Four Life Lessons From Before We Forget Kindness By Toshikazu Kawaguchi

We’re so back! If you’ve heard of the iconic Before The Coffee Gets Cold series, then you’ll be glad to know there’s a new addition. Toshikazu Kawaguchi has returned with Before We Forget Kindness, translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot and set to release next month.

The famous Café Funiculi Funicula is where one can travel to the past or future and reunite with a loved one. They won’t be able to change the present no matter what. And they only have as much time as it takes for a cup of coffee to get cold.

We’re introduced to four new patrons in the fifth installment of Before The Coffee Gets Cold. Here are four life lessons we learned from Before We Forget Kindness!

Book Review: Before We Forget Kindness

Content Warnings: death of family members, grief and loss depiction, divorce, mention of cancer

Summary:

• The father who could not allow his daughter to get married
• A woman who couldn’t give Valentine’s Day chocolates to her loved one
• A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents
• A wife holding a child with no name . . .

They must follow the café’s strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold. Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before We Forget Kindness, our new visitors wish to go back into their past to move on their present, finding closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.

The Boy – It’s Okay To Cry

The first story in Before We Forget Kindness follows a seven-year-old boy named Yuki Kiriyama. He wants to travel to the day his parents announced they were getting divorced. Yuki made a wish at Disneyland for his parents to be happy, but he eventually realized they were much happier divorced than they were together. He wants to go back and show his parents a brave face and smile brightly this time instead of crying his eyes out. But it’s hard trying to act strong all the time, as Yuki quickly finds out.

The Unnamed Child – Run With Doubt

The next story is about a woman named Megumi Sakura who wants to travel back in time with her newborn daughter. She wants her husband to give their daughter a name and for him to see and hold the baby just once before he passes. But no one has ever tried to time travel with more than one person at the Café Funiculi Funicula before. Megumi has doubts about whether to go and bring her daughter along, but she also thinks not going would lead to regrets. So, the only thing to do is not let her doubts stop her from acting. Just go.

The Father – Let Others Decide For Themselves

In this story, a father named Fumio Mochizuki wishes to go back to the day he opposed his daughter’s marriage. At the same time, his daughter Yoko tries to come back and apologize to him before his sudden death, but she barely misses the timing. Fumio takes this chance to travel to the future and give Yoko his blessing. He regrets losing all contact with Yoko instead of trusting her to know what she wants. And she regrets not listening to her father and letting her pride keep her from admitting her mistakes.

The Valentine – Don’t Let Jealousy Rule Your Mind

Finally, the last story in Before We Forget Kindness is about Tsumugi Ito, a woman who regrets pushing away her best friend Ayame out of jealousy. Ayame even declined to go to the University of Tokyo so she could attend the same school as Tsumugi. But all the boys at school had a crush on Ayame, and Tsumugi hated being in Ayame’s shadow. So Tsumugi wants to go back to the day she was supposed to meet Ayame at Café Funiculi Funicula as adults. Because after all this time, she still didn’t know how Ayame truly felt.

Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi comes out November 5th. You can preorder a copy of it here!

Are you looking forward to Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s latest book, Before We Forget Kindness? Have you read the rest of the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!

Interested in more book reviews? We got you!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TOSHIKAZU KAWAGUCHI:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER