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Title details for Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishøi - Available

Brightly Shining

by Ingvild Rishøi
Caroline Waight
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
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 listener, and has all the markings of a magical modern classic.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 19, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781668130841
      • File size: 85482 KB
      • Duration: 02:58:05

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Jesse Vilinsky is exceptional at sounding like a kid who is excited about Christmas and sees the best in everyone. Ronja, age 10, is growing up in Oslo with her older sister, Melissa, and an alcoholic father. Ronja's dad gets a job selling Christmas trees but quickly loses it to the call of the pub. When Melissa takes over his job, Ronja uses her waif-like appearance to sell decorations to benefit "children in need." Vilinsky embodies Ronja's hope and gratitude at the kindness of others. Ronja's neighbor feeds her extra breakfasts, irons her costume for her school play, and shows up for her performance. But this is no happy Christmas story, and as circumstances overwhelm the girls, Vilinsky ensures that their despair becomes clearly apparent. A.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 30, 2024
      Rishøi (Winter Stories) offers a charming, Christmas-themed novella about sisterhood and financial hardship in contemporary Oslo. Sisters Melissa and Ronja, 16 and 10, live with their single father, an alcoholic who can’t hold down a job. When his frequent trips to the bar cost him his new gig at a Christmas tree stand, Melissa takes his place. Her boss, the miserly Eriksen, pays her less than her father, forcing Melissa to work long hours just to keep food on the table. Ronja, who narrates, frequently visits Melissa at work, and helps boost sales of Christmas wreaths by telling customers the proceeds will go to “children in need” (that is, her and her sister). Eriksen discovers the sisters’ plan during one of his infrequent visits to the stand, and bans Ronja, threatening Melissa’s job, as well. The sisters’ plight takes a perilous turn as Christmas approaches along with a heavy storm, and they dream of living in a warm forest cabin instead of their harsh corner of Oslo. 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.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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