Beautiful and atmospheric.
Book changed directions in the middle. ( )

Rather unusual story about a young man who has fathered a child due to a brief one-night stand. He was very close to his mother who has recently died in a car accident. He lives with his father and a handicapped twin.

Lobbi loves plants especially roses- a love he got from his mother. Rather than pursue an education, he decides to go to a monastery that has an exceptional rose garden but which has been untended for many years. He travels to this remote area and takes a room at the monastery.

He soon gets a call from the mother of his child, Anna, who wants him to take care of Flora Sol for about a month while she finishes her thesis in genetics and he agrees to do so not having a clue what it takes to take care of a toddler.

Anna brings Flora but then decides to stay and they fall into a sort of brother-sister relationship, both loving and doting on the child.

This is a story of a young man growing up and learning not to just feel for himself but to feel for others. Interesting in places, and then rather low-key and slow. Contemporary Icelandic literature. ( )

This was a "coming of age" story of a 22 year old man who likes to plant tomatoes and roses and has a 7 month old child. I read this because the setting was Iceland, but one would not know it from the story. And in fact, the main character left Iceland midway through and went to an un-named European country which has a monastery. Very repetitive. Quite disappointed. 262 pages ( )

Brilliant books- will look for her earlier ones

Lobbi è troppo giovane per prendersi cura di un padre anziano, un fratello autistico e una figlia di pochi mesi, nata da «un quinto» di una notte d'amore con Anna, una ragazza conosciuta per caso. Perciò decide di lasciare l'Islanda con uno zaino pieno di talee di rosa e volare verso l'Europa. La sua avventura lo porta a lavorare come giardiniere in un monastero dove si trova un roseto fuori del comune. Lí cercherà di far attecchire i preziosi germogli di Rosa candida ereditati dalla madre e, guidato dalla saggezza di un frate appassionato di cinema, si preparerà all'arrivo di Anna e della piccola Flóra Sól. Per la prima volta, Lobbi scoprirà in sé un sentimento inaspettato, che non è solo amore per la figlia e attrazione per Anna, ma il desiderio di far germogliare una vera famiglia.