Fishing in Utopia: Sweden and the Future That Disappeared: Amazon.co.uk: Andrew Brown: Books

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Product Description

The Economist

'Mr Brown's prose is as clear and bewitching as the lake waters which he learns to fish.'

The Observer

'He writes eloquently about the Swedish countryside, the shining lakes the long summer days.'

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

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3.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wise and Balanced, 3 Aug 2008

By	Simon Clarke (Hackney London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author spent some time in Sweden as a child,and again
in his 20's when he was married to a Swedish woman,and working
in a timber mill.When his marriage broke up ,after the birth
of his son, he moved back to England.In this wise and balanced
book he returns to Sweden to explore his relationship with the
country.As he endeavours to define Sweden we learn of his childhood experiences,his working class life in the timber mill,his fishing,
and of the desolate beauty of Northern Sweden.He considers
Sweden's 'social experiment' portraying its faults as the country,like many others in Europe tries to come to terms with immigration and the disintegration of rural life.He does this -respectfully-and despite its shortcomings ,he regains his affection for much of what is Swedish. A wonderfully written fascinating read.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There were many rainy days to read this book in August 2008!, 15 Sep 2008

By	D. O'Halloran "Frisky Dirt" (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fishing in Utopia is a relatively short and easy book to read. It is in part autobiographical, a tribute to fishing, and a series of journalistic essays told in a 'journey' form to find Sweden's past, present and possible future. It is written in recollection of the author's youthful heydays, and interpreted with the mature discernment of a man some years on that has now a measure of accorded wisdom and seniority as a well known Fleet Street writer. All these different aspects are artfully interlaced into a well-written and unique style that gave me the impression I was reading a mysterious travelogue or cult road movie, forever moving towards the ultimate clue that would unlock the cultural secrets of this fascinating country.

Andrew Brown tells his story of living in Sweden with a Swedish partner (who he met in England) in the 1960s, after the break-up when his career as a British journalist took off, to the near present day when he re-journeys in a Saab to discover if Olof Palme's dream had sustained. Throughout a chronological structure, is weaved a passion for fishing - the author's commune with nature, and possible existentialist and cosmological solace. I am sorry to admit that I found my concentration slipping at repeated references to the finer intricacies of fishing technology.

Though the book is in essence an autobiography, Brown's writing style appeared to shield his personal reflections and those close to him, which has a somewhat noble aspect. However a blanket of privacy seemed to pervade the book, and I was left with the impression that the author is an intensely insular man, in love with his fishing retreats, and still an outsider.

Where this book excels is in its journalistic leanings that provide many commentaries on Swedish life. Much societal dirt is dug up in a loosely investigative manner, but never enough to blemish his (or mine) utopian dream. There is for example an interesting section on the impact of immigration especially as 1 in 9 of the population have settled in Sweden, which was interesting to note in the sense that such a progressive and idealistic nation still has its own issues to deal with in this area.

Worshipful acts at the gills of fishing apart, I also enjoyed the many poetic descriptions of the natural landscape. If like me, you have only ever visited Stockholm, then Fishing for Utopia explores the 'way out' parts of Sweden, where the midges and mosquitoes know how to make you welcome, and the light and temperatures of the summers and winters are taken to their polar extreme.

The books attention to nature is lyrical and inspiring, and I would definitely recommend reading it for this reason alone. If you are more historically and culturally driven (like me) then there are many insightful history lessons to digest, particularly the impact on the demise of rural life in an under-populated country and the bold attempts at shaping a democratically responsible society during Palme's reign.

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8 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A good way to put yourself off Sweden, 11 Jan 2009

By	R. A. Williams "Rosemary the rock nut" (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book will teach you a little about a very interesting subject, viz. modern Sweden, and a good deal about a very uninteresting subject, viz. Andrew Brown, who apart from having spent some time living in particularly insalubrious concrete slums in Sweden, and fishing in some much nicer bits of the country, doesn't seem to have led a very interesting life.

If you want to learn about Sweden (which is why I got hold of the book), then the Insight guide will give you twenty times more information in half as many pages, and provide a lot of pretty pictures into the bargain, not to mention telling you where to stay, eat, have fun, etc.

It's possible that you might buy the book for the sake of what it tells you about fishing, but since I've always considered this the most boring pastime in the world, I can't comment on that aspect because I skipped all the fishing pasages.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Maybe an insight into the author rather than Sweden
There is a lot to worry about in modern Sweden, and there is a good book waiting to be written about its social / economic worries in the 21st Century. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Strath_Bookworm

2.0 out of 5 stars Self-indulgent and not particularly insightful
As an expat living in Sweden, I'm rather interested in the history of my host country. I've therefore read a few books, in particular those focusing on recent history and the... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Richard S.

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	50% buy the item featured on this page: Fishing in Utopia: Sweden and the Future That Disappeared 3.0 out of 5 stars (5)
	39% buy Fishing in Utopia: Sweden and the Future That Disappeared 4.0 out of 5 stars (7) �5.81
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	3% buy The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swedes (Xenophobe's Guides) 4.5 out of 5 stars (4) �3.57

Fishing in Utopia: Sweden and the Future That Disappeared (Hardcover)

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