Brightly Shining - by Ingvild Rishøi (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A Dua Lipa Service95 Book Club Pick

Beautifully told with humor and tenderness, a Norwegian Christmas tale of sisterhood, financial hardship, and far-off dreams, acclaimed by reviewers and beloved by readers across Europe, where it has been a major bestseller

Christmas is just around the corner, and Ronja and Melissa's dreamer of a father is out of work again. When ten-year-old Ronja hears about a job at a Christmas tree stand near where the family lives in central Oslo, she thinks it might be the stroke of luck they all need. Soon, the fridge fills with food, and their father returns home with money in his pocket and a smile on his face. But one evening he disappears into the night under the pretense of buying Christmas gifts--and the daughters know he has gone to his favorite local pub, Stargate, and they come to terms with the fact that he may lose his wonderful new job.

Melissa decides to take his place at the Christmas tree stand, working before and after school in the December afternoon dark, and brings along Ronja, who quickly charms all the middle-class customers. On rare breaks the sisters dream of a brighter place of kindness and plenty, and find help from some of those around them--but both understand that their family structure is a precarious one, and that they are going to need luck and strength to transcend their circumstances.

Skillfully told, evoking the delight, misunderstandings, and innocence of a child's voice, Brightly Shining is small in stature but with an outsize impact on the reader, and has all the markings of a magical modern classic.

Review Quotes

Praise for Brightly Shining:

Named a Best Book of the Year by Oprah Daily

Nominated for the Dublin Literary Award

Finalist for Big Other Book Award for Translation

"An emotionally packed little gem . . . As the story unfolds, your heart aches for the girls--but also for all of us in this world we've built, where money too often means more than kindness. And yet, there are small joys to be found, and a dose of Christmas magic is delivered too."--Jen Doll, New York Times Book Review

"A bittersweet tale of Christmas past."--Ron Charles, Washington Post

"A winning holiday tale with just the right proportions of hardship and hope . . . For all of its irony about holiday consumerism, Ms. Rishøi's book never quite gives up on the spirit of Christmas."--Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

"This tender novel does exactly what it promises: shines brightly despite the darkness."--Oprah Daily, "Best Books of 2024"

"Ronja's ever hopeful voice is tenderly rendered from Norwegian by Caroline Waight."--Suzi Feay, Financial Times

"Explores capitalism, caretaking, and loneliness with sparkling prose and a gorgeous Nordic setting."--Electric Literature

"The perfect literary stocking stuffer."--Julia Vitale, Air Mail

"An unexpected emotional force disguised by its small stature . . . Radiates hope and goodness, a perfect companion for the holiday season."--Shelf Awareness

"A beautifully written story . . . Wonderfully festive."--Claire Allfree, Scottish Daily Mail

"Heart-warming and memorable."--Michael Giltz, Parade

"Charming . . . Rishøi's choice to tell the story from the 10-year-old's point of view proves fruitful, as Ronja conveys genuine hope amid the family's dire circumstances along with hints of wisdom beyond her years. This has the feel of a classic holiday tale."--Publishers Weekly

"Told with the clear-eyed candor of young Ronja, this beautifully crafted novel explores the challenges of a child's unpredictable life with an alcoholic father and the band of kind people who try to help, including an older neighbor and the tree-stand worker about to become a father himself. This moving tale, with not a single wasted word, asks how we keep going when hope fades and life's burdens become too much to bear, leaning on the power of imagination and connection to find a way forward."--Booklist

"There is real magic in this charming novel about care, community, and the kindness of strangers. It is a deeply affecting story, beautifully told, that is sure to touch the hearts of many readers."--Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo

"Ingvild Rishøi's Brightly Shining is a dazzling contemporary fable of hardship and grit about two sisters who refuse to lose hope. Curl up with it for instant hygge and a warming of the heart."--Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers

"Deceptively simple, deceptively innocent, told from the perspective of a bright-eyed, too-wise child, Brightly Shining has the power of a classic. You will read it in a single sitting, then carry it in your heart."--Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History

"Brightly Shining feels fresh as spruce needles and ancient as bedrock. The clear and hopeful voice of Ronja slips easily into your heart and takes up residence like a breathless memory, like a song of unbearable beauty. I want to read more Ingvild Rishøi, and the sooner the better."--Leif Enger, author of I Cheerfully Refuse

"Ingvild Rishøi creates distinct yet multifaceted characters. The protagonist Ronja is truly precious but it's not only her that we are taken by as the story unfolds . . . A vivid story inducing laughter and tears, indignation and class-consciousness and, not least, a major dose of Christmas spirit."--Adresseavisen (Norway)

"The portrayal of two sisters' attempts to survive Christmas is masterful, inescapable and deeply moving."--Aftonbladet (Sweden)

"Probably going to stay with me for the rest of my life . . . A magnificently beautiful story, at the intersection between Astrid Lindgren and H.C. Andersen . . . In the same league as the absolute best that has been written in Nordic literature." --FriFagbevegelse (Norway)

"A little miracle of literature."--Les Echos (France)

"Ingvild Rishøi performs an extraordinary balancing act . . . Through ten-year-old Ronja's eyes, the author portrays a tragic upbringing--but with the help of Ronja's lively imagination she succeeds in turning the novel into a magical Christmas story."--Dagbladet (Norway)

"Rishøi doesn't lose control for even a second. Her reins are tight, the words are exactly where they ought to be . . . Rishøi makes her vulnerable and tender Christmas story grow into the reader and take place there."--Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

"A poetic, magical Christmas tale that has the potential of becoming a modern classic."--Bücher Magazin (Germany)

"With its finetuned and striking meditation of the sparkling Christmas dream--and for many icy reality--[it has] all the makings of a modern classic in its genre. Rishøi makes Ronja and Melissa timeless heroes in their search for a Christmas where the adult world's ruthlessness, chaos, and short-lived sparks of benevolence no longer set the limits."--Expressen (Sweden)

"[Ingvild Rishøi] has an unmistakable talent for conveying a lot with very few words. Meanings and feelings flow quietly between the lines and involves the reader to interpret the text for themselves . . . This story settles well and thoroughly in its reader and stays there. In any case, I'm left with a lump in my throat and a moved heart."--Litteratursiden (Denmark)

"Simply the most heartbreaking Christmas story . . . Rishøi's social realistic style is ingenious. With very few words, very few thin strokes and ultra-short dialogues, she succeeds in portraying Ronja's inner emotions."--Jyllands-Posten (Denmark)

About the Author

Ingvild Rishøi was born and raised in Oslo. She has published several collections of stories in Norway, and her debut novel, originally titled Stargate, was published in Norway in 2021. It is published or forthcoming in twenty-one territories and is being adapted for film. Rishøi is one of Norway's most revered literary voices.

Caroline Waight is a literary translator working from Danish, German, and Norwegian. She has been a finalist for the PEN Translation Prize and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. She lives near London.