Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishoi #bookreview #translatedread

Thank you Grove Atlantic #partner, for the finished copy of Brightly Shining in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Grove Press

Published: November 19, 2024

Summary:

Brightly Shining is a ‘heartbreaking, funny and philosophical tale about the reality of addiction, the power of dreams and the kindness of strangers’. Christmas is around the corner, and Ronja’s father is out of work again, but it seems that their luck has turned when she gets him a job selling Christmas trees. But the local pub has a stronger pull on him than his family’s wellbeing, and in order to keep social services at bay, Ronja and her sister are forced to fend for themselves. If he won’t sell Christmas trees, they will do it for him.

My thoughts:

I don’t usually go all out with the Christmas reads, but when it saw this was a Norwegian Christmas tale, I just had to request it. And oh my…I was not expecting such an emotional read! While it is a short book, coming in at under 200 pages, this one broke my heart and had me in tears a few times. It reminds me of the fairy tale The Little Match Girl, and I loved that it was all told from the perspective of a young child. This choice couldn’t have been more perfect! It has such a profound effect when all is said and done.⁣

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