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A review by e_read_books
Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, 川口 俊和
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
3.75
Another entry into this series exploring grief and regrets, but also about healing and finding hope.
This time we aren't in the familiar Tokyo cafe of the previous two entries, but instead in the port town of Hakodate and Cafe Donna Donna. The setting is different, but the set up is the same.
A specific chair in the cafe allows you to travel to the past, with a number of rules attached. The most important being, you must return before the coffee gets cold.
These books always make me happy just through the different circumstances the different time travellers come from and how their journey changes their attitudes, even if some of them stretch my limit of disbelief.For instance, there are no less than 3 sets of dead parents and multiple young people die from obscure terminal illnesses.
I liked the plot device of the book of 100 questions that is pretty central to all 4 of the stories. The questions are sometimes a little ridiculous, but the author makes an effort to not paint either answers in a negative light.
As always, the characters are sweet as well, and everything is a mix of wholesome and emotional - the 1st story made me tear up a little.
The repetitive writing is what holds this series back for me. Thankfully the rules were only really explained once, which did drag down the 1st story a lot. However, beyond that, we still get events resummarised between stories constantly. Even within the same story, characters will repeat what someone said back to them, so sometimes you're reading the same thing said 2 or 3 different ways.
I keep not following my own advice, but I think this series is best consumed one story at a time, with at least a day or two between each one.
This time we aren't in the familiar Tokyo cafe of the previous two entries, but instead in the port town of Hakodate and Cafe Donna Donna. The setting is different, but the set up is the same.
A specific chair in the cafe allows you to travel to the past, with a number of rules attached. The most important being, you must return before the coffee gets cold.
These books always make me happy just through the different circumstances the different time travellers come from and how their journey changes their attitudes, even if some of them stretch my limit of disbelief.
I liked the plot device of the book of 100 questions that is pretty central to all 4 of the stories. The questions are sometimes a little ridiculous, but the author makes an effort to not paint either answers in a negative light.
As always, the characters are sweet as well, and everything is a mix of wholesome and emotional - the 1st story made me tear up a little.
The repetitive writing is what holds this series back for me. Thankfully the rules were only really explained once, which did drag down the 1st story a lot. However, beyond that, we still get events resummarised between stories constantly. Even within the same story, characters will repeat what someone said back to them, so sometimes you're reading the same thing said 2 or 3 different ways.
I keep not following my own advice, but I think this series is best consumed one story at a time, with at least a day or two between each one.
Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Bullying, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Death of parent