Seema Seth’s latest short fiction Rahim and Laila focuses on refugees (and love story for sure)

In today’s super-fast and busy life, we look for quick solutions for almost everything. Whether it is quick breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert ideas, quick solutions to make money, quick remedies to long-term diseases, quick methods to learn English or any other language, quick and easy loans, quick reference guides to clear examination, quick and easy travel guides and so on…We quickly want to fix anything and everything which gives us trouble. So what about our reading choices? Is there any book that can quickly satisfy our reading senses? Is there any book that can be finished at a jet’s speed? Yes, Seema Seth’s recent short fiction, Rahim and Laila: A Sweet Love Story of Two Refugees is a quick book that instantly contents your anxious reading soul in just 15 minutes. Isn’t it exciting? Yes, it totally is.

Rahim and Laila is one of the shortest books that Seema has written. And also one of the shortest that I have read in my life. It is something new in the literature world that the author has come up with, especially for busy readers. Now, why do I say busy readers? Because, unless there’s is a weekend or you’re on vacation, it can be really difficult to keep aside long stretches of time for reading. This results in a pile of half-finished books that you have abandoned because you’d forgotten most of the plot after many days away from the story. Hence, the author has invented this quick solution for you. Her thoughts behind writing such a short are to make reading easy, fast and instant. So that the reader can quickly finish it during their tea or lunch breaks or while going to the office or on the way back home or before going to bed or any other time of the day when they are looking for some refreshment. Seema Seth has also focused on young readers as she has planned Rahim and Laila within a series of books for children.

Now coming to the story of the book, like Seema’s previous books, it is also a love saga. However, this time, it is about two refugees, Rahim and Laila. Unfortunately, both Rahim and Laila became the victim of the Syrian Civil War. After losing everything and savouring the sour taste of loneliness and hopelessness, they found rays of happiness in each other’s company. But how long will their happiness last? Will something untoward happens that will separate them? I don’t want to spoil your excitement by revealing anything more about the book. However, I would like to bring to light that it is a story of refugees so emotions overflow throughout. The author has beautifully pictured both the dark and bright sides of the refugees. This will make you empathetic towards the protagonists.

As it is a short book written with the purpose of immediate contentment, Seema has kept the language simple. It will also be ideal for kids who want to read fiction and begin with something short… something that can be finished and they can feel the satisfaction of having read a book! The length of the book didn’t bother the author to write a stirring climax. Narration is soothing. Above all, the story throws a powerful message to readers – change is inevitable but love is forever.

Written by a contributor to Desi Readers Book Blog