Matti in the Wallet “Matti Kukkarossa” and Other Adventures in Finnish Language Nightmares

Meet Matti, a stereotypical Finn who appreciates peace, quiet and personal space. Among the things that make Matti anxious are receiving compliments, sitting next to a stranger on a bus, and replying to small talk with lengthy descriptions of his day. Matti tries his best to give space, be polite and not bother with unnecessary chit-chat.
Finnish Nightmares have been bestsellers worldwide from Finland to Japan and from the USA to China. Matti figured in The New York Times and in The Guardian, and he even inspired a new term for social awkwardness in Mandarin: jingfen, or “spiritually Finnish.”

Some say learning Finnish is like drinking tar. Nonsense! In ‘Matti in the Wallet’, Matti clings to the Finnish language and tells how our beloved Northern people communicate.