It’s nice to inherit certain things from someone, but it’s not nice to inherit everything. Often, those left behind are left in a mess, with thousands of things to sort, pass on, sell or dump. It begs everyone to take responsibility for his or her own death. If you don’t have the time or will to clean up, why expect it of theirs? It’s an important message in a world that’s quickly breaking down taboos, and while it’s obvious that death cleaning can help those you leave behind, the book’s most stellar feat is that it turns the topic of death around. Death cleaning is not sad. There’s joy in rediscovering old memories, there’s a pleasure in passing things on to relatives or friends while you’re still alive, and there’s a peacefulness in decluttering. Magnusson’s message is thus: death cleaning isn’t just good for those you will leave behind, but more importantly, yourself. Her writing style is funny yet sometimes too casual, bordering tedious. Also, she largely ignores the topics such as a testament, or insurance and bank accounts, pushing them aside by the argument she’s not a lawyer. But an evening with this book is still time well spend. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning is a great demonstration of finding joy in surprising places.
Set an alarm to 05:00, take a taxi to the train station, get onto the train, switch in Hangzhou, and get off in Tonglu (桐庐), take another taxi — to arrive 4 hours and 330 kilometers away from home. For a hike. Maybe it’s crazy, but the alternative is to stay home. You’ll have plenty […]
We’re in Qibao (七宝古镇) — an old water town swallowed by the city of Shanghai, now turned into a tourist attraction. In the center stands a moon bridge, surrounded by heavily renovated buildings that now house shops selling fridge magnets or bites such as tangyuan, scallion pancakes, red bean cake, and parts of pork or […]
If you squint your eyes, you can still see a busy little street here. The shops on Wangxin Road (王新街店铺) near Gaoqiao (高桥) in Pudong, were built in the late Qing Dynasty but now face an uncertain future. They’re not labeled for demolition (the character 拆 isn’t shown), but there are many tags of landlords […]
I saw this message from Curt about how difficult it is to love Shanghai, and there’s some truth in that. Maybe it’s too big a city to love, and I just love some specific locations of Shanghai. Let me have a go. Ye Garden Ye Garden (叶家花园), a ~100-year-old park in Yangpu, hidden behind a […]