Book Review
A Far Cry from Ganglota is a remarkable story that follows an individual's life showcasing the ideals of life such as love, loyalty, and the very fundamental aspects of family. The story follows Sam, a young man who falls in love in his early life, a young man's decision-making process as he decides to protect his community, and finally, his life as he works to gain promotion.
One of the outstanding aspects of this story is the tragic love story, which often occurs in people's lives, making the story more believable. The story takes a romantic, fairy-tale-like path where Sam and Christine meet because of unexpected circumstances, fall in love, and get married. After some time, Sam meets another woman and becomes unfaithful to his wife, and the latter two decide to create a lie that would keep Christine at bay. The author has been remarkable in bringing a painful truth to light with this plot, a painful truth that society would never admit.
Another elegant aspect of this story is the characterization. The author creates characters who are not only relatable to the targeted reader but also the critics. The author creates characters like Christine and Sam with practical issues and problems that most authors avoid. Keen to keep the story authentic, the author creates characters like Christine, a single mother, and Sam, who has two children. The author creates these characters in a magnificent manner whereby they face problems in their relationships and insecurities as human beings and adults. This aspect is endearing and makes the short story a worthy read.
Lastly, perhaps the most essential element of the story is the twists in the story, significant twists which significantly affect the storyline and the characters. The author implements numerous twists like the introduction of New Liberia to the story. This twist is significant, as it is jaw-dropping to the story because it affects Sam and his work life. Such twists keep the reader on the edge of the seat, wondering what will happen next, whether the character they have come to love will die. What will Christine do when she realizes that the other woman was not Sam's cousin? A Far Cry is a story that invokes numerous emotions of the reader, from Sam's cancer diagnosis to Christine's revelation and the epic, not-so-epic, love story. One of the best short stories one could read is a far cry from most short love stories filling libraries.
About The Author
Tika S. Smith was born and raised in Liberia, West Africa. She moved to the states when she was 13 years old. Ms Smith is the founder and president of BAWSE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of women and children. She was the 2020 recipient of the Citizen Of The Year Award for 425 Magazine, a Premiere Media Group based out of Washington State. After 30 plus years of working in the health field, she is now spending most of her time doing outreach work, writing, and working as a licensed Real Estate Broker. Tika enjoys traveling and spending time with her four beautiful children.