Healing Japanese Fiction Book Recommendation: The Lantern of Lost Memories

Hi Readers! I finally read a book this month!

“A reader doesn’t find a book. The book finds the reader.” While I had heard this from so many people, it always sounded too surreal to believe. These last two months have been hell work-wise. There are so many instances where I feel so angry I wish there was a punching bag in the office to release that stress. There are instances where I feel so hopeless that I wish to go away on a vacation. There are instances where I feel like I am constantly failing so much that I feel like I am on the edge of professional existentialism. When I am in these stressful phases, I am never able to read. But then, yesterday was a Saturday. My only plan was to rest. I got up at 10 AM! I read The Lantern of Lost Things and finished the book in a day. And now I finally understand what “A reader doesn’t find a book. The book finds the reader” means. The book found me.

The genre of healing Japanese fiction had become too much for me. I had read too many books from it. So, I thought I needed to go back to Historical Fiction. But, then I am in a vicious cycle, because I can’t read something as intense as HiFi because I’m stressed, and so I read healing Japanese fiction over and over. I must say though, of all the books I have read in the genre, this one really spoke to me.

The Lantern of Lost Memories is made up of three short stories, where in each one a person has died and is transported to a rest stop which is a photo studio where their photos are developed based on the memories which flash through their eyes before they die. I found all three stories to be unique, with each speaking of different values all relevant to humans in all walks of life.

The first story, ‘The Old Lady and the Bus’, taught me that even when life gets tough, there is always a silver lining, and how we should never lose that hope. Hope of happiness, hope of success, hope of calm. The second story, ‘The Hero and the Mouse’, taught me that there is good and bad in all of us, and how kindness is always the correct path. The third story, ‘Mitsuru and the Last Photo’, taught me that life is unfair, but you must do your best. If that doesn’t work, go to an echo point and scream into the void and let it all out! Every single life lesson from this book is something I needed to hear right now. It gave me hope, courage and audacity to live my life.

The book is simple in its writing. I loved how I got to understand the characters so well in the span of a few pages. I loved the photography aspect of it as well, and the concept of the lantern. I would have loved if there was a fourth story about the main character, but I’m really hoping there will be a sequel!

The writing in this book reminded me of the book, ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and the TV series Not Dead Yet? The concept reminded me of the book, ‘The Restaurant of Lost Recipes’ by Hisashi Kashiwai. The first story reminded me of the movie, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. The second story reminded me of the book, ‘Anxious People’ by Fredrik Backman. I have loved and enjoyed all these forms of storytelling too! I have rated The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi, translated by Jesse Kirkwood at 5/5 stars!

Until next time,