In the early 1990’s, Sigrid Rausing did her anthropological fieldwork in Estonia, studying the Estonians attempts to reconcile post-colonialist privatization with their Soviet, collective farming past. Everything is Wonderful is a memoir of the time Rausing spent in Estonia.
There was much to like about this book, given the author’s interest in the people and their past. Estonia is a land that isn’t mentioned much in the books I read, so this memoir was a welcome look into a country previously closed off to Westerners.
I found much of her writing depressing, though. The Soviet history left little for these people to build upon. Everything seemed to be cold, outdated and dirty. They had little access to goods from the modern world – mostly because it required money they didn’t have. Even with the attempts of former Swedish/Estonians to resettle, the future looked bleak. Still, I’m glad to have gotten a glimpse into this world.
4 stars (out of 5)
Published in 2004
304 pages