Member Reviews
A lyrical real-world fable set in modern day Japan.
An artist brought up by a widow who edits his reality to spare him from tragedy learns to face life without his mother, and, it turns out, his son, when he befriends a little boy. Man and boy bond (when they know they must part) on a journey to the “Library of Heartbeats” where the unique heartbeats of people from all over the world are stored in a beautiful building on a small Japanese island, where visitors can listen to any heartbeat in the archive and record their own, with any message they like for those who might one day hear it, or leave no message but the heartbeat itself. Along the way, they learn that imagination and friendship can not only deal with tragedy and purge needless guilt*, but enhance reality and make life so much better and well worth living.
*perhaps the truly guilty experience no guilt themselves, but this fable sees no guilt in anyone.
This beautiful book with themes of grief, healing and intergenerational friendship. It also gives us a look at childhood and what we can learn from a child's perspective.
I was moved by The Library of Heartbeats. It is a beautiful book full of depth and emotion written in a gentle and calm way.
I found it quite difficult to get into this book initially, but by the end I was completely caught up in the story and found it very moving. It is a little bit of a slow burn, and the style might not be to everyone's liking, but the gentle pace built from something melancholy to a really engaging story, and whilst I wasn't much interested in the main character to begin with, he grew on me as I read. The more I knew about him, the more engaged I was.
This is an emotional, sweet story, and saw me immediately looking up afterwards if there actually is an island with an archive of heartbeats in Japan, so that maybe one day I can try to visit.
A beautiful story, well written and very poignant. The characters are well depicted and I felt an affinity with them all. A kind, gentle book.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the preview copy.
A beautiful book based around a 40 year old illustrator man who is grieving his mother and an 8 year old boy
it's a truly lovely read.
This is a beautiful, magical story. It restores faith and lets you dream of peace and love. A highly recommendable book!
Rather a sad read that gradually unfolds how the main character has been affected by the loss of his son. His developing friendship with a young boy helps him to begin to heal and allow some happiness into his life.
This is absolutely adorable, like putting on a cosy pair of slippers. Perfect for the current autumnal weather
Sometimes the power and emotion of a novel creeps up on you so unexpectedly that it leaves you so deeply moved that the impact is not only incredibly profound but has actually given you a different perspective on life
The Phone Box at the Edge of the World was a beautiful read so this new novel by Laura Imai-Messina had big footsteps to follow in.
This is a story of love and friendship - a bond that is made following tragedy and sadness. Shuichi, a story book creator / illustrator has the task of emptying his mother’s home following her death; but discovers that each afternoon an eight year boy called Kenta is entering a side passageway to the house and taking items. Intrigued, Shuichi soon establishes a friendship with the boy.
What follows is the story of these two different individuals but also deep connection that pulls them closer as both try to make sense of the world around them. This is a story about the beauty and power within the innocence of being a child. It is also a story about that most powerful of things - if not the most - the human heartbeat. On the island of Teshima is a library where heartbeats are captured and stored either from visitors or sent from people around the world
This is a book that could so easily have veered towards sentimentality but not at all. As with many Japanese based tales there is a sense of melancholy and the first half of the book has an underlying sense of sadness. But as the story progresses a powerful and deep tenderness emerges ; the aforementioned library brings the story to its denouement with unexpected results.
Truly beautiful- let yourself escape , breathe and immerse yourself and your heart into this wonderful book.
A beautiful story about intergenerational friendships and lessons about life, safety and love The translation was done beautifully I appreciated the notes on the Japanese scripts and words.
This was a beautiful book which stayed with me days after I had finished it. Heartwarming and full of love.
This novels is all about an archive in Japan where people travel to record their heartbeats. In this small building the heartbeats of those both alive and dead continue to echo.
The book centres around the relationship between Shuichi, a 40 year old illustrator of children’s books, whose mother has recently died and who has returned to his family home to fix up her house and Kenya, a 8 year old boy. He shadows Shuichi and gradually trust is built up between the two and they find that they share a bond which will tie them together.
Eventually they travel together to record their heartbeats and Shuichi finds peace.
A book I will be recommending.