Plot Summary

They seem to have realized, belatedly, that the time left to us is not that long.

When blue rays, which looked like radioactive rays, started falling on the earth, the world started a march toward its end. Everything—men, beasts, birds, trees, earth, and water—turned blue and stopped moving.

I began a journey to see her before the world ended. In our last telephone conversation, she had sounded frightened, saying, “My mother is desperately ill” and “There is no one in town.” I promised her that I would be there to see her.

The town she lives in is about 500 kilometers from where I am as the crow flies. Will I be able to get to her, to fend off the blue rays as I go? Can her town remain unaffected by the blue rays until I reach her?

This is the first original writing in a long time by Ichikawa Takuji, the author of such bestsellers as Ima Aini Yukimasu (Be with You), Ren’ai Shashin (Love Films), and Sono Toki wa Kare ni Yoroshiku (Say Hello to Him When the Time Comes), which together sold 2,505,500 copies. The book is published by Shogakukan, the place the author himself calls his “home ground.” With this new work, Ichikawa once again does not disappoint his readers. This is a supreme love story about all kinds of love—not only the love between lovers but also between parents and children and between friends.

Praise for Such a Gentle Ending of the World
(contributed by employees of major bookstores in Tokyo and Osaka)

“From beginning to end, this book is filled with the “end of the world.” But its ending is stuffed with gentleness, tenderness, and loneliness. It made me cry over and over until my face became puffy.”

“Honestly, I was deeply moved by this book. I feel irritated at not being able to find the proper words to describe this book. Purity beyond imagination, literature at its best, and a tale of human souls. History will show that this is the literary work that represents not only the year of 2013 but the entire Heisei era.”

“This book has made me think about today’s Japan much more than demonstrations or speeches on issues. I bet, if the world has to end, that many would wish it to end like this book.”

“What a high degree of purity and transparency! This book reminds us and makes us realize what true love is all about. Gentle and beautiful, it is a masterpiece love story. Encountering episodes of pure and innocent love one after another, a warm feeling spread over me, gradually overtaking my entire being with powerful emotions.”