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The Phone Box at the Edge of the World: The most moving, unforgettable book you will read, inspired by true events

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The Phone Box at the Edge of the World, Laura Imai Messina, Lucy Rand (trans) (Overlook Press, March 2021; Manilla Press, June 2020) 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.” Written in Italian and published as Quel che affidiamo al vento, the English translation was done by Lucy Rand. Rand’s translation is fluent and seamless; she captures the lyricism and meditative quality of the writing with care, a feat made more impressive given that there’s also a distinct Japanese sensibility (the author has been living in Japan for the past 15 years).

There is a stillness and quietness to the book that makes each movement all the more meaningful. The words carry a weight that makes each sentence feel intentional; there’s no fat to trim. Moving and heart-breaking, Yui’s story—and that of the Wind Phone—is equally uplifting and heart-warming. 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. Yui is a radio presenter. She hosts a talk show which is how she comes to hear about the telephone. In the Tsunami she lost her mother and her daughter. The father of the daughter is not on the scene. She is alone in the world. She is still dealing with the aftermath, or not dealing with it, which must be the case for so many people. Spare and poetic, this beautiful book is both a small, quiet love story and a vast expansive meditation on grieving and loss' - Heat 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.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. And if she had said it out loud, Takeshi would have told her the truth. That love is a miracle. Even the second time around. Even when it comes to you by mistake.” Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of The Overlook Press. I think the book triumphs mainly in the small moments, like when Yui remembers the way her daughter used to dress, or the way she used to sing on the train – it is a stark reminder that we don’t know how long we have left with our loved ones so we should really learn to cherish every moment. The blurb reads: “Struggling to come to terms with her grief, she hears a story about a man who has an old disused telephone box 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 box spreads, people travel there from miles around. Soon Yui makes a pilgrimage to the phone box, too. But once there she cannot bring herself to speak into the receiver. Then she finds 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...”

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. 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 anspornten, herauszufinden, was als Nächstes geschehen würde.<<

Reader Reviews

The Phone Box at the Edge of the World is powerful and moving, thoughtful and evocative. Messina writes with both clarity and restraint, with the ability to reveal much in a single, compressed paragraph. In an early description of Yui, Messina writes: On her way, she meets Takeshi, who still has a daughter and a mother, but is mourning a wife lost to cancer. His daughter hasn't spoken since her mother was taken from her.

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