Alice answers “Does anyone remember which countries...”

Melinda Ankel asked this question about A Little Life:

Does anyone remember which countries Willems parents were from? I remember one them being from Iceland and the other from another Scandinavian country. What never made any sense to me is why his parents spoke Swedish when none of them were Swedish. Icelandic is not similar to Swedish at all and his other parent were not Swedish. Also, why does Willem refer to himself as swedish when none of his parents are swedish?

Alice I'm pretty sure his Dad was Icelandic and his Mum was Danish but they both met and lived in Sweden before they moved to America. They probably spoke i…moreI'm pretty sure his Dad was Icelandic and his Mum was Danish but they both met and lived in Sweden before they moved to America. They probably spoke it because it was a common language between them. I'm not certain why he calls himself Swedish but it's probably something to do with the familiarity of the language to him.(less)

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