Charlotte Abrahams – Hygge: A Celebration of Simple Pleasures (Literature Review)

If you’ve watched any home improvement or design show recently, you’re probably familiar with the Danish term, “Hygge”.

A word commonly associated with well-being, Hygge basically means to embrace the things in life with which you are comfortable, surrounding yourself with things that lift you up.

While there is no strict “how-to” for Hygge like with other wellbeing mantras, UK design journalist Charlotte Abrahams has attempted to dissect the term and how it can be adapted into everyday life in her 2016 book, Hygge: A Celebration of  Simple Pleasures.

Released around the same time as numerous other books on the market, there can be almost no denying that Hygge has been launched to tie in with a niche audience, cottoning onto a fad that has been growing in popularity as design magazines and TV shows increase their usage of the term.

 What sets this book apart, Abrahams alludes to in her opening remarks, is that it is not written by an expert on the subject. While she does have experience in design journalism and the technicalities of Hygge in its usage in creating a comfortable living environment, her fascination with the subject lies in her hope of adopting the concept in her own approach to life.

In that, the book promises to be something of a memoir, one woman’s journey to be more embracing of things that make her comfortable in life – be it beautiful furniture and architecture, family or food. And we do get a certain amount of insight into Abrahams’ own attempts at Hygge, but at times it seems that she has failed to shake the journalist within.

Sure, a few facts – such as the fact that Denmark is perhaps the only country to record how much cake is eaten per person, per year – can never go astray, and  when used sparingly, could break up the somewhat egotistical nature of a memoir.

But the problem with Hygge is that Abrahams has used them too frequently. Often it seems that, rather than form her own opinion on the subject, the author has relied heavily on the opinions of experts, statistics and historical anecdotes to fuel the telling of her journey into a more Hygge lifestyle.

In truth, Hygge is not a bad book. It does indeed offer some interesting insights into the concept which has recently taken the world by storm. But for something that is supposed to be “an exploration of contentment”, it doesn’t leave one feeling all that calm.