Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Reviewer: Deb Alig, Circulation Assistant
Genre: Contemporary Japanese Fiction
Suggested Age: Adult
What is this book about? Before We Forget Kindness is the fifth book in Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s popular time travel series, Before the Coffee Gets Cold. A reader does not have to have read the previous four books in the series to comprehend and enjoy this one. The café’s established rules regarding time travel are clearly explained for new readers. Returning characters and familiar comforts of the café combined with new stories and new characters make the book intriguing to longtime readers. The book is divided into four separate narratives. The characters in each narrative seek to use the magical powers of the café to travel back in time in order to right a wrong, to apologize, to ask forgiveness, or to express kindness. In the first narrative, Yuki, a seven-year- old boy, wishes to go back in time to Christmas when he and his parents were eating Christmas cake at the café. Yuki was enjoying himself when his parents unexpectedly told him that they were getting a divorce. He felt devastated and began to cry uncontrollably. He regretted crying in front of his parents so he wished to go back in time and not reveal his upset. He was a thoughtful child who only wanted his mom and dad to be happy. Next is the story of Megumi, a young widow carrying an unnamed baby. She came to the café to go back in time to see her deceased husband. Tragically, her husband was killed before she had the baby. When she went back in time, she was able to see her husband one last time. She was able to say, “I love you.” Perhaps even more special, her husband got to see his daughter and give her a name. In the third narrative, Fumio Mochizuki wishes to go back in time to the day he opposed his daughter’s marriage to a man he didn’t trust and told her she may never return home if she elopes. His daughter Yoko chose to ignore her father and eloped anyway. Yoko became pregnant and her husband left her. She and her child were left in need of help. Yoko wished to apologize to her father because she realized he was right all along and that she was disrespectful so she takes her chance at the café, but misses her dad. Her dad decides to travel to the future where he meets Yoko and apologizes for being disagreeable, stubborn, and for not allowing her to come back home if needed. During his visit, he also meets his only grandchild. Finally, in the last narrative, two friends meet at school and become best friends. Ayame is popular and quite attractive whereas Tsumugi is rather plain. Eventually, Tsumugi decides she can’t be friends with Ayame anymore because she is jealous that all the boys that she likes seem to like Ayame better. Time passes and the two friends no longer see each other. Then one day, Ayame requests that Tsumugi meet her at the café. Tsumugi doesn’t go. More time passes and Tsumugi is told that Ayame has been sick. Tsumugi then decides to go back in time and make amends with her former best friend. The two talk and express their feelings. Ayame hands Tsumugi a box with a ribbon before Tsumugi vaporizes away into the ceiling. When Tsumugi opens the box in the present time, she is surprised to learn of Ayame’s true feelings for her.
My Review: I really enjoyed this fifth book in Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s series Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Having read the first book in the series, I was happy to encounter some of the original characters again in Before We Forget Kindness. These characters established for me a sense of familiarity with the narrative. I also read about some of the basic rules of time travel at the café that were presented in the first book. This provided me with a review making reading about time travel more understandable. In Before We Forget Kindness, the author includes new, additional rules adding to the mythology of the café.
The title of this book truly captures its central theme—kindness. Each character who desires to travel back in time or into the future is struggling with insecurity, sadness, regret, or remorse. They feel as though they have done another wrong, and they want to apologize and make amends. They want to be kind. Kindness is a popular topic of our time, as it should be. Let’s not forget kindness.
Rating: 5/5
Three Words That Describe This Book: emotional, compassionate, kindness
Give this a try if you like: Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Tales from the Café, Before Your Memory Fades, Before We Say Goodbye
