The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World: #bookreview

It was definitely not in my plan but I finished reading this book, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World, about 4 days before my mom passed away in January. It is hard to believe that a month has gone by already. In my opinion, the phone booth at the edge of the world will probably not trigger any grief beyond what people already feel. The book is really lovely.

Yui learns about an old telephone booth in that a man has set up in his garden. I imagine that it is a really beautiful garden. People begin to travel to the phone booth to talk to their loved ones that have died during the tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011.

Yui lost her mother and daughter during the tsunami. After learning about the telephone booth, she travels to the garden. She cannot quite pick up the phone but the garden and the phone booth give her a small amount of comfort. While visiting the garden, Yui meets Takeshi and his daughter. The daughter has not spoken since losing her mother. Takeshi is hoping that his daughter will speak to her mother on the phone.

Yui, Takeshi and his daughter begin to meet on a regular basis at the phone booth. They are all making small steps to healing. It may seem silly to some people to visit a phone booth that is so far from everything. Maybe the distance from their current homes is helpful.

Recommendation:

If you are ready to read a book that deals with dealing with grief and loss, then The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World would be an excellent choice. I cannot think of anyone that would not like this book. It’s just so beautiful and hopeful.

I don’t have a phone booth but I do have an old phone that I could use to talk to my mom. It’s just nice to know that it’s there.

• I received this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
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