Ingrid Winter is a mildly neurotic mother of three with a chaotic family life and who also works at the University of Stavanger. She has no understanding of numbers and realities, but is full of phobias and fixed ideas – and has an incomparable talent for getting herself into predicaments and embarrassing situations.
Ingrid has received her long-awaited English professorship and envisions a life characterised by tranquil research and immersion in the literature she loves so much. But the newly appointed head of the department with a master’s in change management wants things to be different, and Ingrid suddenly finds herself in deep water when, due to a misunderstanding, she ends up as an art expert on national TV.
At the same time, the marriage of picture-perfect neighbours Katti and Svein falls apart – causing Ingrid to worry about her own. What’s really keeping her and Bjørnar together? What will happen to their joint project when the children soon leave the nest?
Ingrid’s parents invite the extended family to Rome to celebrate life, love, and a double 75th birthday, and Ingrid falls per usual in the shadow of her sister, who is enjoying tremendous success with her new book about successful divorces. On this wild trip, all of Ingrid’s fears about everything she can lose comes to a head: her husband, the kids, love, and her self-respect.
“Ingrid Winter could be Bridget Jones’ more established Norwegian cousin – a bit smarter, a bit more reliable, but just as impulsive and good at making bad decisions.”
“She writes wittily and sharply, with helter-skelter references to popular culture and academia, seamlessly and beautifully without a visible change of pace.”