'Skylight and other stories', Peter Bromley

'Skylight and other stories' Peter Bromley
Biscuit Prize winning 'Skylight and other stories' is an understated, carefully observed collection of eleven stories. Bromley has a talent for capturing the ordinary, the mundane, and holding it up for closer inspection, exposing the layers beneath. This can be seen in 'Orion, The Hunter', a story about Richard's invitation to his ambitious colleague Ray's house for dinner. The awkward dialogue exposes Ray's lack of likeability and as the story ends Richard feels as if 'each step of their day folded in on itself; the remaining possibilities of the evening imploding like a spent star.'
The concluding story of the collection 'A Pure Note' sees Davey, who has a job stacking pallets, reluctantly involved in industrial action while trying to take care of the elderly Mrs Rae. He finds unlikely solace in the house of a violin maker. My favourite story was 'Exile' which opens with the line, 'George West hit his daughter' and concludes as George recognizes 'again the deep loneliness to be found in families.'
Read about the Biscuit Prize here.