The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World (2024)

Rebuilding
Laura Imai Messina’s novel is a beautifully written story that flows through ravaged loss, desolation, resilience, hope, and the promise of a future with love and peace. The Phone Box at the End of the World is a book that gently enriches the soul and beats with a loving serenity.

The harrowing aftermath of a natural disaster strips away normality with the sudden and unprepared death of loved ones and the destruction of property. Yui is heartbroken following a Tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March 2011 and took her mother and young daughter’s lives. Yui radiates a reverent sorrow, which captures the sense of loss. Amidst heartbreak and tenderness, she tries making sense of everything through a shroud of grief.

Yui works at a radio station and hears about a phone box in a garden on a hill in Bell Gardia, where people visit to speak with the departed.

“A disconnected phone on which you could talk to your lost loved ones. Could something like that really console people? And what would she say to her mother anyway? What could she possibly say to her little girl? The thought alone made her dizzy.”

Once a month, Yui and Takeshi meet at Bell Gardia and gradually start chatting. They sit on a bench and eat their lunch together. Over time they start to message each other when back in Tokyo, until a day without contact is rare. As time passes, the most thoughtful and tender relationship develops. A relationship filled with devotion but the apprehension that comes with thoughts of betraying the memories of loved ones; Takeshi dealing with feelings for another woman, and Yui attached to a young girl that could have been her daughter.

Each main chapter in the book is separated by concise interluding chapters that act as random fragmented memories. A receipt for a frame, a description of an object, a list of the ten most vivid memories of a person, what Yui’s mother and daughter were wearing on the morning of 11 March 2011, Yui’s favourite Brazilian songs, the original title of the picture book on the afterlife that Yui gave to Hana. The emotional context of the story is very delicately drawn, and the interactions between characters are inviting, with a cautious and fragile dialogue.

While the novel is beautifully written, it took longer to develop than necessary and lacked activity and intrigue. The story probably may turn in a final twist, but no matter what, the conclusion will leave you with lingering images and endearing memories. If you love to read beautiful prose (which I couldn’t help highlighting) and immerse yourself in a gentle, moving story of love and loss, this is a book for you and me. It felt that something more captivating was missing, hence the 4 stars.

I would recommend this book, and I would like to thank Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Written in simple and straight forward prose, this beautiful story had me highlighting several passages on grief and loss. The wind phone really exists and is in use today. I am in awe of how this community came together for and through this phone and how it’s helped many to stay connected to lost loved ones, both lost during the tsunami, and other losses, too. What a way to acknowledge grief and and inspiring way to cope.

Everyone uses the phone differently. Some simply visit the gardens because they aren’t capable of talking to their lost loved ones. Others have a ritual of talking every week, the same time and day. The focus of this novel is Yui, who has lost both her mother and daughter in the tsunami. What a breathtaking, loving story of walking through grief.

I received a gifted copy from the publisher.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

I had to really slug my way through this book. There was no true connection to the protagonists and the writing style was very difficult to get into. I don't really have anything else to say, tbh

Sin duda alguna una conmovedora historia, llena de momentos tristes pero que evocan un sentimiento de esperanza. La autora es muy sensible con las víctimas del tsunami que azotó en Japón el 11 de marzo del 2011.

Una cabina telefónica permite a los que perdieron a un ser querido, comunicarse con ellos durante el proceso de duelo.

Me encantó que además de los diversos y enternecedores personajes, la misma Bell Guardia (en donde se encuentra la cabina telefónica) es un personaje más dentro de la historia. Permitiéndonos conocer algunas de las llamadas que anónimos realizaron en ese lugar.

Y Yui, nuestra protagonista, hace un recorrido emocional tan profundo y alborotado que no puedes evitar encariñarte y empatizar con ella. El final es muy bonito y pacífico.

Al tener un tono tranquilo, hubo muchos momentos en los que si me pesó la lectura. Si me topé con varias escenas que se me hicieron tediosas, pero complementan bien la trama y subtramas.

Excelente libro para el duelo y la pérdida.

In the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami that followed a 9.0 earthquake, 20,000 lives were lost, and an untold number of families were devastated by the loss, a loss that continues to haunt these families. Yui, a young woman, is one who lost loved ones, family. Her daughter and her mother, both. Her sorrow is palpable, but is shared by the many people who call in to share their stories at the radio station where she works.

A listener calls in when she poses a question to her audience, asking what made it easier for them to get up in the morning and go to bed in the evening when they were grieving. The answers varied, from baking to cleaning, to things associated with fond memories, petting dogs, cats that belonged to others, learning other languages, but it was the final call on that day that was the most notable. The caller was from Iwate, one of the areas most impacted by the earthquake and the tsunami that followed, who begins by saying ’So… there’s this phone booth in a garden, on a hill in the middle of nowhere. The phone isn’t connected to anything, but … I’ll say, Hi, Yoko, how are you? And I feel myself becoming the person I was before...Yesterday evening I was reading my grandson the story of Peter Pan, the little flying boy who loses his shadow and the girl who sews it back onto the soles of his feet. And, you know, I think that’s what we’re doing when we go up that hill...we’re trying to get our shadows back.

Yui’s sorrow, as well as the sorrow of others, permeates these pages, but it’s shared in an almost reverent way as she slowly starts to open up, and share herself with others. When she meets Takeshi, a man whose wife was lost and whose very young daughter no longer speaks, they develop a bond in their grief. They meet every month at Bell Gardia, where Takeshi spends time communing with his dead wife on the phone, and Yui begins to bond with his daughter. They share their grief, and then let go of that grief, a little bit at a time, over time.

’Time may pass, but the memory of the people we’ve loved doesn’t grow old. It is only we who age.’

There is a quiet, somber beauty in these pages. A sense of healing that will come over time, but will always be a part of who they’ll become - of who we’ll become as we all watch the numbers rise of those, perhaps unknown to us, but loved by someone, somewhere, who have lost, or will lose the battle.

Published: 09 Mar 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by ABRAMS / The Overlook Press

This is a hard one for me to rate/review so I think it’ll be brief.

I loved the connection between the two main characters and how they slotted into each other’s lives. I loved how beautifully written the words are. I loved the short chapters making it an easy read. I loved the ‘profound quotes’ that make up the paragraphs of this book.

But for me this book was missing a lot - I don’t know if maybe I just didn’t connect with it but there didn’t really seem to be any real plot. A lot of the chapters for me seemed a bit surplus to requirements. I don’t really feel like a lot happened in this book and if it hadn’t been my love for the characters and writing style I wouldn’t have continued at all. But this is just my opinion and I’m sure many people will feel different to me.

Yui and Takeshi have lost loved ones. Yui lost a daughter, Takeshi has lost his wife. They meet on their journey tomthenphone box and a bond is firmly made between them. Theynare travelling to the wind phone, al,old disconnected phone box that's in a garden of a stranger. It's said that it Carrie's your voice to the people you have lost.

I loved the thought of a phone box we could all go to and phone our loved ones that have passed away. It's a heartbreaking read but it's also full of hope. I loved both Yui and Takeshi who were believable and I found myself rooting for them. There's quite a lot of tragedy but by the time you reach the end you just feel glad that you've read it. This is a book you will think about for a long time after you've finished it. A story 9f love, loss and grief.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bonnier Books UK and the author Laura Imai Messina for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i want to put this title into my mouth and chew on it. i love it.

The Phone Box At The Edge Of The World has a beautiful premise, but for me the prose fell a little short. I guess I was expecting something like a blend of Sayaka Murata and Elena Ferrante, but the tone is closer to Cecilia Ahern or Marian Keyes. It’s a fine story of losing and finding family, but unfortunately it doesn’t quite live up to the heart-wrenching stories of the real-life Wind Phone.

An extended review is available at Keeping Up With The Penguins.

Ein ruhiges Buch über eine Tragödie, Trauer, Verlust und Hoffnung.
Ich konnte das Buch nicht schnell lesen, musste Pausen einlegen, geschriebenes verarbeiten und nachdenken. Ein zeitloses Buch, welches sich immer und immer wieder lesen lässt. Hab es wahnsinnig gern gelesen.

AUSZUG EINER TEXTSTELLE:

" Doch auch sie war davon überzeugt, dass Worte, ob man sie nun hörte oder las (nicht unbedingt in der Bibel, sondern überall), per Zufall zu den Menschen kamen, aber nicht ohne Absicht." 💚💚💚💚💚💚

Ich habe selten ein so intensives und zu tiefst berührendes Buch gelesen...

Yui verliert bei dem verheerenden Tsunami in Japan im Jahre 2011 die Mutter ...und ihre geliebte, dreijährige Tochter...
Die Radio Redakteurin erfährt nach einiger Zeit von einer Telefonzelle......mit deren Hilfe man Kontakt mit verlorenen Seelen herstellen könnte.....

Ein Buch voller Schmerz, Hoffnung, der Angst und der Notwendigkeit des Loslassens und dem wahren Lauf des Lebens....

Zu tiefst berührend, wunderschön in der Sprache.....ohne die übliche Küchenpsychologie....einfach ergreifend!

UMBEDINGT lesenswert!

3,5 Sterne

Ein weiches, ruhiges Büchlein über die verschiedenen Formen, die Trauer annehmen und wie man mit ihr Leben kann.

- berührende Auseinandersetzung mit dem Tsunami und seinen Folgen in Japan 2011. Mal etwas ganz anderes als ein dramatischer Actionplot oder schwermütiges Generationentrauma (beide sind in der Verarbeitung solcher Unglücke deutlich häufiger anzutreffen).
- eher anekdotisch erzählt. So begegnen wir zwar den unterschiedlichsten Trauernden, mir fehlte trotzdem irgendwie ein Plot-Element, das mich als roter Faden stärker an die Hand genommen hätte.
- Klare Empfehlung von mir (trotz nur 3,5 Sterne). Ich war definitiv nicht die richtige Leserin für dieses Buch, oder es kam zum falschen Zeitpunkt in mein Leben.

Sentimental but quite boring

Ganz wunderbares, sanftes, einfühlsames Buch, das die Themen Verlust und Trauer aus verschiedensten Blickwinkeln beleuchtet. Zwischendurch gibt es ganz kurze Kapitel, die so berührende Sachen beinhalten. Wirklich sehr toll. Ich habe so einige Tränchen verdrückt

Rating - 4 stars
Author - Lives in Japan - born in Italy
Genre - Contemporary (inspired by a true story)

This is a beautiful novel with a message of hope. It is about two people who are confined to the silence of grief - Yui who lost her mother and daughter in the March 2011 Tsunami, and Takeshi who lost his wife to cancer and whose young daughter no longer speaks.

Yui and Takeshi both hear the story of a "wind phone", a phone box that has been placed in a garden, on a hill, in the middle of nowhere. It is a place where the grieving can go and talk to their lost loved ones.

Both Yui and Takeshi independently set out to find the phone box in the town of Bell Gardia. They both get lost and in the process end up bumping into each other. They then make the journey to the phone box together.

What I loved about this book was knowing that it was inspired by a true story. Known as "The Phone of the Wind" in Japan, the phone box sits in the garden of its caretaker in Bell Gardia.

[Photo of the phone box taken by the author]

It is not a tourist attraction. It is an opportunity for visitors to convey their thoughts to their lost loved ones as they work through the grieving process.

It is connected to nowhere, however talking via the phone allows people to feel connected with their lost loved ones, with the hope that their thoughts will be delivered to them.

"It is an act of pure faith to pick up the receiver, dial a number, to be answered by a wall of silence and speak anyway. Faith is the key to it all."

The feeling of being connected provides those people with support to find the strength and power to move forward. It is a place where each person can tend to their pain and heal their wounds.

As the author states in an end-note to the book:

" For me, the Wind Phone is mainly this: a metaphor that suggests how precious it is to hold on tight to joy as well as pain. That even when we are confronted by the subtractions, the things that life takes from us, we have to open ourselves up to the many additions it can offer too."

There are places in the world that must continue to exist, beyond our experience of them. "The Phone of the Wind" in Bell Gardia is one of them.

>>Das Leben zerrte an einem Menschen, mit der Zeit entstanden unzählige Risse und Brüche, doch vielleicht waren es ja genau sie, die die Geschichte eines Menschen formten und ihn ansp*rnten, herauszufinden, was als Nächstes geschehen würde.<<

„Die Telefonzelle am Ende der Welt“, geschrieben von Laura Imai Messina ist eine Geschichte, die mich vollends berührt hat. Die Autorin greift hier eine wirklich tiefe Thematik, die der Trauer, des Neuanfangs, des Loslassens und einfach des Lebens, mit all seinem Licht und Schatten auf und verknüpft das ganze eben mit wahren Ereignissen und eben der Telefonzelle, am Ende der Welt... die es wirklich gibt und ein ganz besonderer Ort für viele Menschen ist, die ihren Toten geliebten Menschen gedenken, die noch nicht loslassen können und diese Telefonzelle als wichtigen Ort nutzen, um Abschied zu nehmen. Aber eben auch um neue Kraft zu schöpfen. Und so tauchte ich in diese Geschichte ein, tief bewegt, tief berührt und mit unzähligen Tränen in den Augen und doch dem Gefühl der Zuversicht, der Geborgenheit und der Hoffnung und Liebe im Herzen.
Ich muss ehrlich sagen, mir fällt es schwer meine Eindrücke und Empfindungen in Worte zu fassen, denn mit dem Hintergrund dieser Telefonzelle, der ganzen Wichtigkeit, Besonderheit und Symbolik, die eben dahinter steckt, ist dieses Buch einfach etwas ganz Besonderes, das ich jedem sehr ans Herz legen kann und möchte! 💖

>>Auch wenn Zeit vergeht, so wird doch die Erinnerung an den Menschen, den wir geliebt haben, niemals alt.<<

11 marzo 2011: al largo della costa della regione di Tōhoku, nel Giappone settentrionale, ci fu Il sisma, con epicentro in mare e con successivo tsunami, più potente mai misurato in Giappone e il quarto a livello mondiale.
Lo tsunami, a Otsushi, uccise quasi il 10% delle popolazione, oltre 16mila persone.

In quell’occasione Yui perse la madre e la figlia: furono ritrovate abbracciate.
Quella forza inarrestabile sconquassò la vita di tanti giapponesi.

«Cosa vi ha reso più semplice alzarvi la mattina e andare a letto la sera dopo un grande lutto? Cosa vi permette di stare bene quando vi sentite afflitti?»

“Quell’11 marzo del 2011 la barca del padre di Shio, anziché correre a riva, aveva fatto rotta verso il largo, così da cavalcare lo tsunami ed evitare l’impatto. E tuttavia l’onda era stata tale che l’imbarcazione s’era incagliata nella città in quel modo grottesco, appesa sopra a un palazzo come fosse un trofeo. A distanza di anni era diventato persino uno degli scatti-simbolo della catastrofe. C’erano stati quei cavalloni immensi, e la barca era salita verso il cielo per poi ricadere in picchiata sul mare. Il terrore pazzo sul volto dell’uomo glielo avevano raccontato più avanti. Non era solo sulla barca quel giorno, c’era una donna con lui.”

E così per elaborare il lutto, su una collina, installarono una cabina telefonica bianca, con un telefono vero, ma senza fili: questa è una cabina telefonica molto particolare, è un luogo dove sfogarsi, dove imparare a convivere con il dolore della perdita di una persona cara.

«E insomma» aveva esordito la voce che aspirava a stretti intervalli una sigaretta «c’è questa cabina telefonica in mezzo a un giardino, su una collina isolata dal resto. Il telefono non è collegato ma le voci le porta via il vento. Dico Pronto Yōko, come stai? e mi pare di tornare ad essere quello di una volta, mia moglie che mi ascoltava dalla cucina, sempre indaffarata sulla colazione o sulla cena, io che brontolavo perché il caffè mi bruciava la lingua.»

Yui in uno dei suoi tanti viaggi verso il telefono del vento incontra Taseki, che aveva perso la moglie. E così, “il momento in cui si incontravano iniziò ad apparire a entrambi non come il raccogliersi di due sconosciuti in un punto del mondo per poi raggiungerne un altro, bensì come un ritorno. Era lui che tornava a lei. Era lei che tornava a lui.”

E i due si innamorano. E Taseki glielo avrebbe spiegato a Yui “Che è un vero miracolo l’amore. Anche il secondo, anche quello che arriva per sbaglio.”

«L’amore è come la terapia, funziona solo quando ci credi». «Ma soprattutto» gli faceva eco lei «solo quando ti senti pronto a lavorarci.»

“suki, Yui no koto ga suki.”

[Ti amo, Yui ti amo.]

Tra 3 e 4 stelle.

Trailer
https://youtu.be/cECS989aY9g

Documentario
https://youtu.be/B1OVPaGRszU

Deejay nel vento
https://www.deejay.it/articoli/deejay...

La candidatura al Premio Strega, proposta da Lia Levi
https://www.premiostrega.it/quel-che-...

I'm struggling to form thoughts to comprehend my feelings towards this book, but I'll try my best to write them down.

The Phone Box at the Edge of the World was a sweet and spiritual read, of loss, of love, of connectedness and of survival. It's characters falling together was sweet and (almost) seamless. I enjoyed the different lives merging together over a shared feeling of grief, and the place that helps them heal.

But despite this, I felt a slight disconnect from the characters, they never felt truly real to me, as well as a disconnect from the prose, it didn't fully click. I enjoyed it, it's a sweet story, but the style of writing did not fit with my preferences.

”Oricât timp ar trece, amintirea celor pe care i-am iubit nu îmbătrânește. Numai noi îmbătrănim.”

”Lucrurile care ajung să îți lipsească cel mai mult de la cei care se duc sunt tocmai fixurile lor, fleacurile, lucrurile deranjante.”

”Doliul e ceva ce mănânci zi de zi, un sandvici dumicat în deplină tihnă, cu bucățica. Astăzi un căpețel de pâine, un bob de orez uitat, mâine felia galbenă de lămâie. Digestia era înceată.”

”Înăuntrul nostru avem întipărite amprentele oamenilor care ne-au învățat să iubim, să fim fericiți, cât și nefericiți. Acei puțini oameni care ne explică cum să deosebim sentimentele, și cum să identificăm zonele hibride care ne fac să suferim, dar care ne fac totodată diferiți. Diferiți și speciali.”

История за вятърът, който отнася мислите и чувствата ни към хората, които ще останат завинаги в сърцата ни. История за свързващите нишки между видимия и невидимия свят. История за загубата и живота след нея. Ето това е " Споделено с вятъра". История, в която хората събират разпилените парченца от душите си, за да намерят отново себе си и след опустошението.
Много чувствена и трогателна книга.

Širdies knyga..nuostabiai lėtas pasakojimas, įsupantis tave tarsi į jaukų, kartais skaudų, aštrų, bet kartu minkštą apklotą.Pasakojimas, įpypęs realią istorinę katastrofą, brenda per sudaužytus gyvenimus, juos lukštendamas herojės Jui akimis.Istorijos ašimi pasirenkama telefono būdelė, prie tinklo nepajungtas telefonas, sujungiantis dabartį, su tais kurie išėjo, arba nutolo. Knyga apie mus pačius, meilę sau, meilę supančią mus, nenusakomą trapumą, ramybę žingsnį žengiant pirmyn.
🗯 ..ji ant stalo išpildavo sklidiną kibirėlį dienos įspūdžių,o jis tame smėlyje ieškodavo ma��iausių kriauklyčių, kad galėtų jomis pasidžiaugti ir nuraminti žmoną..
🗯..meilė-tarsi vaistai, veikia tada, kai tiki. Ir, svarbiausia, paantrindavo ji, tik tada, kai esi tam pasirengęs..

A heartwarming book that chronicles the journey of life, in which we grieve, mourn, and find new love and joy. Told in vignettes of memories, regrets, and everyday details, this novel is filled with both loss and discovery; though some doors close, another opens. The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World attests to the polarizing ways that grief effects our lives, as well as the power of new bonds, the closure that actions and monuments can give us. This is a thoughtful read for anyone who is experiencing grief.

Αν είχα να διαλέξω ανάμεσα σε τέσσερις μόνο λέξεις για να μιλήσω για το Όσα εμπιστευόμαστε στον άνεμο οι δύο πρώτες θα αφορούσαν τα θέματα, τα οποία, με περισσή τρυφερότητα, πραγματεύεται: την απώλεια και το πένθος που ακολουθεί. Και οι επόμενες δύο θα σχετίζονταν με τα συναισθήματα που δοκιμάζει ο αναγνώστης του, ακολουθώντας τους θρηνώντες στον βραχόκηπο του Μπελ Γκάρντια και κρυφακούγοντας τα λόγια τους πριν αυτά ταξιδέψουν με τον άνεμο και χαθούν ή παραδοθούν εν τέλει στους παραλήπτες τους στην αντίπερα όχθη, οι οποίοι θ' απαντήσουν μ' ένα φύσημα ή μ' ένα χάδι: συγκίνηση και, τελικά, αισιοδοξία.

" Σ' εκείνη την εσχατιά, η Γιούι ανακάλυψε πως είχε μάθει κι άλλο ένα σημαντικό πράγμα, πως αρκεί να σιωπήσει κανείς σχετικά μ' έναν άνθρωπο, για να τον εξαφανίσει από προσώπου γης. Γι' αυτό πρέπει κανείς να θυμάται τις ιστορίες, να μιλάει με τους ανθρώπους, να μιλάει για τους ανθρώπους. Ν' ακούει τους ανθρώπους να μιλούν γι' άλλους ανθρώπους. Ακόμα και με τους νεκρούς να συνομιλεί αν έχει τη δυνατότητα."

Една затрогваща история на жена, сбогувала се с любимите си същества при цунамито от март 2011 година - своите майка и тригодишна дъщеря. История за загубата, прошката, приемането, способността да обичаме отново. За счупените хора. За онова, което става с нас, когато съдбата изтръгне от живота и сърцата ни онези, които обичаме най-много.

Юй е 30-годишна радиоводеща, която никога повече няма да чуе думичката "мамо" от своето момиченце, погребано под водата в прегръдките на своята баба. Мъката и вината, която изпитва оцелелият е толкова смазваща, че опцията да продължи напред, изглежда непосилна.

Един ден младата жена научава за едно място насред градината Бел Гардия, където има телефонна кабина, която отнася гласовете по вятъра вместо по жицата и свързва хиляди японци с техните починали близки. Всеки, който желае, може да посети мястото, да вдигне слушалката и да "разговаря" с починал близък или с човек, с когото му е трудно да общува приживе, но има какво да му каже, за да може да продължи напред.

Точно там Юй се запознава с Такеши - млад вдовец, чиято дъщеря е спряла да говори след смъртта на майка си.

Способни ли са привързаността и любовта да излекуват раните? Идва ли момент, в който човек, преживял подобна трагедия, успява да усети щастие? Възможно ли е да приемеш чуждо дете, когато мъката по твоето те смазва? Може ли една майка да замени друга? Едно момиченце ще проговори ли отново?

Книгата е изпълнена с деликатна емоция, с ненатрапчива нежност. С болката по загубените близки, със страховете да обичаш отново, но и с надеждата, че не всичко е изгубено, когато все още пазим спомените си и се държим здраво за живота, въпреки всичките му несправедливости.

Time may pass, but the memory of the people we've loved doesn't grow old. It is only we who age

This book is written by an Italian writer living in Japan named Laura Imai Messina.It is based on a place named Bell Gardia where you can talk with dead people using “Wind Phone”.The fact that the “Wind Phone” exists in real life gives me immense pleasure. How would you react if you found out that you can communicate with your dead loved ones?
Yui and Takeshi are both grieved with their personal losses.When their paths collide on their way to “Wind Phone”, the saga of healing starts.
Grief is a powerful substance in our life.It can change and shape a person’s entire life.I love that this book centralizes the idea of healing.
The Good things-
•Smooth writing
•Character Development
•Unique Plot
•Real-life links
In a nutshell, this book is great for people who are seeking mental peace and healing.

This book had a few draws for me right off the bat. One: A really pretty cover, which usually means disaster, two: debut novel, always very excited to read an author’s first book and three: the story takes place in Japan.

I was thrilled to death that the book, with the pretty cover, didn’t disappoint! Wonderful story about grief, love, friendship and survival. It’s a quick read which I highly recommend for all.

A stunning read that was incredibly powerful as an audiobook.

Based on a true story the phone box at the edge of the world is in the small town of Otsuchi in northern Japan, an area devasted by the tsunami in 2011.

A resident had the idea of placing an old phone booth at the bottom of his garden with a disconnected rotary phone that he could use to ring his deceased cousin (prior to the March 2011 disaster) and his words would "be carried on the wind" as he spoke to him.

Word travels about the wind phone and others come to call those they have lost. Told mainly through the eyes of Yui and Takeshi the story flows seamlessly and sensitively from then to now. The basis of their meeting at the phone box results in this beautiful story of love and loss, despair and hope, and more importantly allowing yourself to move on while honouring those no longer here.

11 χρονια πριν, μια μερα του Μαρτη του 2011 στην Ιαπωνια, εγινε ενας σεισμος 9 ριχτερ που τον ακολουθησε ενα τσουναμι. 6 λεπτα αργοτερα, οσο δηλαδη διηρκησε, και αφου τα μανιασμενα κυματα γυρισαν πισω, εκει που ανηκουν, παρεσυραν 20000 σχεδόν ψυχες στο θανατο. Μια ανειπωτη τραγωδια.
Λιγο καιρο αργοτερα, ενας ηλικιωμενος κατοικος μιας απο τις πολεις που επληγησαν περισσοτερο απο το τσουναμι, εγκαθιστα στον κηπο του εναν τηλεφωνικο θαλαμο που μεσα του βρισκει κανεις ενα τηλεφωνο χωρις συνδεση, αυτη δε χρειαζεται, μιας και ο, τι θες να πεις ταξιδευει με τον Θεο Ανεμο σε ολους αυτους που δε βρισκονται πια στον κοσμο μας.. Ειναι ενας πανεμορφος κηπος που ολοι τον εχουν αναγκη και χιλιαδες ανθρωποι κανουν αυτο το ταξιδι θρησκευτικου σχεδον χαρακτηρα, για να μιλησουν στους δικους τους νεκρους. Φυσικα η αφορμη για να φτιαχτει αυτο το μνημειο ηταν το τσουναμι, αλλα δεν το επισκεπτονται μονο οσοι εχασαν καποιον εκει. Αυτο γιατι ο πονος, ο θρήνος, η απωλεια, ειναι κατι που μας ενωνει ολους. Ολοι στεκομαστε αμηχανοι και απροετοιμαστοι μπροστα του οπως η ηρωιδα μας, η Γιουι, που εχασε τη μητερα και την κορη της και δε ξερει πώς να ξεκινησει να τους μιλησει, τι να πει στον Ανεμο. Οπως η μικρη Χανα, που εχασε τη μητερα της και εκτοτε σταματησε να μιλα.. Ο πατερας της και η Γιουι ξεκινουν μια ομορφη φιλια αφου μια φορα το μηνα συναντιουνται στον κηπο του τηλεφωνικου θαλαμου προσπαθωντας να διαχειριστουν τις απωλειες τους και να συνεχισουν να ζουν. Και για να μαθουν πως τιποτα απο οσα ζουν μεσα μας δε χανεται πραγματικα, αλλα πως "ολα ξαναγυριζουν, αρκει να τα καλεσεις με το σωστο ονομα".
Ειναι ενα βιβλιο απολυτα συγκινητικο, τρυφερο, αισιοδοξο απεναντι στο μεγαλο πονο που ολοι μας καποια στιγμη εχουμε βιωσει, με μια γραφη τοσο υπεροχη και "αμείλικτη", ωστε εισαι συνεχωεμς με το μολυβι στο χερι να σημειωνεις φρασεις.
" σ'εκεινη την εσχατια, η Γιουι ανακαλυψε πως ειχε μαθει κι αλλο ενα σημαντικο πραγμα, πως αρκεί να σιωπησει κανεις σχετικα με εναν ανθρωπο, για να τον εξαφανισει απο προσωπου γης. Γιαυτο πρεπει κανεις να θυμάται τις ιστοριες, να μιλα με τους ανθρώπους, να ακουει τους ανθρωπους να μιλουν για αλλους ανθρωπους. Ακομη και με τους νεκρους να συνομιλει, αν εχει αυτη τη δυνατοτητα. "
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠/5 αστερια

The Phone Box At The Edge Of The World is the 2020 release from Italian author Laura Imai Messina. With four Italian books under her belt, Messina is an established author that I have come across for the first time. The Phone Box At The Edge Of The World immediately got my attention with its fascinating premise of a phone box that allows people to speak to the dead. Messina’s idea grew from the true story of a man, Sasaki Haru, and his wife, who lived at the base of Mountain of the Whale, next to Otsuchi, Japan. This area was one of the worst areas affected by the 2011 tsunami. Sasaki installed a telephone box, a disconnected old black phone known as a wind phone in his garden, that carries voices to the wind. Every year thousands of people make a pilgrimage to Belle Gardia, the garden, to speak to the deceased. I was excited to read a novel with a unique premise based on real life.

The central character of The Phone Box At The Edge Of The World was Yui. Yui was a woman that had everything, including a mother and daughter that she loved dearly. Their death in the 2011 tsunami changed her life irrevocably. Yui decides to join the many who make the long trek to Belle Gardia to speak to her beloved family members. Instead, Yui finds an unexpected friend in Takeshi. Takeshi was a doctor and a widow. His beloved wife, Akiko perished in the disaster. Hanna, Takeshi’s daughter, was deeply affected by the loss of her mother as she has not spoken since that day. When Yui meets the father and daughter, all their lives will be changed forever.

I had such hopes for the characters and their journey but, it was not what I expected as there were too many problems. Personally, I found the sentences too simplistic. It was difficult to imagine the story in my head as I had so little to work, including descriptions. The chapters themselves were short too. However, every other chapter was not a narrative. It was extra information along the lines of Yui’s Favourite Brazilian Songs or Phrases Floating On The Winds Of Belle Gardia. I lost interest quickly as I wanted more in plot development as nothing really seemed to happen.

To end on a positive note, there were a few things I did appreciate about The Phone Box At The Edge Of The World. I felt I had a deeper understanding of how the tsunami effected the people of Japan in the short or long term on a practical and emotional level. I also enjoyed immersing myself in the Japanese culture as Messina imparted the knowledge she has gained from living in Japan with her husband in an easy manner.

With themes of natural disasters, hope, love, family, friendship, forgiveness and culture, this is an easy if simplistic read to pass the time.