I first heard about this title in Japan in 2010, when I was in my first year of high school.
The book was published in 1998, but gained popularity after the movie adaptation in 2010. Personally, I regret a bit that I didn’t read it then. The story would have been more dazzling to me had I read it at a younger age.
The soul of the deceased hero meets a strange angel – Prapur – and gets a chance to reappear in the world. The problem is that it means staying in the body of an unknown person and within a year, having to regain memory. This unknown person turns out to be a high school student whose body ended up in the hospital after a suicide. Apart from painting, which is his strong point, he can’t cope with the studies or communicating with other people.
Does he eventually regain his memory? Why did he die?
Despite the suicide that appears early in the story, the overall style is quite light and easy to read.
I highly recommend this book to high school students. This title is also an ideal choice for people who want to read in English but don’t like a story that is too difficult or too long.
