By the Light of the Moon — Clare Morrall

By the Light of the Moon is an ideal title for this anthology of the shortlist from the Rubery Short Story Award because it illustrates what happens in all good stories. Light is shed on something or someone who might be hidden by the darkness, unexamined, unknown, until it is opened up and examined with a writer's skill. There is great pleasure to be found in the illumination of something unusual, something previously unconsidered. It is like turning over a stone and finding a new, previously undiscovered creature which has been lying there for centuries, waiting for our scrutiny. There are some remarkable writers out there who know how to reveal truths and insights. This is the skill of good writing - to bring new ideas to the reader's attention. We are introduced to the world of the female boxer; aid workers in Africa; a future world altered by climate change; a child's view of Mussolini; the time when the ban on the ANC was lifted; unassuaged grief from the loss of a child that distorts a mother's view of the world; a unique revenge for a death in the past; the return of a dead girl to challenge a village; a journey back in time to the colony of Victoria in Australia; a Russian concert pianist who displays more understanding of life than expected. Light is shone on old worlds and new, and there is much pleasure to be gained from exploring them and savouring them.