Review: The Third Love

The Third Love by Hiromi Kawakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After being let down by "Under the Eye of the Big Bird", this was a breath of fresh air, and more like the Kiromi Kawakami I remembered. Very insightful, slightly surrealistic and an interesting story.


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Review: Enoch Soames: A Memory of the Eighteen-Nineties

Enoch Soames: A Memory of the Eighteen-Nineties by Max Beerbohm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I find it difficult to review this without spoilers. It is a very short story involving 19th century writers, time travel, and the devil. Excellent story and outcome. If you get the chance you should read it.


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Review: Before Your Memory Fades: A Novel

Before Your Memory Fades: A Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I regarded reading this almost like a chore at first, because I felt like I knew the formula (someone has an issue with the past (loved one died, etc.) and went back to see them again). However, I was pleasantly surprised and moved by this book. The angles were actually very nice and refreshing, given how we all know what to expect. 

Also, this really made me want to visit Hakodate for some reason.

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Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a continuation of "Before the Coffee Gets Cold", although it also stands on its own. In fact, each of these tales in a story to itself, although they should be read in chronological order. 

It also has sort of a denouement for some of the issues in the first book (Who is the woman in the white dress??) and I think I may have enjoyed this more for that reason. 

It continues on a very original premise and has very cute stories. Since it involves time travel, there are still some issues that sci-fi aficionados may have with it, but that isn't the point of the book. 

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars. 

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Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm sort of amazed at some of the negative reviews here. Lately I've been disappointed by books with a great premise but sloppy follow-through (Like The Imagination library), but I didn't find this was the case here. 

This is more a collection of short stories dealing with regulars in a coffee shop. And it just so happens that this coffee shop allows for time travel, with certain conditions. 

Some of the stories were a bit of a stretch, but I'm still giving it 5 stars since it left me wanting more and I found it very original. I look forward to reading the second in this series. 

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