjust their path or the trajectory of their shoulders to avoid bumping into each other? Apparently Icelandic men seek out the contact. [Didn't have any problems.]
And now for a couple of my own preconceptions with comments having actually experienced the place:
Icelandair seems like an awesome airline. [No, it's not.]
Icelandic people eat strange food, like sheep brain. [I think so. Strangest thing I ate was whale sashimi.]
It looks like mars there. [It looks like mars there.]
No comments:
Post a Comment