What a beautiful, special story The library of heartbeats is. Even though Laura Messina isn't Japanese, she seems to have learned since living in Japan, this specific, uniquely beautiful way Japanese stories often are. With a beautiful, intriguing title as The library of heartbeats I started to read about Shuishi who has a heart condition and is an illustrator, returning to the house of his childhood to fix it up after the death of his mother. At the same time, we have eight year old Kenta who wanders around the house. There doesn't seem to be anything to bring these two people together, but they are inseparably linked to each other.
On the island of Tashemi there is a library of heartbeats. A place where heartbeats from people all over the world are recorded and can be visited. The unbreakable bond between Shuishi and Kenta brings them to the peaceful island and the library of heartbeats.

Some of the things which really spoke to me in this story are:

When we really love something and believe there is magic inside of it, buy more than one of them. (Said by the mother)

Convince yourself you're happy and really believe in it, and one day it might be true.

The more you add in your life, the more risk there is of the decline of happiness.

And something that really made me smile because it is true, I tried it and loved it: when you are crossing the famous, super busy Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, even with your eyes closed, nobody walks against you!

Beautiful story, even the cover makes you think calm thoughts. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

I found this book to be quite moving at times and a bit slow at others. Whilst it did take me a little while to get into it, after the first few parts I started to feel more engaged with the characters and the relationships forming.

In a similar vein to it's predecessor, the story has a real life location in Japan at its centre. At first as a reader you are unsure how this links to our characters and then all becomes clear.

The story doesn't shy away from difficult topics, with experiences of grief, loss and bullying shared amongst the characters together with hope, love and happiness. A thought provoking read overall which has definitely piqued my interest in visiting the archives.

3.8 Stars
One Liner: Sweet and melancholic; slice-of-life type novel

Teshima is a tiny peaceful island in Japan with a library of heartbeats. It’s where the heartbeats of people from around the world are collected and safeguarded. Away in Kamakura, Shuichi, a 40-year-old illustrator, arrives to renovate his home after his mother’s death. He spies an 8-year-old boy shadowing the house. After much deliberation, he approaches the kid in his own manner.
As Shuichi and Kenta form a bond, they decide to travel to the library of heartbeats. Here, the journey is as important as the destination.
The story comes in the third-person POV of Shuichi and Kenta, with a few chapters from others.

My Thoughts:
I went into the book with no expectations. From what little I’ve read of Japanese Lit, I know it’s different and needs patience. The beginning is vague and intriguing, even if the pacing is slow. The story comes together in the second half. However, the book will work better if you go with the flow. Categorizing the sections can be confusing.
There is a short note about surnames and pronunciation before we get into the story. It was quite helpful.
Suichi is not an easy character to like at times, but he manages to be very much real. Kenta is, of course, a darling little boy you can’t help but empathize with. Sayaka is fine, though she seems more like a side character. I couldn’t connect with her.
I love the explanation of kanji (Chinese/ Japanese alphabet) and the mini-stories woven around them. Since the alphabet is also provided, it was easy to understand the explanation.
While the writing is melancholic, halfway through, we realize there’s more sadness and death in the book. We see themes like grieving the death of loved ones, dysfunctional families, a wee bit of bullying, types of mourning and moving on, bonding between two seemingly unrelated people (the man and the boy), etc.
A few recurring themes are happiness, past (memories), acceptance, and opening one’s heart to love. There are some ‘moral’ dilemmas too.
The book needs to be read with proper formatting. The ARC (PDF) is missing italics and scene breaks. This made it a bit hard to track the jumps. Luckily, I thought I understood the pattern, but turns out I was wrong and figured it out in the last quarter. The saving grace is that what was supposed to be story-in-story was very much a part of the narrative. I didn’t skip those sections, so I didn’t miss any info.
While the Library of Heartbeats is the title, the book is about hearts and emotions. TBH, I expected a little more about the wonderful place and the setting. But the focus is more on the main characters. I’d have loved it if the island played a more prominent role.
The book has an author’s note, glossary, and acknowledgment page, providing a little extra insight into the content. Don’t skip these, as you will understand why the entire premise has such melancholy to it. And the Heartbeat Archives is a real place (good if you already know; I thought it was fiction).

To summarize, The Library of Heartbeats is a mellow and bittersweet story of loss, grief, family, friendships, and finding love (not romantic) to have the courage to live again. It may not be for everyone and definitely not a book I would NOT recommend if you are already down. While it does have a hopeful ending, the overall sadness will further affect your spirits.
Thank you, NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK (Manilla Press), for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
******
Remaining links will be updated in 3-4 days

‘To find what you have lost, you must listen to your heart . . . ‘ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. Manilla Press for an eARC via NetGalley, of ‘The Library of Heartbeats’ by Laura Imai-Messina. It was translated from the Italian by Lucy Rand.

As with her ‘The Phone Box at the Edge of the World’ this novel is set in Japan and is inspired by a real life location.

The Heartbeat Archive, here called the Library of Heartbeats, is located on the peaceful Japanese island of Teshima. The heartbeats of visitors from all around the world are collected, allowing for them to continue to echo through time.

The main narrative involves a meeting between two lonely souls. In the ancient city of Kamakura Shuichi, a forty-year-old illustrator, returns to his home-town in order to prepare the house of his recently deceased mother for sale. He encounters eight-year-old Kenta, a child who wanders like a shadow around Shuichi's house.Slowly trust grows between them and they discover a connection that will lead them to Teshima and to the library of heartbeats.

This was a slow burn, character focused novel and it did take a short while for me to feel engaged with the narrative. As it deals with topics of grief and loss, it was quite an emotional experience though ultimately rewarding if bittersweet. I found that it did require a close reading.

Overall, I found ‘The Library of Heartbeats’ a moving novel, lyrically written. I was amazed by the existence of such an archive and appreciated how well the author had woven it into this story.

I found the idea behind this novel rather intriguing; an island in Japan that had collected an archive of heartbeats from around the world. This archive only really comes into the story at the end.

There are several different threads to the story, which is quite confusing at first, but does become clear eventually. Mainly it's told from Suichi's point of view - his mother has recently died and he has moved back to his childhood home to sort through her things. He becomes aware of a child who has been visiting the house and making off with low value stuff. Eventually, they strike up a friendship; Kento has an unhappy homelife, and few friends in school.

I think the story was rather beautifully told, but ultimately, I just failed to connect with it. It may simply be bad timing on my part. It certainly will appeal to many readers. There is nothing actually wrong with it.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

I’m sorry, but despite loving the previous book by this author, this one was just not for me. It didn’t hold my attention at all, although it was beautifully written. I can imagine that many people will love this however, so please give it a go.

A beautiful book of love, friendship and loss. An emotional read which kept me turning the pages from start to finish.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an Arc in return for an honest review.

I had previously read books by this author so was particularly interested to read this one. It had the usual gentle style with little or no action, which is such a refreshing breather from my usual reading genre. However sadly for me this story just didn’t pull me in in the same way as previous books. However I like discovering more about oriental culture which this book has an abundance.

The book blurb tells you this is gonna be a heart warming tale about friendship and loss. The story to start with was confusing as it skipped about between what appeared to be seperate atories. As i carried on reading i became gripped as it slowly sorted itself out. I realised that this was very sad in places and extremely poetic . The philosophy in the writingvwas do sincere and geartfelt. The aithor understood the effects of trauma
The island however is a small mention in the final act carefully written and interwoven inyo rhe main story. This was a feel good story yhat warns your heart. Worth stucking with you made me cry and smile. Thank yoy so much netgallery and publisher and author for this highly recommended 5 star read.

On the Japanese island of Teshima there is a library of heartbeats, where heartbeats of visitors from around the world are collected. The heartbeats of people still alive or who have passed away continue to echo.

40-year-old illustrator Shichi returns to Kamakura to fix up his recently deceased mother's house. He meets 8-year-old Kenta, a boy who wanders around the house like a shadow. As the trust between them grows, they discover they share a bond that will tie them together for life. Their journey will lead them to Teshima...

The book starts with something like a prologue, where the man and the child are journeying somewhere, that is all you know then, and you realize the story itself will be an unforgettable journey. Ethereal feel to a more than powerful narrative, the figurative speech is walking on the side of poetry. The author paints the images with an evocative brush and the emotions with a poignant one.

The odd and you can say adorable way the relationship between Shuichi and Kenta builds is so smile-worthy. I enjoyed immersing in each of their thoughts which were entirely representative of their character, the one you imagined complementing the one the author gifts us. The philosophical nature of the narrative sparks endless pondering.

I loved the 'inserts' which seem to be a quirk of the author for they were similar in her previous book. Memories, conversations, lists, things they've learned etc that add substance you can 'touch', and a sense of wanting to know where it all leads, to the main story.

There are parts that seem to jump out of the timeline that are a little confusing and not to mention the Sayaka... things at first. These kinda throw you out of the ambiance but luckily it's mostly at the beginning or you start to acclimate. It's beautiful when everything ties together. I wish the library had played a bigger part in the story somehow.

"What is grief if not love persevering", to quote yes Vision from Wandavision and this is so full of love, love for the important people in our life, love of learning, creating and all in all life. This book is also about memories, how fluid or cemented or both they can be. About healing and the power of friendship.

This book is heart-affirming, heartwarming, heart-wrenching, all the hearts.

DNF at 69%.
I had a love-hate relationship with this book. Three separate stories run alongside each other. I’m assuming by the end connections are made and all becomes clear however it wasn’t quick enough for me. This is a story of loss; the only name character is introduced clearing out his mother’s house following her death. It is here he meets a young boy who knew a different side to the dead woman and presents an alternate representation of events. At times I wondered if rather than being real this boy were the adult’s inner child. Then there’s an additional storyline. The man has also recently lost his son in a freak accident which caused the breakdown of his marriage. Then there’s the woman he grows closer to as the story develops. Reading this book was like attempting a jigsaw with the picture face down. The pieces fit together but the picture doesn’t become any clearer!

This was a sweet, moving book about a children's author who had just lost his mother and was clearing out her house ready to sell.

Throughout the book we learn more about him and his life, and the struggles he had due to his heart condition.

The Library of Heartbeats was an archive of recordings of heartbeats and the heart was a constant theme throughout the book.

I can't say too much without spoilers but it was moving and heart warming.

However, the writing style may not be to everyone's taste as it does jump around a little not only in time, but also with introduction of random people who are visiting the Library but not actually associated with the main characters.

This was a 3.5 but I have rounded up as the basic story is strong.

Much like Imai-Messina’s previous work, The Phone Box at the Edge of the World, the story is about coming to terms with loss and moving on.

Shuichi was born with a weak heart and his mother was over protective. Anything bad that happened in his childhood was swept under the carpet by his mother, who pretended that his early days were idyllic. As a result, as an adult, he does not know how to cope with trauma as Shuichi has not developed a coping mechanism.

When he befriends a child whose home life is difficult, he reassesses his own childhood and his loss.

I had to make a note of this particular passage below as it captures the spirit of the novel and also is some sound philosophical thought on parenting and society, especially linked to the mental health of children following the pandemic.

'It's because adults idealise children. We think of them only as small, good, and simple. But children are much more complicated and melancholic than we adults think. Their thoughts can be dark, they face hell just like we do, with the only difference being that they have fewer tools to deal with it. And those incredible tools they do have - irrationality, boundless imagination, the ability to laugh at the silliest things and endlessly repeat the same joke - tools that could give them a real advantage, aren't accepted by us adults.
Think about it: children are only taken seriously when they are rational, clear, and explain themselves well. .. basically, when they are not being children.’

Imai-Messina explains at the end about the origins of this story and it sounds like she was in a dark place herself. Writing the book helped her tackle her depression and anxiety. Reading it is also a healing experience.

I loved The Phone Box At The Edge Of The World, so I was delighted to see that Laura Imai Messina has released another book and to have the opportunity to read and review it. The Library Of Heartbeats is a beautiful concept: it's a museum on the Japanese Island of Teshima where people are able to listen to other people's heartbeats and record their own. Laura Imai Messina's writing reflects this beauty and I loved how emotional it made me feel and how i became immersed in the stories the museum held.

The Library Of Heartbeats tells the story of Shuichi and Kenya. It's a slow burning story, but as it unfolds it becomes increasingly touching and heartwarming. I loved the relationship between the two characters and I felt connected to them more and more as the novel developed.

Laura Imai Messina explores many themes in The Library Of Heartbeats and whilst they are not always easy to read, there will be something in this novel that resonates with everyone. She captures human nature and emotion in great detail and this makes The Library Of Heartbeats a novel I will remember for a long time to come

The Library of Heartbeats is an absolutely beautiful story of love and friendship, you can't help but be moved by the content.

3.5 stars rounded up.

On the peaceful island of Teshima, there is a library of heartbeats, a place where the heartbeats of visitors from all around the world are collected. In this small, isolated building, the heartbeats of people who are still alive or have already passed away continue to echo. Several miles away, in the ancient city of KamaKura, two lonely souls, Shuichi, a forty-year-old illustrator, who returns to his hometown to fix up the house of his recently deceased mother, and eight-year-old Kenta, a child who wanders around like a shadow around Shuchi's house. Day by day, the trust between Shuchi and Kenta grows until they discover they share until they discover they share a bond that will tie them together for life. Their journey will lead them to Teshima and to the library of heartbeats.

I loved The Phone Box at the Edge of the World, so I was happy to get an ARC of this book. This is a story of friendship and love. Shuichi and Kenta are two completely different characters that share a deep connection. It did take me a little while to get into this story as I found it a bit confusing to begin with. The pace is on the slow side throughout. It's quite an emotional read. Once I got into the story, I found it quite enjoyable.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Canelo and the author #LauraImaiMessina for my ARC of #TheLibraryOfHeartbeats in exchange for an honest review,

Having enjoyed the author’s previous novel, I was looking forward to this one. However, the beginning of this novel needs work - it begins with 3 parallel story lines… Yes these do get resolved by the end of the book but it does make it difficult to get into the story, particularly as it’s not at all obvious how they will interlink: there’s 2 nameless boys, a nameless father and son duo, and a third line featuring a chap called Shuichi.

However, once you’ve ploughed on past this and decided to trust that the author will clarify everything (I can imagine a number will DNF before they get to this point), the story is ultimately about redemption, friendship and recovering from grief. As with a story that’s aiming to be uplifting, it has a happy ending.

If the beginning was better, I’ve have given this book 4*. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Library of Heartbeats, in a word for me is Beautiful.

The story captures the little, unspoken, hidden moments a person goes through all their life especially ones that we ourself overlook, often without a second thought.
It showed how these little feelings, quite memories shape our personality, our nature, also how we experience life without making a song and dance of it.

This was a such a beautiful, I love the idea of an island with an archive of heartbeats. This is a book that wraps itself around your heart and stays there a while after you put it down.