Switzerland: a peculiar land where nuclear bunkers outnumber residents

Anu Elmeri's book takes readers to Switzerland, a country where nuclear bunker sites outnumber residents and where culture is interwoven with mysterious history. The reviewer praises sharp details and stories, but finds that the India story at the end of the book feels out of place.

Anu Elmeri's book about Switzerland offers a sharp look at one of the world's most peculiar countries, a place where nuclear bunker sites vastly outnumber residents.

The author arrived in Switzerland unexpectedly, meeting a young Swiss man while at school in Denmark, and marriage led her straight into mountain villages, peculiar customs, and thick layers of secrecy. According to the reviewer, this naively begun journey gives the book special charm; the perspective is fresh, sometimes startled, sometimes delighted.

Culture, history and cellar secrets

The book also touches on the history between Switzerland and Nazi Germany, a topic that resonates with many readers in Europe. The reviewer draws an interesting parallel with the Vatican: in both places, questions arise about what exactly is kept in cellars and what actually goes on there.

The Swiss way of preserving culture is compared in the book to Estonia's living cultural heritage. The reviewer notes that it matters not whether "My Setomaa" or "My Kihnu" preserves its culture and how an elderly resident of a Swiss mountain village does it-everyone has the right to preserve their own culture.

India story feels out of place

The reviewer's only major criticism concerns the book's ending, into which an India story has been woven. This episode seems to be outside the book's focus and, in the reviewer's opinion, could have been reserved for a separate work entirely. The Switzerland story could have ended in a much more rewarding way, for instance by returning to the mountain village years after the marriage dissolved.

In summary, the reviewer rates the book highly: it has sharpness, precise details, stories, culture and history-everything that good travel writing needs.