Scandinavians

Narrator Michael Page brings his full complement of language gifts to the task of narrating this wide-ranging audiobook. His ability to read Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish adds to the richness of his performance. The text mixes history, memoir, and personal reflection with numerous interviews and detailed descriptions of the region. Page's English accent works perfectly in his emulation of the ex-pat author's voice. By turns highly informative, speculative, and discursive, this audiobook focuses on how Scandinavia has come to represent what is good, bad, and mystifying about northern European liberal democracies. The author, who lives in Norway, is especially effective in answering why these prosperous countries produce such melancholy literature and art. He has particularly good profiles of Ibsen and Strindberg and offers insights on Greta Garbo. A.D.M. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine