Engrossing, meditative, and bittersweet…
Love, life, death, relationships, and the mysteries of the human mind provide the background in this captivating collection of short stories by John Smistad and Jane Christie Smistad. Multi-layered characters struggle with their individual burdens and desires, creating complex stories with plenty of intriguing, reflecting, and bittersweet twists. “Rounding Third” is a vividly realized story of mistakes, lost opportunities, and regret. The depiction of ordinary people trapped by circumstances beyond their control makes for a heart-wrenching modern-day tragedy in “The Invalid.” The suspenseful and unsettling “Shadow Scent” will linger in the reader’s mind long after they turn the last page. While some of the pieces are too brief, the slender size doesn’t stop the authors from filling them with poignant emotions and sharp insights. Readers will fall in love with the endearing protagonists and their fun conversation in “Even Flow.” The authors make a spirited character study out of the protagonist’ search for job in “Hire Expectations,” a tale about one man’s journey to self-discovery and success. “Better Left Alone,” is a lesson in life dealings. A stranger’s kindness makes a young woman’s day in the heartwarming “Stranger in Kind.” Bullying and harassment alters an innocent life in “But Names Will Never Hurt Me.” This gripping collection immerses readers in a familiar and yet enthralling world of individual struggles, love, identity, family and friendship, relationships, regret, loss, grief, morality, and life and death. By turns light and haunting, this stunning collection makes for a page-turner.
Sliced Lives: Volume 1
By John Smistad (Author), Jane Christie Smistad (Author)
Pub date October 26, 2020
ISBN 979-8550676059
Price $4.49 (USD) Paperback, $1.54 Kindle edition