Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

18 reviews

tinypear's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Well, I read that when you give a gift to someone who is striving to achieve their dreams, you have to give them the most cherished thing you have. Some days, that person who is chasing their dreams will not be able to find the strength to keep going. It will be bitter and painful, and they will have to weigh up their dreams and reality to make a choice. When that happens, the person gifted with the most precious thing will be able to fight on a little more. It apparently helps them to feel they are not alone. So, I'm giving you this book because I want you to fight for your dream.”

I found this instalment of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series to be the most heart-warming, heart-wrenching and immersive. Kawaguchi’s storytelling seemed to take a step up for this one, with the stories becoming a lot more in depth and layered.

I loved how this story took place in a different location, with different regulars (but still a few of our original cast), and how all of these new characters meshed together to create a web of new storylines and levels to each chapter. Kawaguchi’s storytelling and character building felt much stronger in this book and his style of writing seems to have evolved alongside this, which made this one a much more enjoyable read and made characters ten times more loveable for me. Once again, this book is separated by four chapters with four different main actors time travelling in the cafe, but this time I found myself gripped by all four stories pretty equally. My favourites have to be the last two chapters, The Sister and The Young Man. I thoroughly enjoyed how all of these stories revolved around death, human emotion and regret during our lifetime, and the implementation of Sachi and her little (well, quite big) book as a plot device. 

Another point that stood out to me was the ending of this book. I have always found Kawaguchi’s books to end on a somewhat uplifting and happy note, however this book left me with whiplash through the final pages. I did not expect to read what I did on the last few pages, but this added to the impact of the book as a whole. The only reason I can’t rate this one 5 stars is because I didn’t feel an urge to finish this book too quickly. This book has been my definite favourite read out of the series and I hope Kawaguchi’s storytelling continues to be on this upward trajectory. ✨
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froggybooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

this one didn’t hit the same as the last two but i did cry during the second chapter, did find the format of the
powercut
incredible and the ending was wonderful
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cnannery19's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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ghostsversion's review

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adventurous emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Godammit Kawaguchi why did you break my heart with that ending? Like sure I guess I should’ve known that it wasn’t possible but like I never thought that
Nanako would actually die! Also she fought from dying because Reiji told her she would be his wife! Why Kawaguchi why? 😭
Anyhow, as always, the stories are really good at both breaking your heart and warming the leftover pieces. 
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imogenlj's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

4.0

My favourite of the series, the action is transplanted to Nagare’s mother’s café in Hakodate. A gentle and subtle read- still cried tho
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arturo_luzen's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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samcsmith's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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viviundworte's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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alexandrabelze's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

loved the change in scenery for this one!! it was so much fun meeting all of the new characters and getting to know them. kawaguchi never disappoints!
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saoreads's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The whole book series is just the epitome of the "try not to cry challenge," and I am failing in all of it. An ultimate tearjerker, and I just started part 1. There's an underlying theme in the book; it's a simple concept we tend to take for granted: we never know when we will die, so take the chance and do it, whether you wish it on a thing, for someone, or for yourself.
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