Before We Forget Kindness By Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Description

Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a stunning return to the Tokyo café at the heart of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. It is a place that seems both familiar and wonderful. Once again, readers are drawn into this modest, simple area with its strange promise: you can travel across time here. But there are always regulations that can’t be broken. You can only go back to someone who has already been to the café. You have to stay in a certain chair. When the coffee cools, your time in the past is over. The most important thing is that the present will not change, no matter what is said or done.

This set of criteria doesn’t limit the café; in fact, they make it so authentic and interesting as a storytelling tool. In Before We Forget Kindness, Kawaguchi employs these criteria not to tell stories about changing history, but to look at the far tougher, more rewarding labor of coming to terms with and comprehending the past. He shows us the strength of empathy, the difficulty of forgiving, and the universal need to be understood via four fresh, connected stories.

A son who left home years ago because he was angry with his strict father comes back wanting to have the chat they never had while the old man was alive. What he finds in the past isn’t a way to get rid of their fight, but a way to see his father’s and his own humanity. Kawaguchi doesn’t offer easy answers; the visit doesn’t solve all his grief, but it gives him something real: perspective and, perhaps, the beginning of forgiveness.

Another story is about a woman who broke up her engagement without giving a reason because she was too scared to be honest. Years later, she goes back to the café to visit the man she injured so badly. This time, she’s ready to say what she couldn’t previously. The emotional heart of her journey isn’t changing his mind or taking back her choice. It’s ultimately being honest and appreciating both of their experiences.

A third story is about a teacher whose favorite student suddenly dropped out. He has felt guilty for years about not reaching out. He goes back to the time in the café when he could have asked and listened. He can’t undo what happened, but his visit provides him an opportunity to witness how much anguish the student is in and how much the quiet cost them both.

Lastly, there is the story of a young woman whose mother died and she never understood her. She believes that going back will help her see things more clearly. Instead of big discoveries, she finds small tidbits and quiet moments that show her who her mother was outside of the fights and misunderstandings. This nuanced and gentle way of making up is classic Kawaguchi. He knows that real healing is rarely theatrical, but instead comes from honesty and empathy.

Kawaguchi’s prose stays beautiful and deeply real throughout these stories. The café is described in a way that is both familiar and comforting: the warm lighting, the kind staff, and the serious quietness of the time-travel routine. He doesn’t sugarcoat the emotional hardships of his characters, which makes their journeys even more powerful.

In the end, Before We Forget Kindness is a reflection on how far and how close people can connect with each other. Kawaguchi tells readers that we can’t alter the past, but we can change how we think about it and how we deal with it. Kindness, empathy, and saying sorry may not change the past, but they can make things better now. This book will comfort and inspire anyone who has ever wanted to say “I’m sorry,” “I understand,” or “I love you” one more time.

About the Author

Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a celebrated Japanese playwright and novelist, best known for the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. Adapted from his own stage play, these novels have become international bestsellers for their tender, thoughtful explorations of time, memory, regret, and human connection.

Product Details

• Title: Before We Forget Kindness

• Author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi

• ISBN-13: 9781974719606

• Publisher: Hanover Square Press

• Published: April 2024

• Pages: 256

• Binding: Paperpack