In Cod We Trust: Living the Norwegian Dream
by Eric Dregni Dregni
List Price:
Our Price: $9.11
You Save: $13.84 (60%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Eric Dregni DregniEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-22
ISBN: 0816656231
Number of pages: 216
Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Book Reviews of In Cod We Trust: Living the Norwegian Dream
Book Review: A Vicarious Vacation in Norway
Summary: 5 Stars
I was initially put off by the high cover price of $29.95 for such a small book when I bought it at a Scandinavian shop. However I am glad I made the purchase.
The book tells the story of Eric Dregni's year-long sojourn in Norway, land of his ancestors, as the recipient of a Fulbright award. Along with his pregnant wife Katy, we get a view of what it would be like to move to Norway and take up residence in a strange culture, familiar due to ancestry yet alien since the modern Norwegian culture is not always like that one's ancestors left 100 years ago.
Dregni tells his story with subtle Nordic humor throughout, as he and his wife navigate the many unexpected challenges of living day to day with Norwegian bureaucracy, public systems, infrastructure, customs, food, clothing, celebrations, and people. It is surprising to learn that Norwegians consider Minnesota to be a "colony" of Norway, and accept returning Americans of Norwegian ancestry as "Norwegians" no matter how mixed their blood. In Norway, university students study the immigration of the 19th century and Norwegian cultural enclaves in America, in order to learn more about lost dialects and folkways that were handed down faithfully by immigrant forebears in the new world. The oil wealth of modern Norway supports a near-utopian society of pleasant contemporary living, which contrasts sharply with the poverty and struggle that propelled so many Norwegians in the 1800's to emigrate to America.
For Dregni, the story comes full circle as his son is born in Norway, named for the great-grandfather who left it. Dregni even finds the farm site where his great-grandfather lived, and gains insight into the challenges faced by his forebear.
I read this book in one sitting and enjoyed it immensely. It has a permanent place on my bookshelf as a primer in case I ever have the opportunity to visit Norway myself someday. Until then, I have vicariously enjoyed a trip via this volume.
(P.S. If you like this type of story where an American of Norwegian ancestry returns to the "old country" to search out their roots, you might like to read "Astri, My Astri" by Deb Nelson Gourley, another student who sojourns in Norway and finds the localities that her ancestors knew, along with meeting distant relations.)
Scandinavian Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Scandinavian Books
Before Columbus: The Leif Eriksson Expedition (Landmark Books)by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Random House Books for Young Readers; Published: 2004-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1,668.61
The Man Whom Women Loved: The Life of Bror Blixenby Ulf Aschan
St. Martin's Press; Published: 1988-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $101.78
History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremenby Adam of Bremen, Francis Joseph Tschan, Timothy Reuter
Columbia University Press; Published: 2002-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
The Secret Life of Wallander: An Unofficial Guide to the Swedish Detective Taking the Literary World by Stormby Stafford Hildred
John Blake; Published: 2011-06-20; Kindle Edition; eBooks
Price in other shops:
"Som Perler paa den historiske Musas Snor": Romantic Self-Representation and Aesthetics in Adam Oehlenschlager's Ungdomserindringer.: An article from: Scandinavian Studiesby Helene Hoyrup
Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study; Published: 2000-12-22; Digital; Book
Best price: $5.95
St. Augustine: Bishop of Hippo - Father of The Church (Heroes of Faith and Courage Series)by Ben Alex
Scandinavia; Published: 1995-03-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.93
Price in other shops:
Selected Letters (Series A: Scandinavian Literary History and Criticism)by Georg Brandes
Norvik Pr; Published: 1990-12-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $35.95
Cervantes and the Pictorial Imagination: A Study on the Power of Images and Images of Power in Works by Cervantesby Ana María G. Laguna
Bucknell University Press; Published: 2009-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $31.00
Price in other shops:
Proverbs from the North: Words of Wisdom from the Vikings (Proverb Series)by Joanne Asala
Penfield Pr; Published: 1998-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.95
Theophrastus Paracelsusby W. P. Swainson
Kessinger Publishing; Published: 2003-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.39
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Womanby Nancy Marie Brown
Mariner Books; Published: 2008-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
Norway To America: A History of the Migrationby Ingrid Semmingsen
Univ Of Minnesota Press; Published: 1980-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.93
Price in other shops:
NORWEGIAN in 10 minutes a day® with CD-ROMby Kristine K. Kershul
Bilingual Books, Inc.; Published: 2007-07-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.49
Price in other shops:
Norway (Eyewitness Travel Guides)by Snorre Evensberget
DK Travel; Published: 2010-05-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.72
Price in other shops:
Assault in Norway: Sabotaging the Nazi Nuclear Programby Thomas Gallagher
Lyons Press; Published: 2010-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.31
Price in other shops:
Norway - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & cultureby Linda March
Kuperard; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.33
Price in other shops:
Keeping Christmas: Yuletide Traditions In Norway And The New Landby Kathleen Stokker
Minnesota Historical Society Press; Published: 2001-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.95
Price in other shops:
Norwegian Folktales (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library)by Peter Christen Asbjornsen, Jorgen Moe
Pantheon; Published: 1982-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
In Their Own Words: Letters from Norwegian Immigrantsby Zempel
Univ Of Minnesota Press; Published: 1991-01-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.07
Price in other shops:
Vikings in the Attic: In Search of Nordic Americaby Eric Dregni Dregni
Univ Of Minnesota Press; Published: 2011-04-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.25
Price in other shops: