Toshikazu Kawaguchi - Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3)
5⭐
Genre: Fiction, Mystical Realism, Asian Literature, East Asian Literature, Japanese Literature, Short Stories, Book Series, Translated Books, Fantasy, Paranormal
Original Title: 思い出が消えないうちに
Original Language: Japanese
Translated by: Geoffrey Trousselot
Pages: 224
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Picador
Date Published: 30th August 2022
Huge thank you to Picador for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.
Book Blurb:
In northern Japan, overlooking the spectacular view Hakodate Port has to offer, Cafe Donna Donna has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.
From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe comes another story of four new customers, each of whom is hoping to take advantage of the cafe's time-travelling offer. Among some familiar faces from Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s previous novels, readers will also be introduced to:
A daughter who couldn’t say ‘You’re an idiot.’
A comedian who couldn’t ask ‘Are you happy?’
A younger sister who couldn’t say ‘Sorry.’
A young man who couldn’t say ‘I like you.’
With his signature heart-warming characters and immersive storytelling, in Before Your Memory Fades, Toshikazu Kawaguchi once again invites the reader to ask themselves: what would you change if you could travel back in time?
My Review:
OMG! The third book of the Before
the Coffee Gets Cold series is even better than the last two. This usually
doesn’t happen in the world of book series for me. However, I take that as an
amazing thing. I love this series. It has everything that I love, it is set in
Japan, it has mystical realism, it talks and discusses important subjects and
the writing with translation are just superb.
This third instalment is slightly
different from the first two, because the scene moves to rural northern Japan, to
a Hakodate port by the hillside of the Mount. Hakodate. Nagare and Kazu, owners
of the café in Tokyo are asked by the owner of Hakodate’s café to look after
it, whilst she is away. Nagare and Kazu agree thus we meet a completely
different group of customers who want to travel to the past or the future in
this café. This café in Hakodate also has the same magical chair that can help
you time travel. The rules are also the same.
In this book, we meet a daughter
who wants to travel to see her dead parents and tell them how much she hates
them. We also meet a successful comedian who wants to share his success with
his wife who passed away and who he misses dearly. Additionally, we get to know
a local boy who wants to travel into the past upon realizing that the girl who
was by his side from a young age is the one for him, as well as, we get to read
the story of two sisters, one of them passed away and the other is consumed
with grief and need to hear from her deceased sister that it is alright to be
happy.
I liked how much this book
interlinked with the first two, as this made the move to another location so
much more natural. I also really liked the change in scenery, as I think
changing the location of the café made the stories of the customers fresher.
I felt that this book was
concentrating more on grief, loss, and losing loved ones in comparison to the
two previous books. I honestly, really liked this, as it explored different
characters and how they all deal with loss and grief in their separate
ways. It makes the book realistic and relatable. The only thing I hoped that
this book would do, which it sadly didn’t explore, was the origin story of the
ghost that sits in the time travel chair in this café in Hakodate.
The ending of this book was so
heart-wrenching and I honestly shed a tear or two, as it was that beautiful and
sad at the same time. It made me think about life and loss, whilst also remembering
and cherishing all the good memories and moment that comes my way.
Overall: Another perfect read for
windy autumn weather, whilst enjoying a frothy cup of coffee under a fluffy
blanket. Such a lovely book, which has so much food for thought and so many
lessons about life, loss, and grief. Loved it and hope that there will be more
instalments of this series in the future as I will be keeping my eyes peeled for that.
About the Author:
Toshikazu Kawaguchi (in Japanese: 川口 俊 和) was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1971. He formerly produced, directed, and wrote for the theatrical group Sonic Snail. As a playwright, his works include COUPLE, Sunset Song, and Family Time. The novel Before the Coffee Gets Cold is adapted from an 1110 Productions play by Kawaguchi, which won the 10th Suginami Drama Festival grand prize. Before the Coffee Gets Cold is his debut as an author. It has become an international bestseller and has been adapted for the screen in Japan.
https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/toshikazu-kawaguchi/28093
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