Lagom, it’s an expression that comes from the Swedish language. It’s hard to find an equivalent short enough to include a thought contained in lagom. Nevertheless, the meaning of this word is probably not foreign to us, who speak Polish, or to people who speak other languages. I hear often, and just as often I express myself saying that something is “just right”. In some situations, e.g. watching a new mum’s or sisters’ dress, we almost say in chorus “for everything and for every occasion” or “good, and sporty and elegant”. After reading “The book of lagom” I know that all these and similar phrases can be expressed in one word, lagom!
It would seem to be little, if that’s all it is about, a nearly 200-page book, but I think the book has a lot more to say. Lagom, as perhaps a specific cultural phenomenon, is only an excuse to bring the Swedish world closer to the reader. In the description of the author of the text – Mr. Everdahl, writer, journalist and film critic, as well as an expert in popular culture, Sweden is a showcase of moderation. As the author himself writes
“there is a certain balance in the lagom, in every sense of the word. It’s a joke that doesn’t hurt, heat that doesn’t dry out, and cold without icy blasts. In other words, lagom is a kind of personal lifestyle thermostat. We’re different. For example, the ideal temperature in your house might force you to wear woolen socks and gloves. The level of the lagom is not constant, but changes depending on people and the environment.
The author explains the concept and defines it using examples taken from the history of Swedish culture. And so he guides the reader through the corners of Swedish history of politics, film and local cuisine. The history dating back to the 1950s, when the state alcohol monopoly was introduced, can serve as an example. On the one hand, it limited the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and on the other hand, every inhabitant of the country, even in the smallest towns, had access to the state monopoly. That was the solution! A special branch of life, where lagom is important, is the kitchen. In the book we can find a set of recipes, for example for lagom style meatballs or lagom style cinnamon buns! Interesting facts also concern art and design – Scandinavian interior design, we associate mainly with Ica, and it is a continuation of the thought of the so-called group 10, founded in 1970 by ten young textile designers. Thus, Scandinavian interiors are also designed in lagom style. He also presents other brands as lagom-style, such as Volvo. According to the author, Absolut vodka also belongs to them. Perhaps the most interesting examples of lagom life are the famous Swedes. In the section entitled “Lagom style happiness and unhappiness”, the author mentions Edward Munch, Ingmar Bergman, Søren Kierkegaard and Greta Garbo among others. You can read here short curiosities concerning those famous characters, which the author considered to correspond to the term lagom. And so, in each of them he discovers something sad and cheerful. Lagom is even Abba, yeah, even the holidays are lagom. An interesting addition to the book is the part devoted to “exceptional words from all over the world”. I’ve never heard of the Japanese expression “tsundoku” before, but the set also includes a functioning in German term “weltschmerz”.
The lesson of lagom, can be treated as a training in perceiving ambivalence in the surrounding world, combining opposites, looking for balance. However, I think that it would be easy to present the culture of another country under the pretext of explaining a similar term. The book itself has been published attractively, though through a multitude of drawings, color frames, photos, quotations, I have the impression that it goes beyond the title moderation, so the reader can experience a sense of chaos. It also seems that the book is published as much for reading as it is for watching, which may be a certain audience.
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