[DeepL Translation - needs review] Japan is in a state of isolation, having suffered a great calamity and lost foreign languages, automobiles, and the Internet. The elderly are healthy even though they are over 100 years old, but their children are not strong enough to go to school. Yoshiro is worried about his frail great-grandson Mumyo. Mumyo is destined to leave Japan as an "Offering Lantern Messenger. In addition to the title story, which has caused a great sensation, this collection con...
Beautifully Written But Difficult
An interesting, beautifully written read (I only read the titular short story, not the entire collection). It mixes themes of humor, grief, and sadness, depending on the character's perspective and uses a nonlinear narrative which is full of anecdotes and musings, mainly from Yoshiro's POV. I had a lot of fun reading it. I liked the hopefulness of the ending from Mumei's POV, where he had fun with his old neighbor before becoming an emissary. I also loved how nuanced Yoshiro's character