Book review: Slice of Life by Smita Das Jain

I paint a slice of life, whatever it is that day.

– Geoffrey Holder.

This beautiful quote by Holder very aptly sums the compilation of heart warming, closer to life short story compilation by Smita Das Jain called A slice of Life. She has actually painted the minute emotions one feels, experiences and goes through in their everyday course of life.

Life, today has become extremely fast paced, brutal in fact, if truth be told.

In such a scenario, these little canvases of daily life incidences as portrayed by Smita come across like a breath of fresh air.

Every story written and conceptualised by her has been woven around a delicate human emotion. Be it love, betrayal, pain, sacrifice, humour, she has managed to capture the essence of them all and put them across in an effortless manner, successfully capturing the reader’s attention.

All stories which are akin to incidental paintings depicting humanity at its extreme points, powerful as well as vulnerable are absolutely spell binding. Smita has managed to put them across seamlessly in a manner which is not only engaging to read but stays with you for long even after you have finished reading a particular story.

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For instance, a story ‘Forever Love’,  a series of love letter exchanges between lovers over a period of a lifetime culminated in a manner which was sweet and heart touching. What scored the brownie points for me was the way the climax and the ending transpired out, making it way beyond a regular ending to an everyday common place story. The surprise element( which I shall not put as I want to refrain from spoilers) absolutely had me taken aback with the thought, “Is this really it?? Does life surprise us like this?”. I was gobsmacked indeed with the innocence of the thought processes of the main protagnist in this one.

So, like a mentioned there is a little nugget of everyday life in each and every story of this compilation. The language is simple, free flowing and lucid giving the narrative a very readable demeanour. 

So many of her words and instances created through these stories not only feel like a true creative aesthetic and release but also  capture and replicate the joy of living. Chronicling the daily facets of life is a very strong point of the author’s work and how!!

Smita surely has worked her way industrously in this compilation, understanding the needs of the readers to absorb little nuggets of life emotions rather than diving head long into lengthy narratives and getting overwhelmed. In fact she has in the past mentioned this about reader audiences and I believe she has the ability to truly understand what we call as the readers nerve whilst creating a piece of writing. That knowledge coupled with the fact that she is a writer makes it up for a stellar combo as far as her work is concerned.

I am pretty sure she will keep up the closer to life feelings of her writing exactly the same in her next, in fact she will excel and surpass this one fabulously.

Pick the book if

• You are a beginner level reader.
• You are looking for books on Short stories
• You have the urge to read about life changing moments

Skip the book if

• You are not looking for a book on Short Stories.

Age Group

15 years and above

The final verdict

A must read

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How did you like the book review of Slice of Life by Smita Das Jain. Let me know in the comment section…