The Phone Booth at the Edge of the Wo..., Laura Imai Messina
The Phone Booth at the Edge of the Wo..., Laura Imai Messina
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The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World

Author: Laura Imai Messina

Narrator: Traci Kato-Kiriyama

Unabridged: 5 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/09/2021

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The international bestselling novel sold in 21 countries, about grief, mourning, and the joy of survival, inspired by a real phone booth in Japan with its disconnected “wind” phone, a place of pilgrimage and solace since the 2011 tsunami

When Yui loses both her mother and her daughter in the tsunami, she begins to mark the passage of time from that date onward: Everything is relative to March 11, 2011, the day the tsunami tore Japan apart, and when grief took hold of her life. Yui struggles to continue on, alone with her pain.

Then, one day she hears about a man who has an old disused telephone booth in his garden. There, those who have lost loved ones find the strength to speak to them and begin to come to terms with their grief. As news of the phone booth spreads, people travel to it from miles around.

Soon Yui makes her own pilgrimage to the phone booth, too. But once there she cannot bring herself to speak into the receiver. Instead she finds Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose own daughter has stopped talking in the wake of her mother’s death.

Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is the signpost pointing to the healing that can come after.

* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of reading group questions and a glossary from the book.

About The Author

Laura Imai Messina has made her home in Japan for the last 15 years and works between Tokyo and Kamakura, where she lives with her Japanese husband and two children. She has master’s and doctorate degrees from Tokyo University. Translated from the Italian by Lucy Rand, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is Laura Imai Messina’s English-language debut.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on July 08, 2021

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 l......more

Goodreads review by Olivia on May 07, 2021

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......more

Goodreads review by Rodrigo on October 10, 2022

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......more

Goodreads review by booksbytheboats on May 23, 2020

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’ tha......more

Goodreads review by Louise on June 19, 2020

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......more