In Litost: Sliced Stories, Samir Satam presents a thought-provoking and introspective collection that delves into the complexities of the untranslatable Czech word 'Litost'. With a masterful exploration of grief, remorse, sympathy, and an indescribable longing, Satam weaves a tapestry of narratives that touch upon the various facets and nuances of this enigmatic emotional state.

Through a series of poignant and evocative tales, the author invites readers to contemplate the diverse experiences and perspectives that embody the essence of litost. From existential ponderings to metaphysical musings, each story within the collection serves as a lens through which readers can glimpse the multifaceted nature of human emotions and the intricacies of the human experience.

Satam's skillful storytelling and evocative prose create a rich and immersive reading experience that resonates with a profound sense of introspection and contemplation. As readers immerse themselves in the diverse narratives and delve into the lives of the characters, they are confronted with the universal truths and existential dilemmas that define the human condition.

While the collection successfully captures the essence of litost and its emotional complexities, a minor deduction from a perfect rating is attributed to certain pacing elements that could have been further streamlined to ensure a more cohesive narrative flow. Additionally, some stories could have been further developed to provide a more comprehensive exploration of the characters' inner struggles and emotional journeys.

In conclusion, Litost: Sliced Stories is a compelling and thought-provoking read that invites readers to delve into the depths of the human psyche and contemplate the profound complexities of the human experience. Samir Satam's nuanced exploration of emotions and existential reflections makes this collection a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the intricate interplay between grief, longing, and the enigmatic nature of the human spirit.

"Litost" is a collection of short stories by Samir Satam that ruminate on the titular untranslatable Czech work. There are many moments in this book that feel transcendental but it was hard to grasp on and draw strong connections to any certain ones.

An interesting collection of short stories that express emotions and life changing events.
Told more in a poetic fashion rather than simple narration.

Demonstrating a wide grasp of the English language which betrays a writer who loves words that paint colour and engage our senses.
The language and flow is quite beautiful but I wanted more. It was to me like a 12 course taster meal with never enough to truly form an opinion or satisfy.
They left me wanting more; but I guess each story is an work of art you could re-read them with equal pleasure.

A talented author to look out for; as an example of his work this is something he can be very proud about.

A new author to me; a unique approach to writing short stories that is rooted in literature and language. I felt both drawn into his tales and also an active by-stander.

Strong on character, often depicting dramas where uncertainty may dominate, and when control is lost beyond the limits of the account shared.

First of all, I wanted to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
•
I think it’s important to put some trigger warnings in place before reading this book. The book contains mention of suicide, blood and violence. Please be aware of these, and be mindful of any of these pose a potential trigger to you.
•
This book is full of short stories, some of which are really thought provoking but all, have an incredible sense of sadness, longing or emptiness radiating from them. They all manage to invoke some emotion as you read. Of course some of the stories are easier to resonate with than others, but almost all of them give you something to think about in my opinion.

They way these stories are written is really powerful, beautiful with deep emotions portrayed throughout. Even in a short sentence or two it really radiates deep emotions, bringing one kind of comfort, even in the darker and more upsetting short stories within this book.
•
Overall, I really enjoyed these short stories especially the strong emotions portrayed throughout. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys short stories with deeper meanings to them, or just enjoys relatable and thought provoking stories.

Litost is a pretty dark collection of twelve short stories by Samir Satam.

I have to admit, I didn’t fully understand this work. Or better, I feel like these stories live in a dimension other than the one I live in. We travel on separate wavelengths.

The stories are not bad or poorly written, they’re just not for me and I wouldn’t rush to recommend Litost to other people but that doesn’t mean the collection is not worth it or that other readers won’t enjoy the book. So if you want to give it a chance then go for it – you might like it.

The story I appreciated the most is What Did We Lose?. I liked its dark vibes, the mystery and the unexpected twist. Generally, I found Satam’s style quite likable but there’s something I’m missing from these stories, they don’t quite fit in the pages and that left me with a feeling of an unaccomplished goal.

You’ll have to be ready to read about violence, depression and death. All topics are touched with a sensitive approach and the author is never out of place, so my low score is purely subjective as I feel none of the stories will stick with me in the long term.

There is too much unnecessary exposition!! Nothing is being shown, only told. All character voices sound the same.
There is no structure to any story in the collection, and nothing really links them to the title (and the essence of that obscure emotion described by Kundera).
The stories are not anchored or grounded in a place (could be based anywhere in upper class india), and most of them seem like anecdotes from a blog, put together. The characters are not relatable.
The only positive thing in this collection is that the male writer is not entirely objectifying his female characters, through the male gaze. But that could be because all the characters are very dull.
This heavily needs to editing, the exposition needs to be cut out.
This writer and his work has potential, but the language, pacing, stories, characters — they all need to be worked on. The writer needs to sit with them and let them develop, rather than indulging in cliches.

I DNFed this book. What caught my eye about Litost was the description, which led me to request this. I was expecting it to be a bit of an oddball, but there was nothing odd about it that could keep me interested till the very end. I really love books with unusual narration and unlikable protagonists, because it sometimes gives you the perspective that other books fail to convey. But this one was neither weird nor unusual but just plain simple confused.
My issues with the book:
There was no cohesiveness - It seemed like the author’s personal journal.
While I understand that the central theme is grief & remorse that are indescribable, the stories were quite vague & uninteresting
Excessive use of the word “pregnant” - almost every story had this word at least twice.
The story with the dialogue between an author and an acquaintance at a cafe was pretentious.
There was only one story that I actually liked - A Trespasser. The writing style has potential but the author definitely needs some direction.
The description of the book along with its cover, would probably be the saving grace.

There is a word in my mother tongue that corresponds to the Czech 'litost', perhaps that is why I could so clearly notice the various aspects and meanings of the word in these sliced stories.
.
The palette of multiple interpretations of the same word is contained in the stories, which do not end but cut off, giving the reader plenty of room to speculate about the characters' further fates.
.
Poetic, unconventional and uncommon, these stories made me read them several times, each time catching something different and delighting me anew. The atmosphere, absurdity, emotions and authenticity contained in this collection will stay in my memory for a long time.
.
Great book!

Visceral and sharp, Litost has at its heart, one of my favourite things, a word than can not be translated. Equally alongside this, emotions that are unspeakable and untranslatable. The stories are short and equally often sting at their end. A rounded, but sometimes inconsistent, collection.

Litost is a book of exquisite short stories that show many emotions; grief, love, beginnings and endings. I enjoyed some of the stories better than others but they all convey a message to the reader. You may interpret the stories differently than I did but that is what makes these short stories wonderful. The author may have been expressing a certain feeling or situation but I think we each get something different as our lives reflect on how we think. Overall a wonderful book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ebook.

A solid collection of stories. Collections like this usually don't receive many reviews, but this one has a lot after only being out for about month. That seems like votes for the quality of the writing. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

There were 12 stories in the collection and 7 of them blew me away! The others were also beautifully done, but they just didn’t grab me in the same was as the others. I will definitely be picking up a physical copy of this when I get a chance though because I now have a few new favorites and want them in my hands! Thank you for the galley copy! :-)

I instinctively knew I was going to like the book when I saw the title and the cover. It just felt like something I needed to read, and I’m glad that I was a hundred percent right about it!

Litost is a collection of short or ‘sliced’ stories, as the author puts it. The thing with short stories that have deliberate indefinite endings is it can easily frustrate the reader. To satisfy yet leave the reader wanting more is a tricky balance and most writers will probably manage to get it in some stories but Samir Satam has beautifully managed to get it right in all the 12 stories in this collection.

It’s a short and crisp book with each story as different and fresh as the previous one, all held together by ‘litost’, which according to Milan Kundera, is “a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one's own misery.” ( The title is taken from Kundera’s book, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. )

Absolutely loved this book! I can’t wait to re-read it soon. What Did We Lose, A Trespasser and Until We Meet Again are my top three stories from the book!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Each of the stories in Litost drew me in and had my attention for the brief “slice” of each character’s life that is shared with the reader. They weren’t too melancholy in my opinion, despite the definition of the word; rather, I felt a bit of empathy for each of the characters and situations described, as we all feel similar things at various times and often feel just as alone as many of the characters here do. In all, I would recommend this collection of short stories. My only critiques are 1) the lack of explicitly female protagonists and 2) some of the English translation wasn’t very smooth.

What caught my attention was the title - Litost. It's an untranslatable Czech word for a state of feeling miserable and humiliated. This immediately reminded me of the Portuguese word "Saudade", which stands for the feeling of missing someone. I am Portuguese and do not understand how one can express themselves without this word, and I imagine the same goes for those who know what litost is.

This book is a collection of short stories, all raising in some way this feeling of litost. What struck me the most was the loss of context in some of the stories, which led me to wonder where the characters came from and what was the origin of their thoughts. The stories approach various topics - the afterlife, death, relationships, grief and love - and in each of them I got this ache in my chest which I suppose is what litost is supposed to feel like.

I identified myself with some of the stories, and with others not so much, which I believe has to do with my own personal experiences. Overall, this is a short book that can be savored story by story. They are all beautifully narrated and, in my opinion, require at least some minutes of reflection after reading them. I was immediately struck by the intensity of the second short story, "What Did We Lose?", and "Waking Up" also strongly resonated with me.

Thanks NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Samir Satam for an ARC to review.
A collection of short stories written in an elaborate literary style that will steal you away for the time you spend reading the book, and some will even stay behind for a little longer.
Like the title which stands to untranslatable Czech word that loosely means an inexplicable mix of remorse and misery that someone has brought upon oneself by their actions, the stories portray various array of so called feelings under different situations.
The book has lots of valuable quotes, too many to write down in a review actually.
I absolutely loved it.

I really liked parts of this collection, especially the first half. The writing style is poignant in parts, really moving me to feel what the character was feeling. I have never read anything quite like this, and will be picking up more from this author in the future. My only critique is with the editing toward the end, there are about 6 different spelling errors that are distracting, but this could have been due to it being transferred to e-format. Either way, a great read.

Several sentences in this book were stand out beautiful and enough to warrant a solid 4 star review.

The deducted star is because some of the stories were not interesting. There was a huge discrepancy between the ones that blew me away and the ones that failed to hold my attention, as though they were not written by the same person.

The title and the title's description first drew me in. Litost is a concept of longing and lost, described by Milan Kundera in the Book of Laughter and Forgetting.

"Litost is Czech word with no exact translation into
any other language. It designates a feeling as infinite as an
open accordion, a feeling that is a synthesis of many others:
grief, sympathy, remorse, and an indefinable longing. The
first syllable which is long and stressed, sounds like the wail
of an abandoned dog....I have never found an
equivalent in other languages for this sense of the word
either, though I do not see how anyone can understand the
human soul without it."

This idea is furthered in the Preface. .

Everyone went through a Milan Kundera phase in their early twenties so this boded well. However the foreword was incredibly poorly written, yet well placed, because it meant the first story absolutely leapt off the page.
"What Did We Lose" is hauntingly beautiful, eerie and plot-driven.

Betrayal and anxiety and picking up on unconscious nuances are all common themes. Murderous rage is also featured quite often. "Night Errands" has a whiff of Japanese literature to it - no spoilers, it's very Murakami esque.
"Until we meet again" is also evocative but a little pointless and aimless maybe?

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.