pudseyrecommends 's review for:

Nothing Grows by Moonlight by Torborg Nedreaas

3.25

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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First published in 1947,  Nothing Grows by Moonlight by by Torborg Nedreaas is being re-released by Penguin Classics

This is the tale of a woman's soul-shattering love affair. Pretty much a monologue in its 208 pages. The publishers describe it as “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.” And it is exactly that.

At its heart, this novel is a story within a story. A man wandering into a train station offers to help a solitary woman and ultimately takes her home with him. As the night unfolds, fuelled by cigarettes and schnapps, she lays bare the painful events from twenty years prior that led her to stand in that station, ready to follow a stranger for a fleeting escape and to unshackle herself from two decades of silence.

The depiction of a self-induced abortion was groundbreaking and startling at its time, leaving an indelible mark on readers. Yet today, I wonder if it resonates with the same weight—unless it serves as a clarion call against the [current] ignorant pro-life attitudes dominating the United States.

The novel’s subtle triumph lies in its exploration of political awakening and a powerful moral reckoning about responsibility and humanity. It’s a swift read, and the narrator's lyrical voice is captivating, poignantly illuminating the complexities of the female experience. I can see why it is a modern classic. Torborg Nedreaas delivers a masterclass in storytelling. #pudseyrecommends

Thanks to Penguin Classics and Netgalley for the arc.