In 2021, Author Sally Franson participated in a Swedish reality show, Allt för Sverige, in which 10 American contestants with Swedish roots compete for a chance to meet their Swedish relatives. Franson competed in, and won, season 10. This month, the fictionalized version of her experiences came out in her second novel Big in Sweden.
Big in Sweden is not a biography, though Franson does draw on her intense experiences from the reality show. The biggest differences are in location and character. The novel sees its protagonist travel all over Sweden as part of the competition, whereas Allt för Sverige stays local. Also the novel features completely different cast mates. In order to honor the experiences of her own cast mates, Franson did not recreate any of them for the novel.
Image: PROVIDED BY SALLY FRANSON, STAR TRIBUNE
Paulie Johansson is the protagonist of Big in Sweden. Aside from her longtime boyfriend Declan and best friend Jemma, family has never featured much in her life. On a New Year’s Eve whim, she sends in an audition for Sverige och Mig, the fictional version of Allt för Sverige. Shockingly, her drunken submission wins her a spot on the show and, with a little hesitation, she hops on a plane to Sweden with seven other American contestants. Each contestant has their own reasons for being there, and their own drive to win. The somewhat unlikeable Paulie is forced to reconsider her notions of herself and those around her as she plays the games on the show. Her growing attachment to her Swedish roots, and to a new idea of herself, creates in her a desire to win that she did not bring into the competition. Her past and present combine to create a new idea of her future self that she may or may not want to pursue.
While Paulie is an unlikable protagonist, she’s not initially horrible. She’s had bad parents, has an adorable relationship with her best friend, and has sunk into an easy loving relationship with an easy loving boyfriend. But when you put her on a reality show, every worst part of her character starts to poke its way through until there’s nothing else left, and you, as a reader, find yourself having to constantly remind yourself that the nice people in her life think she’s nice. She becomes a character of her worst features, but this gives us the chance to explore the role of “American” on the world stage, where all our worst features are held up to a magnifying glass and found wanting. Franson is very good at character development, the characters of Jemma and Declan are created so quickly, but with so much trust placed in them. Paulie herself is very easy to dislike, and yet it is the skill of the author that keeps you rooting for her through the eyes of her two best friends. Her description of life fitting you like a pair of pants really resonated with me as I move into the years of mothering a high schooler.
It had taken us just two hundred years to invent our own rigid hierarchies, based mostly on money, to the point that Becki would see such upward mobility not as progress but as a betrayal. Which perhaps it was. But it also seemed like Becki’s life was slightly too small for her, like pants you can button but can’t easily move around in, and I believed that everyone deserved a life of well-fitting pants, both real and metaphorical. And if this was just another belief based in American delusion, well, it was not one I was willing to cede just yet.
I don’t like reality television, and this book almost lost me in the first few chapters, but I’m glad I stuck with it. It was far more interesting than any reality show I’ve skimmed over in the past few years, though I have to admit that the setting helps. Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries have long held a fascination for me. Watching the contestants travel across the country and seeing how they each interact with it is fascinating. Franson goes into a lot more detail than I would have expected with regards to history and culture, and it is riveting. One of the books that my kids have all been obsessed with over the years is an old Donald Duck book about the Sami and the reindeer, and to hear Franson talk about the native population is to feel the same childlike curiosity, respect, and wonder that my kids feel reading their book.
Franson paints several comparisons between the Swedish way of life and that of America. Some subtle and some glaringly eye opening.
“Lagom is a very important part of Swedish culture. It means not too much, not too little. This ritual comes from the Vikings. When you passed around a bottle of mead on the ship, you were supposed to be lagom. Enjoy, but save some for your neighbors. After ten seasons, I do not think Americans are so good at lagom. ‘Too much’ is your medium and you scream and cry at ‘too little.’ This makes me crazy, but it is also good TV. And it is” — he took a deep breath — “you are what makes this show special.”
For me, one of the storylines that has the most prominence is when they visit the mine, as the actions of the company in Sweden mirrors what we have seen companies in America do. However, in this story, there is no subterfuge as you watch the company literally take the land from beneath their feet. The story of an old woman whose house is taken from her (through some form of eminent domain), then sees her compensated in such a way that will only enable her to rent a small flat in the new community until she dies. It is utterly heartbreaking, and yet so familiar.
Ultimately, Paulie learns to love this new version of herself and reconcile it with the old self that Jemma and Declan love. She is able to move on from foibles and hangups in such a well-written way, that I would welcome a week in Sweden with Franson to smooth out my own personality kinks!
Armed with her Polaroid camera and a beat-up copy of Pippi Longstocking, Paulie will make sure that Sweden jumps right to the top of your places to visit list. Big in Sweden is a love story for family, friends, country, and self. Released in July 2024, the audiobook is narrated by the queen of the ’80s Rom-Com, Meg Ryan, who loved the book so much, she signed on immediately!
GeekMom received a copy for review purposes.
