Slice of life story

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A slice of life story is a category for a story that portrays a "cut-out" sequence of events in a character's life. It may or may not contain any real plot, and often has no exposition, action, conflict, or denouement, with an open ending. It usually tries to depict the every-day life of ordinary people. The term slice of life is actually a (more or less) dead metaphor: it often seems as if the author had taken a knife and cut out a slice of the lives of some characters, without concern for narrative form. It is sometimes called tranche de vie, from the French.

It has also been defined as an "episode of actual experience represented realistically and with little alteration in a dramatic, fictional, or journalistic work." (cp. Answers.com).

There are typically no fantasy or science fiction elements in "slice of life" shows, movies, or video games. Super Jinsei Game and Bakushou!! Jinsei Gekijou are two examples of "slice of life" video games. Sports may be present in "slice of life" in a thematic form in order to advance the plot of the story.

Examples

• Dubliners, James Joyce - (short story collection)
• "The Sun-Dog Trail", Jack London - (short story)
• "The Traveller", Chris de Burgh - (pop song)
• "The Listeners", Walter de la Mare - (poem)
• Night on Earth, Jim Jarmusch - (movie)
• "Tom's Diner", Suzanne Vega - (pop song)
• Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō, Hitoshi Ashinano - (manga series)
• Yotsuba&!, Kiyohiko Azuma - (manga series)
• Questionable Content, Jeph Jacques - (webcomic)
• Azumanga Daioh, Kiyohiko Azuma - (manga series, anime series)
• Asatte no Houkou, J-ta Yamada - (manga series, anime series)
• Lucky ☆ Star, Kagami Yoshimizu - (manga series, anime series)
• Hidamari Sketch, Ume Aoki - (manga series, anime series)
• Aria, Kozue Amano - (manga series, anime series)
• Seinfeld, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld (television series)
• Genshiken - (manga series, anime series)
• The Gum Thief, Douglas Coupland - (Novel)
• Z's Metro Tales - (webcomic)
• To Heart , Ukyou Takao and Naohito Takahashi - (manga series, anime series)
• Kare Kano, Masami Tsuda - (manga series, anime series)

See also

• Vignette (literature)
• Quotidian
• Mimesis

References

External links

Texts

• "The Listeners" by Walter de la Mare (complete text of the poem)
• "The Sun-Dog Trail" by Jack London (complete short story) Criticism
• Night on Earth: The New York episode as a slice of life story
• Green Man review of Dubliners

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Last updated on Thursday February 28, 2008 at 13:39:03 PST (GMT -0800)
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