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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina
31 reviews
yogomagpie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A breathtaking story that I finished in one day. The plot was predictable, but Yui and Takeshi and Hana’s journey through grief and finding peace and acceptance was paced so sensitively and beautifully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Medical content
qqjj's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Vomit, Child death, and Death of parent
words_and_dreams's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A quiet reflective character study of loss and grief. Set after the Tsunami in Japan in 2011 the story follows Yui who lost her mother and daughter and Takeshi a bereaved husband whoes own daughter has stopped talking from grief and shock.
They meet on a hill in Japan where stands an empty disused telephone box. Here people speak into the receiver and speak to people they have lost.
Beautiful and heartbreaking. Studies how people cope after such a loss and how we can move on if at all. Hopeful and uplifting.
They meet on a hill in Japan where stands an empty disused telephone box. Here people speak into the receiver and speak to people they have lost.
Beautiful and heartbreaking. Studies how people cope after such a loss and how we can move on if at all. Hopeful and uplifting.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
rinku's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Phonebooth at the End of the World is a slow and sad character study and was a classic 3.5 stars read for me.
The book follows Yui who lost her mother and daughter at the Tohoku earthquake of 2011. Trying to deal with her grief, she visits a phonebooth where people can imagine talking to their lost loved ones. There, Yui gets to know many different people; Takeshi, who lost his wife, is one of them and his daughter Hana. The book does not only tell Yui’s story but sometimes switches POVs and tells the story of other characters who visit the phonebooth as well.
What I liked about this book were the different characters and seeing how they slowly grew together because they all visit the phone booth. They all mourn differently and try to overcome their grief in different ways, but they are still connected because they lost someone. Another thing I appreciated was the depiction of trauma and PTSD in the main character. The novel also showed how small encounters with other people can change one’s life.
Furthermore, I especially liked the Japanese setting and the depiction of their culture, and the writing style even though some sentences sounded like slogans from calendars. The parts put between the chapters that depicted pieces of information, like numbers, playlists, or favourite bands, were great as well.
My greatest critique of the book is probably the romance. I loved to see how Yui, Takeshi and Hana slowly became a family but the romance between Yui and Takeshi was not so well executed and progressed way too fast. When it came to their marriage, it became clear that Yui wasn’t ready for this step, but they did it nevertheless .
In summary, The Phonebooth at the End of the World depicted in an authentic way how it is to grieve for people you’ve lost and how you can slowly find back into life. The story lacked something here at there, especially at the romance front, but was still nice to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
annaem's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is such a beautiful, lyrical depiction of the grieving process. And it's all the more poignant because of the true story at its heart. While the story of Yui and Takeshi, and all the losses they encounter on their journeys (both their own and others'), is deeply rooted in sadness, there is so much hope and beauty everywhere that it felt more uplifting than devastating.
I really loved the little chapters in between the story that often focused on the banality of life as it goes on after loss; the name of a book someone found relevant, a list of the food being prepared during the conversation of the previous chapter. It grounds the story and highlights the idea that life always just carries on.
As the central characters begin to experience joy again, the conflict within them is clear to see. And what I really love is that the focus on the story is never to move on or hide from grief, but to find a way to carry it with you alongside all the other joys and sadnesses of life.
I really loved the little chapters in between the story that often focused on the banality of life as it goes on after loss; the name of a book someone found relevant, a list of the food being prepared during the conversation of the previous chapter. It grounds the story and highlights the idea that life always just carries on.
As the central characters begin to experience joy again, the conflict within them is clear to see. And what I really love is that the focus on the story is never to move on or hide from grief, but to find a way to carry it with you alongside all the other joys and sadnesses of life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Death of parent
persephonexxvi's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The chapters are very short and there isn't really a fast-paced plot, it's more a meditation on grief, the healing process and how new friendships/found family can develop from tragic circumstances. The titular phone box is the spring board for people being able to begin a process in their lives, and where that takes them after a loss.
I'm not sure if this was due to the translation but the language is very simple (not in a bad way) though often beautiful, leaving the reader to consider how you balance wishing to honour loved ones who passed away while knowing that you're still here, time marching onward as you continue to exist while others are absent.
It's probably not for everyone but having suffered a bereavement in my family just before Christmas it resonated. Sometimes that's all you need from a book.
I'm not sure if this was due to the translation but the language is very simple (not in a bad way) though often beautiful, leaving the reader to consider how you balance wishing to honour loved ones who passed away while knowing that you're still here, time marching onward as you continue to exist while others are absent.
It's probably not for everyone but having suffered a bereavement in my family just before Christmas it resonated. Sometimes that's all you need from a book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
harriebo's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
lisasplans's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
4.0
“Everybody’s grief looked the same at first but, ultimately, was unique.”
What a beautiful story about grief but also about finding hope and joy. This was introspective, lyrical, and beautifully written. If you are in the right headspace for this book, I highly recommend it.
I read this book as part of @_amysbookclub for January 2022. Thank you so much for bringing this book to my attention as I had not heard of it before.
What a beautiful story about grief but also about finding hope and joy. This was introspective, lyrical, and beautifully written. If you are in the right headspace for this book, I highly recommend it.
I read this book as part of @_amysbookclub for January 2022. Thank you so much for bringing this book to my attention as I had not heard of it before.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
mel_s_bookshelf's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Promised to be breathtakingly beautiful and utterly heartbreaking (which at times it was), it unfortunately dragged on a bit too long for me.
Having lost both her mother and her daughter in the 2011 tsunami, Yui is overwhelmed with grief when she hears about Bell Gardia and “the wind phone” that lies within. People travel from miles away to visit this private garden, and if they can find the courage, step inside the phone box, pick up the receiver and speak to those they have lost. When Yui visits, she is unable to find this strength, but instead meets Takeshi, a widower whose young daughter has been unable to speak since their unbearable loss, and from here a friendship built on shared grief is formed.
Bell Gardia is a real place which I was already familiar with having only recently read another book that used the wind phone as inspiration. I completely ADORED the other book based off this concept, and so was hoping I would thoroughly enjoy this as well, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me.
Laura’s writing is beautiful and there were some passages throughout that really spoke to me. She has really captured some of the raw emotions and experiences of grief and had this been a much shorter story (possibly a novella), I think it would have been wonderful. However, instead it felt like it dragged on and on and on, with no solid plot and rather simple character development.
I really wanted to love this, and the beautiful prose and captivating narrator kept me going until the end, but ultimately it was just okay, likeable, but not something I would read or listen to again. It is currently free with an Audible subscription so if you are going through grief, I think you will find parts of it relatable, heartbreaking and encouraging (I did) and it might be worth a listen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy