The Heartbeat Library: A Novel

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The Heartbeat Library is a long meditation session on memory, imagination, and how to be happy.

On a Japanese island, there is a museum where visitors can record their heartbeats to be stored and heard by future visitors. Most of this novel, however, takes place some distance away in Kamakura, Japan. After Shuichi’s mother passes away, the middle-aged children’s book writer-illustrator returns to his childhood home to organize what she left behind. While grappling with childhood memories, he discovers that a young boy has been visiting his mother’s abandoned home. This novel explores the unexpected connections they share as a friendship develops.

I almost want to call this book great. It’s a little bit longer than it needs to be. Or, it’s longer than I want it to be because it’s so sad. At the same time, it accomplishes that magical thing books sometimes do where it finds the words to articulate something I’ve thought—or deeply felt—but have never been able to find the right words for. Now I have the words, thanks to Laura Imai Messina and translator Lucy Rand.

If you’re prepared to read a melancholic saunter through the seasons of human emotion, check this one out.


Reviewed By:

Author Laura Imai Messina
Star Count 4.5/5
Format Hard
Page Count 400 pages
Publisher The Overlook Press
Publish Date 22-Oct-2024
ISBN 9781419772498
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue January 2025
Category Modern Literature
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Description

The Heartbeat Library is a long meditation session on memory, imagination, and how to be happy.

On a Japanese island, there is a museum where visitors can record their heartbeats to be stored and heard by future visitors. Most of this novel, however, takes place some distance away in Kamakura, Japan. After Shuichi’s mother passes away, the middle-aged children’s book writer-illustrator returns to his childhood home to organize what she left behind. While grappling with childhood memories, he discovers that a young boy has been visiting his mother’s abandoned home. This novel explores the unexpected connections they share as a friendship develops.

I almost want to call this book great. It’s a little bit longer than it needs to be. Or, it’s longer than I want it to be because it’s so sad. At the same time, it accomplishes that magical thing books sometimes do where it finds the words to articulate something I’ve thought—or deeply felt—but have never been able to find the right words for. Now I have the words, thanks to Laura Imai Messina and translator Lucy Rand.

If you’re prepared to read a melancholic saunter through the seasons of human emotion, check this one out.

Additional information

Author Laura Imai Messina
Star Count 4.5/5
Format Hard
Page Count 400 pages
Publish Date The Overlook Press
ISBN 9781419772498
Amazon Buy this Book
Issue January 2025
Category Modern Literature
Share