The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World was our my evergreen readers book club pick for February and it was such a lovely read.
The story centers around two characters who meet while grieving at a real phone booth set in a garden in Japan: a disconnected “wind phone” where people go to speak to loved ones they have lost. One would think that this sounds rather depressing. To be sure, there were a few parts that really hit me in the gut, but overall the tone was uplifting. It felt like reading a fairytale or a fable about love, loss, resilience and, ultimately, joy.
I flew through it in two days and loved the short interim chapter breaks that varied widely and included things like: a list of chocolates the characters eat on a trip to visit the phone, 10 things (plus one!) Hana enjoyed doing with her mother, etc. They seemed like small irrelevant snippets, but were so poignant and intimate, helping to reveal so much about the characters (and the little things in life that mean so much).
I also read this just before the anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which plays a large role in the story and I think it was good to remember, learn about it, and think about the people rather than a nuclear plant.
Also, this would tick off the box for a novel in translation for anyone doing a reading challenge.

This book has been on my Goodreads TBR after seeing it at Barnes and Noble two years ago. I finally decided to pick it up at my local library as I'm trying to clear out this list (and because I have some time in between newly published books that the library is slowly purchasing and making available for checkout).

The first thought that came to mind while reading this book was, "Why does this feel like the plot of Yellowface coming to light?" Originally, I thought a Japanese author wrote this book and translated it into English, only to find out that the author is Italian graduated from a university in Japan, and is currently living in Japan. I guess the author was very interested in Japanese culture so she decided to immerse herself in it and wrote a book that's an international best seller.

A quick summary, the book shows the reader that people deal with grief in their own ways. In fact, the first "group question" states it clearly, "Everyone's grief looked the same at first but, ultimately, was unique." The event when this story took place (after the March 2011 deadly earthquakes, that caused tsunamis and killed many people) was the reason why the main character, Yui Hasegawa, made the journey to Bell Gardia, hoping to find some sense of reconciliation with the deaths of her mother and her daughter. Throughout the story, we see a few other characters also dealing with their own grief (not necessity from the same event) by using this stand-alone photo booth that has no connection, to make a "call" and let the wind take the caller's words and send them to their loved ones.

I wanted to like this book, but after finishing the first section, I wanted it to wrap up quickly because the story dragged out. Even though the page count is within the 400 mark, the book's layout makes it seem like you're reading a YA book. I did enjoy the chapter in between, adding additional information about the previous chapter, whether or not it really adds to the main story.

Honestly. the story dragged, only to say that Yui was able to let go of all the grief she held onto, maybe 5-6 years later.