In this powerful family story the Dutch boy Twan goes to visit his great-grandfather (Opi) in Iceland with his twin sister, mother and grandmother. The ladies aim to take the old man back to the Netherlands to live in a home for the elderly, but he has a different plan. He wants to go to the mountains to die. Full of humour, and with great attention to detail and psychology, the novel describes how Twan develops a liking for the strange old man whose aged body and strange manners appalled him at first. The story revolves around a powerful and moving irony, with Twan giving his great-grandfather advice from a survival guide that he has brought to Iceland, not realizing that his Opi is ready to depart from life. The book’s charm lies in its vivid descriptions of the setting and characters that really come alive, and in the wit of the dialogue. It touches upon important questions of life and death, and offers a strong plea for the right to self-determination and for taking the young and the elderly seriously. De regels van drie won the prestigious Dutch Woutertje Pieterse Award.
