Brightly Shining Audiobook By Ingvild Rishøi, Caroline Waight - translator cover art

Brightly Shining

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Brightly Shining

By: Ingvild Rishøi, Caroline Waight - translator
Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
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About this listen

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 and listeners 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 listener, and has all the markings of a magical modern classic.

©2024 Ingvild Rishøi (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio
Family Life Genre Fiction Holidays World Literature Witty
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Loosely based on The Little Match Girl, this Scandinavian noir Christmas novella is quiet and thoughtful and somewhat bleak. Don't grab it if you want Christmas cheer, because you'll be disappointed. What this is, is poignant, heartbreaking, and enigmatic.

Scandinavian Noir Christmas

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This book is not for everyone, but I loved it. If you are a person that loves the story of The Little Match Girl- this is a wonderful updated version. Without spoilers, just know this is not a traditional happy Christmas story.

The narrator was very good. Thanks for making an effort to get the Norwegian pronunciations correct!

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I found this very depressing especially for a Christmas story. This is something you should read in the middle of the year. Definitely not a joyful book.

What? Christmas? More like depression!

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