Books: Life in a Cold Climate

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Connery, who obviously fell in love with his subject, is particularly skillful in his sketches of national characteristics. The Finn's daring and lighthearted approach to life contrasts with the Swede's sobersidedness, the Dane's easygoing shrewdness, the Icelander's reserve, the Norwegian's naivete. The Scandinavians themselves love to tell stories about their differences. One favorite, a Nordic twist on a familiar theme, concerns two Danes, two Norwegians, two Finns and two Swedes who were shipwrecked and cast up on a desert island. By the time they were rescued, the Danes had formed a cooperative and were making jokes, the Norwegians had built a sailing vessel and were fighting, the Finns had chopped down all the trees and were drinking, and the Swedes were still waiting to be introduced.