The Moth is a collection of fifty short stories, though they can cover a lifetime of experiences. Named after its namesake; The Moth is a live storytelling stage where guests are invited to tell their unique tale to the audience. Operating since 1997, they continue to do live narrations, along with websites, podcasts and books.
Those invited to share their tales come from all walks of life; in fact if you have a great story you could find yourself up on their stage – but it has to be true! This is what makes these stories so astounding, for you can’t believe they actually happened, the plotlines sounding like the work of an over-active child and yet they’re real. Founded by George Dawes Green, he wanted The Moth to recreate the act of sharing stories on the porchway of his native Georgia, where the moths would flutter above, having been drawn by the porch’s light. Many of the stories in this book have the same romantic idealism to them, certainly making it far from an unpleasant read. ‘The Moth’ stage has now shared tens of thousands of stories, and as the editor of the book Catherine Burns states, this was whittled at first to 3,000 amazing tales, before settling on the fifty hypnotic stories collected in this book.
Separated into seven themes covering life mottos, experiences and emotions, each story is small in size but powerful in narrative, and often with a message conveyed. There are of course some stories that stay with you longer than others, and others that may resonate, though there are of course some very unusual situations or circumstances, so maybe not a full level of similarity. But in some cases this isn’t a bad thing, as some stories won’t appeal to everyone; for me it was the matador story, and that though captivating for others it was not something I could enjoy.
The book covers a whole rainbow of emotions including finding humour in the most unlikely of situations; a hospice room, the jokes coming from ludicrous conspiracy theories of gold-digging:
‘Meaning he’ll be Kathy’s legal next of kin, giving him legal control of their heirloom china and silver in their apartment, which my sister Corinne thinks are hers. And legal control of Kathy’s body, which my mom thinks is hers.’
Usually, the stories shared are intended to be inspirational in some way or another, whether in changing your outlook, or just making you feel more positive in seeing the limitless potentials to life, and even in the changes you can make to others ‘…I couldn’t change the world, I could change a little piece of the world that I was in…’ This is examined whether it’s overcoming adversity, such as the wildlife expert who suffered the stammer of being totally mute when talking to people, but found out at a young age that he could talk to animals, thus increasing his love and appreciation for them and deciding there and then to dedicate his life to protecting them, specifically Jaguars, of which there’s a nice interconnection. There are also stories of music saving you, of discovering a resonation within it, to further connections in life, and to finding forgiveness with the birth of a child. All of the stories are compelling, and the narrators lives vary as much as the content of the stories; astronaut, playwright, filmmaker, police officer, musician, to a leading medical expert who once saved the life of Mother Teresa – their story being a personal favourite, and I defy you not to join me in punching the air like Rocky Balboa when he has his vindication against a pompous individual, while the hero remains humble in his professionalism – I would not have been so.
This is a perfect book to give as a gift for anyone, its stories filled with endless scope and potential, whilst also being a great read for yourself. The individual stories in The Moth mean that you can easily pick up the book and carry on your reading at any time, however putting it back down might be a different story, as you’ll often find yourself saying I’ll just read one more and you’ve suddenly read five – missed the train and are now having to run to work, oh well.
Other Notable Works:
- The Moth Presents Occasional Magic: True Stories about Defying the Impossible 2019
- The Moth – All These Wonders 2017
Book Edition Information:
Publisher: Serpent’s Tail
ISBN: 978-1846689901
Cover Illustration: Dan Stiles
Presented Edition: 2015 Paperback
Background image courtesy of Mikkel Frimer-Rasmussen on Unsplash
