Echoes of Light, by Jani Viswanath, is a compilation of poems and short stories with the common underlying theme of hope, compassion, and love for the world around us and the people in it. The book consists of five poems covering five major themes of death, mortality, uncertainty, nostalgia and love. Additionally, there are six short stories that are set across the world with a common thread of compassion and humanity that perfectly sets the tone of the book. The stories take us from pandemic struck Indonesia to the caste system of India, and each story manages to stir up deep emotions of humanity that make us feel for all the people that Viswanath talks about.

The short stories evoke deep emotions. Written beautifully and in sweet, simple language that is easy to consume, these short stories talk about ordinary lives and their struggles. In less than twenty pages, the author makes us feel for the characters, empathize with their struggles and bring the story to a satisfying conclusion about how they conquer them. A cherry on the cake is the individual brief introductions to the theme before every poem and short story and the epigraphy to the book, which help set the tone for the upcoming story or poem. These small things, this focus on details, provides an overall soothing literary experience for the reader. Everyone indeed will find something that they cherish in this book.

Echoes of Light is an impassioned book with wonderfully immersive stories and beautiful overarching themes. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an uplifting read, which connects with their heart and soul and truly speaks to them. The poems touch upon the futility of human life and bring up a myriad of emotions, so the readers are in for a emotionally-charged journey of discovery.

Pages: 180 | ASIN: ‎B097P8N83S