Sheila 's Reviews > The Greenhouse

This book caught my eye for two main reasons. First, the title made me take my first look because I love all things gardening related. Then, the description of the book kept my attention because it described a story not only of the shared love of the title greenhouse between a son and his deceased mother, but it also told of the journey of the son to a remote monastery to restore its once fabulous gardens. Enough said...click...download...read...and I am glad to have done it.

I would describe this book as a very peaceful, coming of age story about a 22 year old Icelandic man who loves gardening, who suddenly finds himself a father following a one night stand which occurs in the title greenhouse. The story also details the man's journey from Iceland to a remote southern European monastary, in a country never named but which reminded me of Italy. His relationships with his father, his deceased mother, his autistic brother, his infant daughter and his child's mother are also detailed.

What I loved most about the story though was not the story itself, but the telling of the story. The journey of this book so to speak. The author has a way of writing that just drew me in, and it caused me to set aside all the other books I was reading so I could concentrate on finishing this one.

I also greatly enjoyed the Icelandic and European flavor of this novel, the descriptions the lifestyle, and of cooking and eating:

"I go back to the butcher and ask him how I'm supposed to cook the meat I bought from him half an hour ago. I'm wearing the white shirt. My question doesn't seem to surprise him in the least.
-Wasn't it veal?
-Yeah, that's right. Two pounds.
-Yeah, eight slices, should be enough for five adults he says.
-Yes, there were eight slices, I say. I've made some progress in the language; I can form short simple sentences and hold a conversation.
-You heat the pan, he says, then put four tablespoons of oil in it and fry the slices of meat in the oil, first on one side and then you turn them over and fry them on the other side. Then just salt and pepper. It doesn't take long.
-How long? I ask.
-Three minutes on each side.
-What about a sauce? I ask.
-You pour red wine over the pan when you've finished frying the meat and let the sauce sizzle a moment.
-How long?
-Two minutes.
-And spices?
-Salt and pepper."

I loved the monastery setting:

The village is perched on a rock spur and I immediately spot the monastery on top of the cliff. It's hard to believe that there's a garden up there that is referred to in every handbook on the cultivation of roses since the Middle Ages."

I loved the movie collecting priest who shares his wisdom with our main character:

"I discover that Father Thomas watches films in their original language without subtitles.
-It's very good practice, he says.

and how he believes that many lessons can be learned from his films:

"-There, he finally says, walking toward me with a tape in his hand. You can learn a lot about women's feelings by watching Antonioni. Have you got a video player yet?

But most of all I just loved the story. The telling of this story. It captivated me.

According to the "about the author" section at the back of this book, the book was first published in Iceland, then was translated to French where it has received much acclaim. It has now been translated and released in English.