Nothing Grows by Moonlight

First published in Norway in 1947, this “breathtakingly powerful” (The Guardian) novel of one woman’s soul-shattering love affair introduces a major twentieth-century international writer to an American audience—with an introduction by Sheila Heti.

“A prescient voice that speaks poignantly about the female condition.“—The Los Angeles Times

“It is really strange what a sense of rhythm life has. For some of us. It plays with you, like a cat with a mouse, and hooks you with a claw every time you think you’re safe or alright. . . . Well, now the claw has come to stay.”

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 the haunting story of her life. She tells of an obsessive passion for her small town’s high school teacher, which consumed her at the age of seventeen, resulting in abortion, poverty, and alienation. Unrequited love blooms against the shadows of the societal injustices of interwar Norway as she fights for autonomy—over her body, her mind, and her life. 

Captivating, visceral and brimming with emotion, Torburg Nedreaas’s Nothing Grows by Moonlight, is a striking ode to longing, desire, and heartbreak, and a timeless testament to the power of sharing our stories.

Author Biography

Torborg Nedreaas (1906-1987) was born in Bergen, Norway, and was one of the most acclaimed writers of the post-war era. She was heavily involved in women’s advocacy and leftist organizing, and her many award-winning novels, short stories, essays and radio plays propelled her radical ideas to a wide audience.