Brightly Shining
Norway

Brightly Shining

by Ingvild H. Rishøi

Family & Heritage Literary Fiction Family Saga 2021

Summary

In the working-class Oslo neighbourhood of Tøyen, ten-year-old Ronja and her older sister Melissa are trying to hold their family together. Their father, who struggles with alcoholism and cannot keep a job, briefly finds work selling Christmas trees. But when he returns to his old habits, Melissa must take his place at the stall, working long hours before and after school. Ronja joins her, charming customers and selling Christmas wreaths to help keep food on the table.

Told through Ronja’s observant, hopeful eyes, Brightly Shining captures the strange mixture of childhood innocence and adult responsibility. As Christmas approaches, the sisters dream of a warmer, kinder world, finding occasional help from strangers while concealing the reality of their home life. Their love for their father remains tangled with the knowledge that they cannot rely on him.

With tenderness, quiet humour, and touches of magical realism, Ingvild H. Rishøi explores poverty, addiction, sisterhood, and the fragile hope that kindness can offer even in the darkest circumstances.

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Country
Norway
Europe
About the author
Ingvild H. Rishøi
Ingvild H. Rishøi

Ingvild H. Rishøi (born 1978) is a Norwegian writer and former journalist who grew up in Oslo. She began her literary career in 2007 with the short-story collection La stå, followed by The Tale of Mrs Berg (2011) and Winter Stories (2014). The latter won both the Brage Prize and the Norwegian Critics Prize, establishing her as one of Norway’s most acclaimed contemporary writers. Rishøi’s writing often centres on vulnerable people, particularly children who must take on adult responsibilities when those around them fail. With direct, understated prose, she explores poverty, loneliness, solidarity, and the small acts of kindness that can transform lives. Her first novel, Brightly Shining (Stargate in Norwegian), was published in 2021 and became an international success, with translation rights sold in numerous countries. In 2024, she received the Dobloug Prize for her contribution to Scandinavian literature.

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Details
Published
2021
Author
Ingvild H. Rishøi