Nothing Grows by Moonlight
By (Author) Torborg Nedreaas
Translated by Bibbi Lee
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Classics
10th June 2025
6th March 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Narrative theme: Love and relationships
Narrative theme: Social issues
Fiction in translation
Feminism and feminist theory
839.8237
Paperback
208
Width 136mm, Height 216mm, Spine 19mm
223g
A hauntingly beautiful, unforgettable Norwegian classic, ripe for discovery In the blue dusk of a spring evening, a man is drawn to a lonely, beautiful stranger across a station platform. She follows him home, and over one heady night of wine and cigarettes, recounts to him the devastating story of her life . . . First published in 1947, Nothing Grows by Moonlight tells the haunting tale of one woman's soul-shattering love affair. When an obsessive passion for her high school teacher consumes a small-town seventeen-year-old, her life spirals out of control, giving way to pregnancy, poverty and alienation. Here, darkness and light converge, and unrequited love blooms against the shadows of societal injustices, as she fights for autonomy- over her life, her mind and her body. Captivating, visceral and brimming with emotion, Nothing Grows by Moonlight is a feminist classic of Scandinavian literature, and an uncompromising ode to female desire.
This startling, absorbing book will leave you fizzing with anger and possibility -- Noreen Masud
Nothing Grows by Moonlight is a novel as beautiful and affecting as its title suggests. The books themes will resonate with readers as much today as it did in 1947. It is masterful in the balancing of story and atmosphere and powerful enough that your heart aches increasingly with each page. It has become a firm favourite and a story I will never forget. -- Emily Slapper
Its fantastic, its incredible -- Pedro Almodvar
Torborg Nedreaas (1906-1987) was born in Bergen, Norway, and was one of the most acclaimed writers of the post-war era. A committed communist, she was heavily involved in women's advocacy, and her many award-winning novels, short stories, essays and radio plays propelled her radical ideas to a wide audience.