Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Lantern of Lost Memories

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The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi

11 reviews

alavenderlibrary's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I truly mean it when I say I love this book so much! I hope Hiiragi has plans to turn this into a series (similar to the Before The Coffee Gets Cold collection). I would love to read more about this world and the characters—both the ones that exist in the in-between and the people who pass through the photography studio. I thought this was such an interesting idea and loved the themes of celebrating life after death.

Each chapter starts in third perspective as the character for that short story finds themselves in the photo studio after their death; However, it then switches to first person when each character starts telling the story of their most cherished memory. I didn't mind though—it felt natural, like dialogue, and didn't take me out of the story.

The book is split into three chapters, one for each character that passes through the studio. At first

it seems like they aren't connected, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the twist at the end: the little girl who came back to life in the last chapter becomes the nursery school teacher we see in the first two. Hirasaki breaks the rules of the photography studio and gives her the advice that saves her life, ultimately ending up with all of his memories being erased.

I thought this was such a beautiful inclusion, it shows how everything is connected while smoothly weaving in backstory for Hirasaki in the process. I was very impressed to see how skillful Hiiragi is as a writer, something that I feel can be lost in translation with some books. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

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gleigh96's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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shadymist's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I wish I could give this book a higher score on StoryGraph and it’s been a real pleasure to have shared with Sanaka’s fabulous creativity. Her words were not only wonderful to read to envision and feel like you are embarking on the journey with the characters.

Three separate stories that share the same value and a pov from them all. Their memories and personalities that shaped and moulded them into the people they were before they deceased. The book retells of a live after death but before you encounter your destiny. Before heaven, hell or reincarnation. It’s the place to watch your cinematic records shortened by 1 memory for each year you were alive. Truly a masterpiece and I would love to read more from Sanaka Hiiragi.

A perfect finish for 2024 for me. Happy new year to all whom read this :)

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coreycbrewer's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It was an inside perspective on death, reflecting on one’s life and the impact we make

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katerina_l's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

lexcellent's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

petriedishe's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi cozily captures the intertwined intricacies of humanity in this emotional and heartwarming fantasy.

This book is a good, quick read if you’re in the mood for some comfort and reflection. With that said, I feel like I have to mention that this book isn’t just filled with comforting moments. There are some scenes that are hard to swallow, especially towards the end, but even then the feeling of hope is strong. That’s what makes this book a comfort. The focus on photography and preserving memories through photos also helps to make this book feel heartwarming. Who wouldn’t want to see all their cherished memories laid out as pictures at the end of their life? I also really enjoyed that each story was connected to each other in some way, even if it seemed like on the surface that these characters would never cross paths. I liked the possibility of directly or indirectly being able to help another person’s life for the better.

I liked that this book followed three different people, with Mr. Hirasaka as a steadfast guide throughout it all, so that we could understand three different perspectives and appreciate three different lives. On the other hand, for the same reason, I couldn’t connect as deeply with these characters as much as Mr. Hirasaka, because only Mr. Hirasaka was involved in the story from start to finish. Even Mr. Hirasaka was at times hard to connect with, since he couldn’t remember his past and only had a handful of details to fully flesh out his personality. Maybe this is why this book didn’t hit as hard emotionally as I thought it would. Regardless, I still came away from this book feeling nostalgic and warm, as if I'd flipped through a photo album of my own.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. 3.75/5 stars.

Content Warnings