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The Phone Box at the Edge of the World

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The Phone Box at the Edge of the World

By: Laura Imai Messina, Lucy Rand - translator
Narrated by: Yuriri Naka
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About this listen

'Absolutely breathtaking' Christy Lefteri, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo.

We all have something to tell those we have lost . . .

On a windy hill in Japan, in a garden overlooking the sea stands a disused phone box. For years, people have travelled to visit the phone box, to pick up the receiver and speak into the wind: to pass their messages to loved ones no longer with us.

When Yui loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami, she is plunged into despair and wonders how she will ever carry on. One day she hears of the phone box, and decides to make her own pilgrimage there, to speak once more to the people she loved the most. But when you have lost everything, the right words can be the hardest thing to find . . .

Then she meets Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose own daughter has stopped talking in the wake of their loss. What happens next will warm your heart, even when it feels as though it is breaking...

The Phone Box at the Edge of the World is an unforgettable story of the depths of grief, the lightness of love and the human longing to keep the people who are no longer with us close to our hearts.

©2020 Laura Imai Messina and Lucy Rand (P)2020 Bonnier Books UK
Family Life Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Feel-Good Heartfelt Natural Disaster

Critic Reviews

"Absolutely breathtaking...a story of universal loss and the power of love. It will remain engraved in my heart and mind forever." (Christy Lefteri, Sunday Times best-selling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo)

"Beautiful. A message of hope for anyone who is lost, frightened or grieving." (Clare Mackintosh, Sunday Times best-selling author of After the End)

"Incredibly moving. It will break your heart and soothe your soul." (Stacey Halls, Sunday Times best-selling author of The Familiars)

What listeners say about The Phone Box at the Edge of the World

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beautifully written, delightfully narrated

Imagine there's a place where you can pick up a phone and talk to your loved ones that have passed on. Well one exists in Tokyo and this book is inspired by that phonebox.

Of course, the phonebox is not connected, it's a 'wind' phone and I guess it's up to the speaker to determine whether the intended listener actually hears you. I'd like to think they do, it would be comforting to think you could tell them your thoughts, your dreams, your sadness, your happiness, how much you miss them...

Yui heard about the 'wind' phone on the radio program she works on. She decides to make the pilgrimage there, urged by her sadness from the loss of her mother and her little girl, both lost in the tsunami that devastated Japan. She can't bring herself to talk in to the phone but whilst there, she meets Takeshi, a man whose young daughter has stopped speaking after losing her mother. Their story (and others) is about grief, guilt, love, hope, finding peace. It's heartbreaking and heartwarming.

It's such a beautifully written story (if it had of been a hard copy book, I would have highlighted many sentences) and a delight to listen to - narrated by Yuriri Naka. Timelines do bounce around a tad and there are some weird/delightful/insightful tiny chapters woven in but overall, I really enjoyed it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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A sweet story about grief

I started this story several times as I felt like I missed things but realised that was the style, that some chapters were just short statements. Narrative was good but a bit flat intonation wise. Really enjoyed the storyline and landscape descriptions.

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