Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 10/20/1976
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: Sweden
NATIONALITY: Swedish
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2018039777
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2018039777
HEADING: Abrahamson, Emmy
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040 __ |a IAhCCS |b eng |e rda |c IAhCCS
046 __ |f 1976-10-20 |2 edtf
100 1_ |a Abrahamson, Emmy
370 __ |f Sweden |2 naf
372 __ |a Fiction |a Young adult fiction |2 lcsh
374 __ |a Authors |a Actresses |2 lcsh
375 __ |a females |2 lcdgt
377 __ |a swe
670 __ |a Abrahamson, Emmy. How to fall in love with a man who lives in a bush, 2016: |b title page (Emmy Abrahamson) page four of cover (Emmy Abrahamson debuted with the young adult novel, My Dad’s kind and My Mum is a foreigner. She has written three other YA books. How to fall in love with a man who lives in a bush is her first adult novel.)
670 __ |a Wikipedia, viewed March 27, 2018 |b translated from Swedish (Emmy Julia Carolina Kocula Abrahamson , born October 20, 1976 , is a Swedish author of children’s and youth literature , director and actor . Emmy Abrahamson grew up in Moscow in Russia, then studied drama in London, worked as an actor in Amsterdam and as director and artistic director in Vienna. In 2009 she resided in Sweden) |u https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Abrahamson
PERSONAL
Born October 20, 1976; married Vic Kocula; children: twins Desta and Til.
EDUCATION:Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England, master’s degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and actor.
WRITINGS
Also author of young adult novels, including Min pappa är snäll och min mamma är utlänning (“My Dad’s Kind and My Mum’s a Foreigner”) and Only väg is upp (“The Only Way Is Up”).
SIDELIGHTS
Swedish fiction writer Emmy Abrahamson began her writing career with young adult novels and was and was nominated for Sweden’s August Prize in 2012. Abrahmson has also worked as an actor and director. For her first novel for adults, titled How to Fall In Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush, Abrahamsson tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a homeless man. Abrahamson was able to draw from her own personal experience for the story.
Abrahamson is a well educated person who speaks five languages. One day, while Abrahamson was sitting on a park bench waiting to meet a film director, a homeless Canadian man named Vic Kocula, who had fallen on hard times while traveling, came to sit beside her. “Emmy, who had just come out of a four-year relationship, was put off by Vic’s ‘dishevelled’ appearance, but there was something about him that was too ‘intriguing’ to ignore,” wrote Kate Jackson in the Sun Online. Abrahamson and Kocula chatted for about ten minutes and agreed to meet at the same spot a week later. Despite Kocula’s dirty appearance, Abrahamson was captivated by his eyes and sense of humor. “I was really trying to fight it but I was very attracted to him,” Abrahamsson told Jackson for the Sun Online article, adding: “During our time together I realised Vic was simply the funniest, happiest and most optimistic person I had ever met.”
Kocula eventually turned his life around, graduated from college, and the couple married. They are the proud parents of twins. In an article for the Daily Mail Online, Abrahamson wrote: “I used to have so many preconceptions about homeless people, chiefly that they somehow deserved where they had ended up. Now I know that becoming homeless is a fate that could befall any one of us.” Abrahamson went on to note in the same article: “We have been on an amazing journey together, and still are.”
In How to Fall In Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush, Abrahamson tells the story of Julia and Ben. Julia is a Swedish woman teaching Berlitz in Vienna. Her life is rather boring, and she has been looking for the right man for some time. However, a series of disastrous dates have left her in despair. Ben is a Canadian man who lives in the bushes in a park. They meet on a park bench. Julia immediately notices that Ben is actually tall, dark, and handsome. The attraction is mutual. Ben is convinced that he will one day marry Julia, who makes him shower before they have their first kiss. As the love between them grows, Julia still struggles with doubts. It is not logical for her to fall in love with a homeless man, a man she is embarrassed to tell her coworkers about, especially since she has started seriously dating Ben.
There are other differences between them as well. Julia is convinced that she can change Ben. Meanwhile, Ben is more spontaneous and adventuress than Julia and tries to get her to be less cautious in her life. Eventually, a huge fight tears the two apart, and Ben leaves. At one point, Julia goes off to Canada to try and track Ben down. She is so desperate to find him that she goes camping with complete strangers hoping to come across someone who knows where Ben is.
“This heartwarming tale of self-discovery is filled with many laugh-out-loud moment,” wrote Enobong Essien in Booklist, recommending the book to “readers who relish an easy, enjoyable read.” Noting the novel “has its quirky moments,” a Kirkus Reviews contributor also commented on the “pleasant descriptions of Vienna and Viennese food.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2018, Essien Enobong, review of How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush, p. 24.
Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2018, review of How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush.
ONLINE
Daily Mail Online, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ (February 11, 2018), Emmy Abrahamsson, “Real Lives: ‘I Fell in Love with a Homeless Man.'”
Independent Online, https://www.independent.co.uk/ (January 31, 2018), Sabrina Barr, “Woman and Homeless Man Who Fell in Love Now Married with Twins.”
Sun Online, https://www.thesun.co.uk/ (February 20, 2018), Kate Jackson, “Who Is Emmy Abrahamson? Swedish Actress Who Fell in Love with Drug-Dealing Homeless Drunk Vic Kocula.”
LADY AND THE TRAMP Who is Emmy Abrahamson? Swedish actress who fell in love with drug-dealing homeless drunk Vic Kocula
Emmy was the well-educated actress and Vic had dirty fingernails, knotted beard ragged clothes and 'minging feet' - yet it turned out to be the perfect formula for love
By Kate Jackson
20th February 2018, 2:15 pmUpdated: 21st February 2018, 2:25 pm
HE was a homeless, alcoholic and reeking of “garbage and sweat” – but Vic Kocula simply had to speak to the beautiful woman sat serenely on the park bench.
She was Emmy Abrahamson, a well-educated Swedish actress. And so began a love affair that could have come straight from the story of the Lady and the Tramp.
Emmy Abrahamson and Vic Kocula as the happy couple to day - but he wasn't always so sanitaryCHRIS MCANDREW
5
Emmy Abrahamson and Vic Kocula as the happy couple to day - but he wasn't always so sanitary
Who is Emmy Abrahamson?
Emmy , 41, is originally from Sweden, but she travelled widely due to her father’s job as a foreign affairs journalist.
Emmy spoke five languages and graduated from acting school in London, before meeting homeless alcoholic Vic Kocula.
She hit headlines due to their romance, saying: “I fell in love with a man who lived in a bush. A man with no income, or career prospects — or shoes."
Emmy decided against acting and is now a children's author.
Who is Vic Kocula?
Vic, 36, was brought up in Toronto, Canada, by his bricklayer father and his mother, a cleaner.
He had travelled through Europe but when his money ran out six months earlier, he took to living on the streets and taking occasional cash-in-hand jobs.
He sank into drink and drugs, carrying around a sleeping bag and cans of beer in a briefcase. He says he had never read a book.
Vic, says: “The wheels fell off and the alcoholism kicked in heavy. It was such a gradual turn that suddenly one day I realised, ‘Oh my god, I’m a homeless alcoholic’.”
Emmy, who had just come out of a four-year relationship, was put off by Vic's 'dishevelled' appearance, but there was something about him that was too 'intriguing' to ignoreCOLLECT
5
Emmy, who had just come out of a four-year relationship, was put off by Vic's 'dishevelled' appearance, but there was something about him that was too 'intriguing' to ignore
How did they meet?
It was 12 years ago Emmy found herself in an Amsterdam park, waiting to meet a film director.
Vic says: “There was this beautiful woman sitting there by herself and she looked super-content, with a smile on her face. I just had to go and talk to her.”
Vic, then 25, was not much of a catch with his dirty fingernails, knotted beard and ragged clothes.
He says: “When you’re homeless, your feet get minging. You’re not washing your socks and you sleep in a park with wet shoes constantly on your feet.”
Yet he plonked himself down and asked Emmy for the time. The 6ft 6in vagrant captivated her. She was struck by his “beautiful brown eyes” and laughed out loud several times during their ten-minute chat.
When Polish-born Vic asked Emmy to meet him six days later, on the same bench, she agreed.
Emmy, who had just come out of a four-year relationship, says: “On the one hand, I was put off by his dishevelled appearance. But there was something about him that was so intriguing that I wanted to meet him again.”
Emmy Abrahamson, a well-educated Swedish actress, became captivated by a 6ft 6in 'stinky' vagrant in AmsterdamALAMY
5
Emmy Abrahamson, a well-educated Swedish actress, became captivated by a 6ft 6in 'stinky' vagrant in Amsterdam
What happened then?
Before their second meeting, Vic sold drugs to buy foot cream in a bid to combat the stench.
When he turned up — 20 minutes late and inexplicably riding a child’s bike — Emmy still wasn’t put off.
Emmy, who has written a novel based on their story, says: “I was really trying to fight it but I was very attracted to him.”
For six hours they wandered around Amsterdam, sharing a picnic and enjoying their first kiss.
She says: “During our time together I realised Vic was simply the funniest, happiest and most optimistic person I had ever met. He had a lust for life that was mesmerising and contagious.”
They went on three more dates before Emmy headed home to Vienna, Austria. It seemed unlikely they would see each other again.
She gave Vic her phone number but as he had no phone of his own, she doubted he would call.
But three weeks later — during which time Emmy celebrated her 30th birthday while Vic spent a weekend in prison for stealing a CHICKEN — he phoned her.
Vic had earned enough money doing odd jobs to buy a train ticket to Austria and greeted Emmy with the words: “I’m here.” Two years later they were married at Vienna’s grand Belvedere palace. Now they are parents to six-year-old twins Desta and Til.
Vic straightened himself out, cut down his drinking and went back into education, studying at university for five years while Emmy supported him. He learned Swedish and is now a mechanical engineer.
The couple's six-year-old twins Desta and Til find Vic and Emmy’s unusual romance hilarious
5
The couple's six-year-old twins Desta and Til find Vic and Emmy’s unusual romance hilarious
Where are they now?
Emmy gave up acting and is a successful author of young-adult fiction. They live in her old family home in Sweden.
Yet not everyone welcomed their romance, including some of Emmy’s closest pals.
She says: “I lost two of my oldest friends because they couldn’t accept him. It pains me to this day.” Incredibly, Emmy’s parents didn’t know Vic had been homeless until they read her book, which was published last month and now looks set to be turned into a film.
How To Fall In Love With A Man Who Lives In A Bush is out now
5
How To Fall In Love With A Man Who Lives In A Bush is out now
Without knowing his full background, they initially viewed Vic with distrust.
Emmy says: “My dad thought he was going to kill me. Mum thought he’d steal my TV.”
But after meeting Vic for the first time, they gave their approval.
Their young children find Vic and Emmy’s unusual romance hilarious.
He says: “I don’t think they grasp the social aspects of it. They just think it’s funny I lived in a bush.”
Vic knows how lucky he was to be given a chance by the pretty girl he chatted to that day. Had they not met, he doesn’t know what would have become of him.
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He says: “I don’t know if I would’ve got to the point where I couldn’t get out.
“Shame and guilt come into play. I know people who lost years and couldn’t go home.”
Emmy believes she was just as lucky to meet Vic and says their fateful encounter was like winning the lottery.
She says: “Some people see me as having ‘saved’ Vic but I think it’s the other way round.
“He showed me you don’t need much to be content. And he makes me laugh every day.”
How To Fall In Love With A Man Who Lives In A Bush is out now (Borough Press, £8.99).
EMMY ABRAHAMSON published her first book in 2011, the young adult novel Min pappa är snäll och min mamma är utlänning (My Dad’s Kind and My Mum’s a Foreigner). She has written three other YA books and was nominated for Sweden’s August Prize in 2012 for Only väg is upp (The Only Way Is Up). How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush is her adult debut.
WOMAN AND HOMELESS MAN WHO FELL IN LOVE NOW MARRIED WITH TWINS
A chance encounter in Amsterdam brought the unlikely couple together
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INDY/LIFE
A woman and a homeless man who fell in love after meeting on a bench in Amsterdam have now been married for 10 years and have six-year-old twins.
Emmy Abrahamson is a 41-year-old writer from Sweden.
In 2006, she was sitting on a bench in Amsterdam while waiting for a friend when she was approached by Vic Kocula.
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Abrahamson felt immediately drawn to Kocula despite realising instantly that he was sleeping rough on the streets.
“Straight away I could see that he was homeless because he was very dirty and his hair, his beard was bigger then and was very dirty,” Abrahamson said on This Morning.
“But we started chatting, and I also noticed that he had the most beautiful brown eyes I’d ever seen and he just made me laugh straight away.”
Abrahamson and Kocula both felt an immediate mutual attraction and so arranged to meet again on the same bench five days later.
woman-homeless-man-2.png
This Morning (YouTube)
Kocula, who's originally from America, became homeless as a result of a European backpacking trip gone wrong.
“I’d run out of money earlier than I expected to, but I hadn’t done everything that I wanted to do during the trip, so I just said well, I’ll do it without any money,” he said.
“The wheels fell off and the alcoholism sort of kicked in heavy and it was such a gradual turn that all of a sudden one day I noticed, I realised, oh my god, I’m a homeless alcoholic.”
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Abrahamson and Kocula met again on the same bench, spending the day in each other’s company.
However, Abrahamson had to return to Vienna, where she was living at the time.
Unsure whether she would ever see Kocula ever again, she gave him her number with no means of contacting him herself and returned home.
Nevertheless, not long afterwards, Abrahamson received a surprising phone call.
“I didn’t know if I was ever going to see him again, I mean, I hoped I would and I couldn’t stop thinking about him and then three weeks later, I’d just turned 30, and I just get a phone call on a Monday morning and it was just Vic saying, 'I’m here now,’ and he’d followed me to Vienna and we’ve been together ever since.”
Kocula, who had managed to scrounge enough money for a train ticket to Vienna, now works as a mechanical engineer after Abrahamson encouraged him to go back into further education.
The couple, who now have six-year-old twins called Desta and Til, married in a castle in what some may describe as a fairytale wedding.
Abrahamson has written a book based on their incredible story called How to Fall In Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush.
The Independent's Millennial Love group is the best place to discuss to the highs and lows of modern dating and relationships. Join the conversation here.
Real lives: ‘I was 30, single, with a successful career when I fell in love with a man who lived in a bush’
By EMMY ABRAHAMSON
PUBLISHED: 19:02 EDT, 10 February 2018 | UPDATED: 06:16 EDT, 14 February 2018
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Twelve years ago, a homeless man in Amsterdam sat on a bench next to Emmy Abrahamson and asked her for the time. This is the unlikely romance that followed
Emmy and Vic in the garden of their home in Sweden +4
Emmy and Vic in the garden of their home in Sweden
If someone had told me 12 years ago that I was going to end up marrying a homeless alcoholic, I would have presumed they were mad. But that’s what happened. I was 30 years old, happily single, with a successful career as a writer, when I fell in love with a man who lived in a bush. A man with no income. Or career prospects. Or shoes.
I come from an academic family: my father was a foreign correspondent and I grew up in Sweden, the former Soviet Union, Austria, the Netherlands and the UK. Conversations over dinner were about politics, literature and recent world events. I loved school and I have a master’s from London’s Rada in text and performance studies. By 2006 I was living in Vienna, in my own flat, with my beloved cat Whiskey. A four-year relationship had ended badly and, although I wasn’t averse to meeting a man if he happened to fall into my lap, I was enjoying life on my own. I had lots of friends, a fun social life and a busy freelance career.
Vic was the funniest, happiest person I had ever met. His lust for life was mesmerising and contagious
Then, in September that year, I went to work in Amsterdam for a few weeks. One Sunday evening, I was sitting on a bench on Leidseplein, a busy square in the city centre, waiting for a friend, when a man sat down next to me.
‘Do you have the time?’ he asked.
‘Ten to seven,’ I replied, as there was a massive clock right in front of us. I glanced sideways – he looked like a vagrant. His clothes were dirty, his hair and beard dusty and, rather incongruously, he was holding a worn briefcase (I later found out that he kept his sweater, sleeping bag and beer in it). We started chatting and, to my surprise, he made me laugh several times. I couldn’t help but notice that, despite his appearance, he was handsome, tall and had the biggest brown eyes I had ever seen.
Ten minutes later my friend arrived. ‘I have to go,’ I said, a bit reluctantly. Before I could say anything further he stood up, pointed to the bench and said, ‘Saturday, three o’clock, same bench.’ Then he walked away. My friend and I stared at each other, unable to believe what had happened. Had a man who appeared to be destitute ordered me to come back on Saturday? How could he be so confident? It didn’t make any sense.
I found myself thinking about him a lot during the next week. On the one hand I was put off by his dishevelled appearance, but on the other there was something about him that was so intriguing that I wanted to meet him again. Finally Saturday arrived and with a thumping heart I sat on the same bench at three o’clock. And waited. And waited. And waited. After 20 minutes I was about to give up when he turned up. On a kid’s bike.
Emmy and Vic on their wedding day in 2008 +4
Emmy and Vic on their wedding day in 2008
Video playing bottom right...
‘You’re late!’ I said crossly.
‘I didn’t think you would come. I came to check just in case. And you’re here!’ he said with a smile. I smiled back and my anger melted away – perhaps because he was better looking than I remembered.
We spent the next six hours together, walking around Amsterdam, having a picnic and getting to know each other. I found out that his name was Vic, that he was born in Poland but grew up in Canada, was 25 (the beard made him look much older) and that he was currently living in Vondelpark. After working as a tow-trucker and in other various low-income jobs in Canada, he decided to travel around Europe. When his money ran out he saw no other option than to live on the streets while hitchhiking from country to country. If the weather was good he slept under the stars and if it rained he found a bridge to sleep under. At that time he was living in a bush that had a cardboard floor and a tarpaulin roof.
During our time together I realised that Vic was simply the funniest, happiest and most optimistic person I had ever met. He had a lust for life that was both mesmerising and contagious. I had never met anyone like him before – someone who found everything a huge adventure.
Vic and I met three more times before I had to go back to Vienna. As my return approached I had to face it: I had fallen in love with him. I tried to fight my feelings as there were so many things wrong with him according to my world-view: he had no education, no career prospects, drank way too much (as well as using other substances), was five years younger than me and was living in a bush! There was no way we could be together. Despite this I gave him my mobile phone number – even though he didn’t have a phone. I am not sure that the Dutch postal service would have accepted letters addressed to ‘the good-looking guy living in the bush in Vondelpark, Amsterdam’, so I had no way of keeping in touch with him.
I returned to Vienna and wondered if I would ever see him again. Then, three weeks later, on a Monday morning as I was getting ready to go to work, my mobile phone rang. ‘I’m here,’ the voice said. It was Vic. Having earned enough money doing odd jobs he had bought a train ticket to Vienna…and we have been together ever since. Two years after we met, we married at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna in the presence of both our families, and two years after that our beautiful twins Til and Desta were born. Vic is now a mechanical engineer and we live in my old family house in Sweden. Not only have I ended up with the funniest and most wonderful husband, but the twins couldn’t have a better or more loving dad.
But the road to here wasn’t easy. Vic was a severe alcoholic when we met. Living on the streets had turned him to booze as a way of keeping warm and as a survival mechanism. I wanted him to stop drinking (he usually started the day with a can of beer), but at the same time I knew that giving him an ultimatum wouldn’t work. Thankfully Vic decided by himself that he needed to curb his drinking, and he did.
'People think I "saved" Vic, but I think it’s the other way around,' writes Emmy +4
'People think I "saved" Vic, but I think it’s the other way around,' writes Emmy
Vic and I both had our prejudices to overcome. In my family education is everything and I soon realised Vic’s family had the opposite view. Vic’s dad was a bricklayer, his was mum a cleaner, and no one in his family had gone to university. Vic was raised on the mantra that ‘real men don’t study’ and he spent most of his high-school years getting high and skipping classes. Coming from a family of book lovers, I nearly fainted when I found out that Vic had never read a book in his life. And yet I believed in him and could see how intelligent he was and what a waste it would be if he didn’t push himself. After a lot of convincing and encouragement he agreed to study mechanical engineering as he had always had an interest in machines.
I didn’t tell my parents the full extent of Vic’s background – they only found out when they read my new novel, How to Fall in Love With a Man Who Lives in a Bush, based on how we met – but it bothered them that he didn’t have an education. Before they met him my dad was also afraid that Vic was going to give me some terrible disease and my mum was worried that he was going to steal from me. But when they met they absolutely adored him. ‘He’s the first real man you’ve ever dated,’ my dad said. And once they saw what an amazing cook he is (his steaks are always a big hit) and how he helps them around the house, he soon became an indispensable part of our family.
But sadly not everyone feels the same about Vic. When I married him I lost two of my oldest friends as they refused to accept him. Vic tries to comfort me by saying it just shows how narrow-minded and shallow they are – and he is right – but there are moments when I miss them and feel miserable about their decision. I also feel angry that they never took the time to get to know him properly and judged him on his background.
The first six years of our relationship were very hard financially as Vic was studying full-time and I was the sole breadwinner. I was working as a writer and although my second book had been nominated for an award, I wasn’t earning a lot of money. Then the twins were born and our situation became even more strained. But we knew that we had to get through those rough years in order to make a better future for ourselves.
Vic with twins Til (right) and Desta +4
Vic with twins Til (right) and Desta
Some people see me as having ‘saved’ Vic, but I think it’s the other way around. He showed me that you don’t need much to be content and he makes me laugh every day. In the almost 12 years we have been together I have become calmer, more easygoing and have a better sense of humour. And that is all down to him.
He has also taught me valuable skills, such as how to break into a car (in case I locked myself out!), and opened my eyes to the lives of homeless people – a world I had always chosen to ignore and one most of us want to forget about. They’re people who make us feel uncomfortable, and we try to get away from them as fast as possible.
I used to have so many preconceptions about homeless people, chiefly that they somehow deserved where they had ended up. Now I know that becoming homeless is a fate that could befall any one of us; Shelter estimates that there are more than 300,000 people who are homeless in the UK. I have also learnt that homelessness can sometimes be a lifestyle that people choose – as in Vic’s case – to get away from a less than satisfactory existence. Vic said he would rather live on the streets of Europe than have a ‘crappy job’ (his words) in Canada. The world Vic has described to me couldn’t be further from my own safe, middle-class one: the everyday struggle to find food, the rampant drug and alcohol abuse, but also the camaraderie and friendship.
We have been on an amazing journey together, and still are. Vic is a doting father and husband, working in a job he never dreamt of. I write full-time and have lots of exciting projects on the go, including a feature film, and will soon be publishing my seventh book. But we feel truly blessed and never take anything for granted.
Vic once told me that I was the first person who believed in him. And that’s all it takes. Just saying ‘I believe in you’ can change someone’s world. Sometimes even just making eye contact, smiling and saying ‘hi’ to someone you wouldn’t usually talk to can change their life. Or yours. You might even end up meeting your Prince Charming.
How to Fall in Love With a Man Who Lives in a Bush is published by The Borough Press, price £8.99. To order a copy for £7.19 (a 20 per cent discount) until 25 February, visit you-bookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640; p&p is free on orders over £15
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Abrahamson, Emmy: HOW TO FALL IN
LOVE WITH A MAN WHO LIVES IN A
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Kirkus Reviews.
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Full Text:
Abrahamson, Emmy HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A MAN WHO LIVES IN A BUSH
Harper/HarperCollins (Adult Fiction) $15.99 3, 20 ISBN: 978-0-06-267804-1
Julia, a Swede who teaches English at Berlitz in Vienna, leads a boring single life until she meets Ben, a
Canadian man currently living in a bush in a park.
It's lusty love at first sight for the two of them, though Julia makes Ben take a shower before she'll kiss him.
In this predictable story, she's embarrassed to let her co-workers know she's dating a homeless guy. She tries
to change him, he tries to get her to shake up her cautious life. They fight, he leaves, the rest of the book is
about whether Ben will come back and, if so, whether Julia will take him back. Abrahamson's first adult
novel (she has published YA books in Swedish) has its quirky moments, but that charm isn't enough to
compensate for its shortcomings. Julia is an unsympathetic character who gets angry with Ben and tells him
how to live his life but isn't making much effort to pursue goals of her own. She intends to be a writer but
can only think of existing plots, possibly because she's generally watching television, going to clubs, or
hanging out with "half-friends," people she doesn't like much. Some scenes, like one where Julia
accidentally wanders into Vancouver's skid row or when she donates plasma, don't seem to serve any
purpose. Others do serve the story but are improbable, such as when Julia goes camping with complete
strangers in Canada in a desperate attempt to find someone who might know where Ben is. On the plus side
there are pleasant descriptions of Vienna and Viennese food.
Will these mismatched lovers make it? They're not compelling enough to want to find out.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Abrahamson, Emmy: HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A MAN WHO LIVES IN A BUSH." Kirkus
Reviews, 15 Jan. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522643095/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2ad7b6b9. Accessed 1 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A522643095
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How to Fall in Love with a Man Who
Lives in a Bush
Enobong Essien
Booklist.
114.12 (Feb. 15, 2018): p24.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush.
By Emmy Abrahamson. Tr. by Nichola Smalley.
Mar. 2018. 256p. Harper, paper, $15.99 (9780062678034).
Julia's life is one half lived and consumed with waiting: waiting to bump into the famous author who lives
in her apartment building, waiting to think of an original story, waiting to leave her job teaching English as
a foreign language and embark on a career she loves. Yet she has convinced herself she is content with her
dull, predictable life, until she meets Ben. A younger, handsome, spontaneous Canadian, he is adamant in
his conviction that he is going to marry Julia. He also happens to live in a bush. Loosely based on Swedish
debut novelist Abrahamson's own experiences and skillfully translated by Smalley, this heartwarming tale
of self-discovery is filled with many laugh-out-loud moments. Julia is a very relatable character, despite
such quirks as taking street surveys and donating plasma, and while her growth is sometimes slow, it is
always endearing. Readers who relish an easy, enjoyable read will enjoy this, and the moral of
Abrahamson's story--look beyond the surface to see who a person really is--is presented humbly and
delicately, inspiring a smile of satisfaction with its conclusion.--Enobong Essien
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Essien, Enobong. "How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 24.
General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531171522/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ce7819a0. Accessed 1 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A531171522