Big in Sweden

A charming, wise, and laugh-out-loud funny novel following an American woman competing on a Swedish reality show in an attempt to discover her roots.

Paulie Johansson has never put much stock in the idea of family: she has her boyfriend Declan and best friend Jemma, and that’s more than enough for her. So, she is shocked when a drunkenly filmed audition tape wins her a spot on Sverige och Mig, a Swedish television show where Swedish-Americans compete for the ultimate prize: a reunion with their Swedish relatives.

Armed with her Polaroid and a copy of Pippi Longstocking, Paulie hops on a plane and launches into the contest. At first, Paulie thinks she and her seven competitors have nothing in common besides their passports: what could she possibly share with someone like Kevin, an alpha-male podcaster from Florida, or Becki, a tough Texan girlboss, or Tom, a twice-zapped electrician with an enthusiasm for beer and little else? Yet the increasingly absurd challenges reveal unexpected sides to her fellow countrymen, while also building Paulie’s resolve to persevere in the competition.

Grappling with long-held notions of family, friendship, and love—not to mention distracting feelings for a handsome Swedish cameraman—Paulie starts to reconsider her prejudices about her competitors’ lives and rethink what she wants for her own. A fish-out-of-water tale filled with optimism and wit, Big in Sweden is at its heart a love story: love for family, friends, country, and— most importantly—oneself