Book Review- Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Next in the “Before Coffee Gets Cold” series, this is the third read after “Tales from the cafe”, and this blog post is the review of the book titled “Before Your Memory Fades.”

Unlike the first two books of the series, which took place at Café Funiculi Funicula in Tokyo, we now meet Nagare and Kazu, along with her adorable seven-year-old daughter Sachi, at Café Donna Donna in Hakodate. Nagare’s mom, Yukari, who owns and manages the café, is away traveling, so Nagare and Kazu are stepping in to take care of things.

The rules of time travel stay the same—nothing can change the present, and the traveler must return before their coffee cools. The chair is only available when the ghostly elderly gentleman occupant leaves his seat temporarily.

Four new customers reach the cafe, each eager to try out the cafe's time-travelling offer. Alongside some familiar faces from Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s earlier novels, we meet a daughter who couldn’t say ‘You’re an idiot’ (my favourite), a comedian who couldn’t ask ‘Are you happy?’, a younger sister who couldn’t say ‘Sorry', and a young man who couldn’t say ‘I like you’.

My reflection- This book explores human relationships, grief, depression, and regret—emotions we all go through. The stories feel realistic because they reflect what we all understand. They make us think about the people we wish we could speak to one last time. At the same time, the book reminds us that we cannot change the past. It teaches us to accept our lives as they are and to find ways to keep moving forward. These stories are full of hope.


Quotations from the book-

“Things that you put off saying until tomorrow are sometimes never said.”

“Inside every person is an inherent capability to make it through any kind of difficulty. Everyone has that energy.

“People’s true feelings are not in plain sight. The other person might not be thinking anything, but there is a tendency to just assume what the other is feeling without reaching out and asking.”

“It takes talent not to give up”

You should be proud of yourself for sticking with it and never giving up. You were impressive in your persistence. It didn’t happen by magic! Remember when I called out to you on that day? Your life didn’t suddenly transform by itself, did it? None of your problems suddenly fixed themselves, did they? But you looked to the future and persevered. You have what you have today because you never gave up telling yourself that you had to be happy.”