The Secret Norwegian Volume One

The Secret Norwegian Volume One

By Anthony King

​Paperback & Kindle
639 Pages
6″ x 9″ (15.24 x 22.86cm)
ISBN: 9781916088740
BISAC: Nonfiction/Travel/Psychology

About the book

Norway – one of the happiest places on earth? For many years, the Nordic countries have dominated the top spots on the UN’s ‘World Happiness Report’ but does living in one of the world’s happiest places mean its residents are the world’s happiest people or is there something hidden behind the facade of conformity? Anthony King sets out to uncover the truth behind the lauded ‘Nordic lifestyle’ by persuading 350 Norwegians to tell him about their lives. Almost without exception, they described how great it was to live in Norway. He listened politely… and then he asked them to tell him the truth. In fifteen months Anthony King amassed over 500,000 words of transcripts and hundreds of hours of recordings with the Prime Minister, doctors, teachers, students, scientists, hotel workers and people from all walks of life, of all ages. From Oslo, Tromso, Svalbard and a total of fifteen cities across Norway and from over fifty smaller locations including Sogndalstrand, Averoy, Romsdalen and more including to Sweden and Denmark. Read these conversations and see for yourself what life is really like in Norway, told by Norwegians in their own words. What they said WILL shock you.

Table of Contents

Foreword
100 Quotes from 100 Norwegians
Breaking the Curse of Janteloven
A Conversation with the Prime Minister of Norway
A Conversation with a Psychology Student
A Conversation with a Trainee Helicopter Pilot
A Conversation with Norwegian Teenagers (1)
A Conversation with a Norwegian Museum Worker
A Conversation with Norwegian Teenagers (2)
OPINION: Norwegian generalisations and myths
What Are the Chances?
101 Stories from an Upside-Down Society
A Conversation with Five Youth Activists
A Conversation with a Linguist (and Others)
This is Norway – A Dead Lady under my Window
A Conversation with a Lawyer
OPINION: Observing the 350 Respondents
The ‘Supermarket’ Game
This is Norway – “I am appy”
A Conversation with Oil Industry Workers
Doping in Norway
This is Norway – The Racist Anti-racist
The ‘Staring’ Game
This is Norway – Wrong!
This is Norway – Wrong again!
A Conversation with Two Receptionists
This is Norway – We are Stable not Spontaneous
A Conversation with a Hotel Receptionist
This is Norway – Queen of Africa!
A Conversation with a Receptionist
This is Norway – Feeling Silenced in Norway
This is Norway – An Ice Cold Beer
A Conversation with an Educational Leader
This is Norway – Racism Excused by my Norwegian friends
A Conversation with a Charity Worker
Afterword: The Tip of a Giant Iceberg
Source Notes
About the Author
Also by the Author

The Secret Norwegian - Breaking the Curse of Janteloven Filmed and Directed by Anthony King