The Lantern of Lost Memories cover art

The Lantern of Lost Memories

A charming and heartwarming story for fans of cosy Japanese fiction

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The Lantern of Lost Memories

By: Sanaka Hiiragi
Narrated by: Hanako Footman
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About this listen

One photograph, one treasured memory, one chance to go back . . .

If you could relive one day of your life, which would you choose? In a cosy photography studio in the mountains between this world and the next, someone is waking up as if from a dream. A kind man will hand them a hot cup of tea and gently explain that, having reached the end of their life, they have one final task.

There is a stack of photos on their lap, one for every day of their life, and now they must choose the pictures that capture their most treasured memories, which will be placed in a beautiful lantern. Once completed, it will be set spinning, and their cherished moments will flash before their eyes, guiding them to another world.

But, like our most thumbed-over photographs, our favourite memories become faded with age, so each visitor to the studio has the chance to choose one day to return to and photograph afresh. Each has a treasured story to tell, from the old woman rebuilding a community in Tokyo after a disaster, to the flawed Yakuza man who remembers a time when he was kind, and a strong child who is fighting to survive.

Extraordinarily moving and wise, Sanaka Hiiragi's The Lantern of Lost Memories is a beautiful Japanese tale about the people that make us and the moments that change us.

Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Science Fiction Time Travel World Literature
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It left me wanting more.....Each story made me feel things I couldn't quite explain. Especially the last one. I feel a need to.go.back and read again....

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What a beautiful and heartfelt story!
I loved the depth in the characters and the gentle twists that came along the way.
The later part amped up but it brought the quick boil back to a simmer with the warm ending.
Overall a lovely listen that leaves you thinking

Beautiful

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What a joy, a book that celebrates the extraordinary in the ordinary everyday acts of kindness.

Simply beautiful

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