THE LIBRARY OF HEARTBEATS BY LAURA IMAI

A powerful, moving novel of grief, hope, friendship and love based on a real heartbeat archive on an island in Japan. To find what you have lost, you must listen to your heart…

On the peaceful Japanese island of Teshima there is a library of heartbeats, a place where the heartbeats of visitors from around the world are collected. In this small, isolated building, the heartbeats of people who are still alive or have already passed away continue to echo.

Several miles away, in the ancient city of Kamakura, two lonely souls meet: Shuichi, a forty‑year‑old illustrator who returns to his hometown to fix up the house of his recently deceased mother, and eight‑year‑old Kenta, a child who wanders like a shadow around Shuichi’s house. Day by day, the trust between Shuichi and Kenta grows until they discover they share a bond that will tie them together for life. Their journey leads them to Teshima and the library of heartbeats…

Reviews

“Absolutely breathtaking” – Christy Lefteri, Sunday Times bestselling author of *The Beekeeper of Aleppo* “A moving and uplifting anatomisation of grief” – Sunday Times “Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it’s a book to savour” – Choice, Book of the Month “A poignant, atmospheric novel” – Daily Mail “A striking haiku of the human heart” – The Times