Before Your Memory Fades

 

In August of this year, I discovered the novels of Japanese writer, Toshikazu Kawaguchi . At that time, he had published two novels - Before the Coffee Gets Cold and a sequel, Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café. Both tell of a café in Tokyo that allows its customers to travel back in time.

As I mentioned in the blog post linked to above, a third book in the series, Before Your Memory Fades was scheduled for release in November. Naturally, I had to get my hands on a copy of the ebook.

The wikipedia summary of the first novel describes all three novels in the series rather well:

In a narrow back alley in Tokyo lies a café called Funiculi Funicula. In the café, customers have the opportunity to travel back to a time of their choosing, as long as they follow a long list of rules. There is only one seat in the café that allows time travel; the seat is only available when the ghost that usually occupies it goes for a toilet break; once back in time, customers can't leave the seat; the only people in the past who can be met are people who have visited the café; whatever happens in the past, the present won't change; and, most importantly, the customer has to return to the present before their cup of coffee goes cold.

The main difference in the third novel is that the stories take place in a different café (Donna Donna) in Hakodate rather than Tokyo. The same family is charge of pouring the coffee that permits the time travel.

I enjoyed reading all three books in the series, and recommend the trilogy - however, I'm looking forward to the day when Kawaguchi spreads out and writes a novel that is not part of the same series.