Whether it is ABBA, Pippi Longstocking, Scandi noir, Swedish massage, Volvo or IKEA furniture, these famous Swedish exports usually evoke positive connotations. We often associate Scandinavian countries in general and Sweden in particular with innovative ideas and socio-political stability. Award-winning Swedish author, Elisabeth Åsbrink, decided to test these assumptions about her country and ask herself the following questions: What are the real Swedish values? Who is the real Swedish model?

In her latest book translated into English, Made in Sweden: 25 Ideas that Created a Country, Åsbrink, who recently visited South Africa for the Open Book Festival, looks into some of the most defining concepts and figures shaping her home country and debunks some of the myths which have grown around them. The book is a fascinating journey through Scandinavia’s ancient and more recent history as well as a key guide to understanding present-day Sweden and its people.

Åsbrink’s love for her country is clear, however it “isn’t blind.” Many of her revelations are surprising, if not shocking: a few will make you rethink your love of Swedish things (like the history of IKEA and its founder’s dubious past). Others will make you want to embrace them with joy. The story that moved me the most is the one about how, exactly forty years ago, Sweden became the first country to ban all forms of psychological and physical violence towards children and how Astrid Lindgren was involved in making it happen.

Made in Sweden: 25 Ideas that Created a Country

Elisabeth Åsbrink

Scribe, 2019

First published in the Cape Times on 22 November 2019.