The Phone Box at the Edge of the World
The moving, unforgettable, Japanese-set international bestseller - inspired by true events
Will be published approx. on 25. June 2020
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-78658-039-9 (ISBN)
Description
'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.
'A moving and uplifting anatomisation of grief and the small miraculous moments that persuade people to start looking forward again' Sunday Times
'Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour' Choice, Book of the Month
'A poignant, atmospheric novel dealing with love, coming to terms with loss and the restoration of one's self' Daily Mail
'A story about the dogged survival of hope when all else is lost . . . A striking haiku of the human heart' The Times
'Beautiful. A message of hope for anyone who is lost, frightened or grieving' Clare Mackintosh, Sunday Times bestselling author of After the End
'Incredibly moving. It will break your heart and soothe your soul' Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars
'Mesmerising . . . beautiful . . . a joy to read' Joanna Glen, Costa shortlisted author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope
'Spare and poetic, this beautiful book is both a small, quiet love story and a vast expansive meditation on grieving and loss' Heat
'A perfect poignant read' Woman & Home
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.
'A moving and uplifting anatomisation of grief and the small miraculous moments that persuade people to start looking forward again' Sunday Times
'Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour' Choice, Book of the Month
'A poignant, atmospheric novel dealing with love, coming to terms with loss and the restoration of one's self' Daily Mail
'A story about the dogged survival of hope when all else is lost . . . A striking haiku of the human heart' The Times
'Beautiful. A message of hope for anyone who is lost, frightened or grieving' Clare Mackintosh, Sunday Times bestselling author of After the End
'Incredibly moving. It will break your heart and soothe your soul' Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars
'Mesmerising . . . beautiful . . . a joy to read' Joanna Glen, Costa shortlisted author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope
'Spare and poetic, this beautiful book is both a small, quiet love story and a vast expansive meditation on grieving and loss' Heat
'A perfect poignant read' Woman & Home
Reviews / Votes
A story about the dogged survival of hope when all else is lost . . . Messina shows us that even in the face of a terrible tragedy, such as an earthquake or a loss of a child, the small things - a cup of tea, a proffered hand - can offer a way ahead. Its meditative minimalism makes it a striking haiku of the human heart * The Times * Carefully told and with great care, this feels a particularly resonating story right now * Stylist * This beautiful novel tells a story of universal loss and the power of love. It will remain engraved in my heart and mind forever. During these difficult times we face, it addresses questions that we might all have - how to connect with those we have loved and lost and how to allow ourselves to live and to love again. Beautifully written, sensitive and evocative, it paints a picture of an inner and outer world that is infused with both tragedy and hope. It moved me to tears and made me want to speak my own secret thoughts in the phone box at the edge of the world. Absolutely breathtaking and stunning * Christy Lefteri * A message of hope for anyone who is lost, frightened or grieving. Beautiful. * Clare Mackintosh * Incredibly moving. It will break your heart and soothe your soul * Stacey Halls * Spare and poetic, this beautiful book is both a small, quiet love story and a vast, expansive meditation on grieving and loss * Heat * Before I got started, I already loved the phone box at the edge of the world. But then I loved everything else. Especially the beautiful prose, powerful but held back, like grief. And the characters - emerging blinking from their tragedies, hurt and hesitant - but ultimately hopeful. It was a joy to read. Mesmerising! * Joanna Glen, author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope * This is a beautiful book. And a timely one. It tells a story about the aftermath of a disaster, long after the disaster. It tells of memories of the first few weeks after horror struck, but more it tells about the years after. If we're not directly affected, we lose sight of the years after that others have to endure. Or survive * Bookbag * The Phone Box at the Edge of the World has such a subtle strength to it. The power to transfer such huge emotion from the page to my heart. It felt like a balm to my soul, one I did not know I needed. For me it is easily one of my books of the year * Waterstones bookseller * Immensely moving and emotionally powerful . . . possessed of a rare empathetic pull * Waterstones bookseller * This book is one to read now * Cosmopolitan * A perfect poignant read * Woman & Home * A balm to the soul in difficult times * Good Housekeeping * All I can say is that I thoroughly recommend this book to all, even if you have not lost someone dear. This book offers a sweet and poignant story, as well as some meaningful messages and a hopeful outlook on life * Escape to the Bookshelf * This an aching sweetness about this novel, with telling details that bring the departed so alive * Saga Magazine * A quiet, elegantly told story of how life goes on after loss. * Press Association * An elegant, elegiac story ... a poignant, atmospheric novel dealing with love, coming to terms with loss and the restoration of one's self. * Daily Mail * A stylish and carefully calibrated meditation upon the nature of loss, grief and the joyously restorative power of love. * The Yorkshire Times * This was a poignant read that brings love, light and hope to a heartbreaking situation * Rea's Book Review * Messina's beautifully-written debut novel of loss and the power of love, provides hope in the most of difficult of times. * Surrey Life * A touching tale of loss and recovery. * Wiltshire Living * Beautifully moving read ... heartbreaking and poignant. * Woman's Own * A quiet, elegantly told story of how life goes on after loss * Leinster Leader * BOOK OF THE MONTH: Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour. * Choice magazine * Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour * Scottish Herald * Moving, heart-breaking, redemptive * Irish Examiner * A whimsical, moving and uplifting anatomisation of grief and the small miraculous moments that persuade people to start looking forward again. * The Sunday Times * A tale of strength and hope born out of pain ... Messina has captured a grieving nation's soul. * The Lady * Beautiful in its candour ... staggering in its hold on you. More than a story of grief, it points to a fundamental hope in reforming after tragedy, and a celebration of lives well-lived. * Sunday Business Post *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bonnier Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 221 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
496 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78658-039-9 (9781786580399)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Laura Imai Messina (Author)
Laura Imai Messina (Author)
Laura Imai Messina was born in Rome and moved to Tokyo at the age of twenty-three. Her international bestselling novel The Phone Box at the Edge of the World was published in thirty-one countries. Laura teaches at some of the most prestigious Japanese universities, as well as writing for newspapers and working with the Japanese National TV Channel NHK.
Lucy Rand (Translator)
Lucy Rand was shortlisted for the TA First Translation Prize for The Phone Box at the Edge of the World which she translated while living in Japan. She has also translated novels by Italian authors Paolo Milone and Irene Graziosi, and is the editor of the guided audiobook app, Audrey. She now lives in Norwich.
Lucy Rand (Translator)
Lucy Rand is an editor and translator of Italian fiction, including The Phone Box at the Edge of the World and The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina, The Art of Binding People by Paolo Milone and Tangerinn by Emanuela Anechoum. She currently lives in Norwich.
Laura Imai Messina (Author)
Laura Imai Messina was born in Rome and moved to Tokyo at the age of twenty-three. Her international bestselling novel The Phone Box at the Edge of the World was published in thirty-one countries. Laura teaches at some of the most prestigious Japanese universities, as well as writing for newspapers and working with the Japanese National TV Channel NHK.
Lucy Rand (Translator)
Lucy Rand was shortlisted for the TA First Translation Prize for The Phone Box at the Edge of the World which she translated while living in Japan. She has also translated novels by Italian authors Paolo Milone and Irene Graziosi, and is the editor of the guided audiobook app, Audrey. She now lives in Norwich.
Lucy Rand (Translator)
Lucy Rand is an editor and translator of Italian fiction, including The Phone Box at the Edge of the World and The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina, The Art of Binding People by Paolo Milone and Tangerinn by Emanuela Anechoum. She currently lives in Norwich.