To Sweden with love

Graham Shearwood's memoir tells the story of a bold adventure to Sweden in the early 1970s. He and his wife Wendy were recruited by Ericsson to work on a revolutionary project when IT was in its infancy and computers occupied buildings, not pockets. That's just the start of the story: the book is not so much about work, but more about being in a foreign culture, adapting to it, and their adventures along the way. They didn't want to live in an expat bubble, but to become, in some small way, part of the wider community. And that meant learning not only the language but also the cultural norms. With their work colleagues being British and American, but mostly Swedish, they discovered they had language and cultural differences not only with the Swedes but also with the Americans - some of which provided great humour, as well as the occasional confusion. This is a fascinating and perceptive story of everyday life in the seventies in a foreign country, told with a humorous touch. The photos help bring the story to life. Readers of Bill Bryson will doubtless enjoy this debut memoir.