Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir
Completed: 9 April 2017
Summary & Review:
Over the course of several trips to Europe, Julian Langness was startled to see what was becoming of his ancestral homeland. Rather than a continent filled with descendants of the Vikings that he expected, he found a land without identity slowly being lost to foreign, aggressive young Muslim men. Along with stories from his travels from Norway to the Netherlands and through Germany and Austria, Langness examines modern culture, masculinity, belonging, and religion.
Langness’ book seemed to go hand in hand Tribe (#393) that I just read as both books grappled with the ills of the modern age, especially as it concerns men. As Gavin McInnes has observed, modern progressive culture seems only to want to destroy and tear down the foundations of Western Civilization, but they fail to replace it with anything more than consumerism. Langness laments the loss of belonging that religion and even conflict and war typically brought men and pointed out how without some sense of unity with a group larger than oneself, the culture dies or, in Europe’s case, is replaced. This might not be a problem, but the culture that is replacing European identity is one rooted in medieval mores that are often wildly at odds with modern expectations and values.
Some who maybe haven’t spent much time in Europe or who have only spent time in the tourist centers of the continent may questions some of what Langness observed regarding the Islamic wave sweeping over these countries. But, I’ve lived here with my family for the past four years. We’ve traveled to over forty countries in Europe and spent a lot of time in areas that most tourist never visit. We also frequently stay in Airbnb rentals that really give you a chance to see suburban, normal European life. There is no question, but there are serious ills present here and I don’t see an easy solution to these problems or any way for the restoration of European culture to take place that is palatable to modern sensibilities. Langness is convinced that either these countries will completely surrender and become part of the ummah or there will be violent civil war. It breaks my heart to think that these incredible countries and cultures could be lost forever.
So, the ideas were very interesting, and both Junger in Tribe and Langness in this volume contribute much to the discussion at hand, but Langness needs more time to really develop as a writer. He’s a young guy, so maybe he will. But this book at times felt very amateur and the language and style a little clunky.
Rating: 5.5
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