Toell the Great and his wife carry a boat full of fish, perhaps to cook for a romantic dinner in Saaremaa?

TALLINN — Traditionally, Estonians like to have sex on a Saturday after their weekly bath in their sauna. In fact, the sauna is one of the most important buildings on any property in the country.

This is one interesting things I learned from the new book “My Estonia” by Justin Petrone. It is one of the funniest, frank and most accurate accounts of real life in the Baltics that I have read.

Like one of Bill Bryson’s better books, Petrone’s yarn lays out life in Estonia as an expat actually experiences it. No sugar-coating of the northernmost, frigid country in the region, just reality, as an expat like myself that has lived in the Baltics for years can attest.

The book retells the story of Petrone’s romantic rollercoaster ride in his first year in Estonia back in 2003, before Estonia joined the European Union. Petrone arrives in Estonia in the middle of winter, a harrowing time when one doesn’t see the sun for most of the day and when any rock could be a slippery piece of ice.

Stories about bizarre characters, strange food and other escapades make up the book in hilarious chapters, most of which each could be read individually as well. It’s a book you can start and stop easily, without losing your rhythm.

I chuckled and chortled my way through this book within a week and I could see many readers ploughing through it in one or two sittings.

My only critique is Petrone’s penchant for insiderism, as stories are often told without much background information on Estonia that can leave the reader lost at times, especially if the person isn’t familiar with the Baltic lifestyle.

This, however, is not a major downfall. Many of things the narrator encounters leave a memorable impression that readers will likely use as conversation starters. A personal favorite of mine was the swimming school for kittens, in which an old woman teaches some kittens how to swim early in the morning. I won’t spoil the story by telling you how it went.

I highly recommend the book to those who have lived in the region, but also to those who are yet to go traveling for the first time. It is a taste of what is on offer if you open yourself up to the world, dive right in and trust the water.

The book can be ordered here.

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