Review: Before We Forget Kindness (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #5) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4 stars for Before We Forget Kindness (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 5) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

This post is long overdue. I know I should have posted it months ago but somehow or other, I am unable to find the time to sit down, write my review and publish it.

This book is the reason I re-read the entire instalment of Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. I was told this book 5 is awesome and the best of all. But I have forgotten most of the characters and their stories. So I made the decision to re-read all the books to refresh my memory before coming to this latest book.

Despite this being the fifth book in the series, the author still manages to throw in surprises surrounding the magical Tokyo cafe and the chair that can bring one back to the past or to the future. This book focuses on four new stories, each with its own poignant tale of love, regret and the desire for connection.

Same as the earlier books, the novel follows a similar structure: a new cast of characters, each with their own reason for visiting the cafe and its unique time-travelling rules. While the formula might feel repetitive to some, it is this consistent, gentle rhythm that provides a sense of familiarity and warmth.

The strength of this book lies in its heartfelt exploration of the human state of mind. Author Kawaguchi masterfully weaves stories that, despite being about time travel, are really about the present. The central theme is that even though we cannot change the past, we can find peace and closure by understanding it and showing kindness to those we care about. This instalment, in particular, leans into the idea of kindness as the primary motivation for time travel, making for some truly touching moments.

If you are already a fan of the series, Before We Forget Kindness is a great read that delivers the same mix of bittersweet emotion and quiet wisdom we have come to expect. For new readers, I will recommend to start the series from book 1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Book 1 is still the one I like most. It leaves me with tears and a full heart even as I read it a second and third time.

Review: Before We Say Goodbye (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #4) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4 stars for Before We Say Goodbye (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 4) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

I have learnt my lesson well from past experience with this series. So, this time, I specially make time to continue on with book 4, no matter what.

Same with the earlier books and stories, book 4 Before We Say Goodbye is a heartwarming and introspective novel that explores the complexities of human relationships, love, loss and memory. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making it easy to become invested in their stories. With beautifully crafted characters, and poignant storytelling, the book delves into the depths of human emotions, leaving readers with a lasting impression.

This series is a powerful exploration of the human experience. A must-read for those who appreciate emotional, character-driven stories.

If you can go back in time, who would you want to meet?

Review: Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi |《Reread》

4 stars for Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi |《Reread》.

I like that there is this "relationship map of characters" provided at the start of the book. This greatly helps readers to recall and associate those customers who time travel in the cafe. It is also through this map of characters that I realise I no longer remember any of the stories and characters in this book 3 save for Kei who, in book 1, travel to the future to meet her unborn daughter, Miki.

By now, I start to notice a trend, that is, most if not all of the time-travelling cases back to the past or to the future, are related to deaths, and they mostly revolve around being happy for the sake of those loved ones who continue to live on, empowered by hope and the power to believe in the future.

Of all the rules regarding the time-travelling, one that sticks clearly with me is that while in the past or future, you cannot change the present, no matter how hard you try. With this rule, it actually defeats the purpose of going back to the past to right a wrong. Because nothing changes. However, some things can change, and do change, even if the present reality doesn't. That is the beauty of this series and how the author crafts each individual story (four in each book) based on this core concept. Well, after all, what can possibly change is one's mindset and perspectives which is even more important and priceless.

If you can go back in time, who would you want to meet?

Review: Tales from the Cafe (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi |《Reread》

5 stars for Tales from the Cafe (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi |《Reread》.

After reading this book a second time, I decide to change my rating for this book from previous 4-star rating to a 5.

I have no idea why I didn't feel it the last time I read this book, but perhaps the level and depth I felt then was different. Reading this book again now, I am very much touched by the second and third story; they are sad yet heartwarming at the same time. Also, I feel that the last story is brilliantly crafted. Through a newly introduced character, detective Kiyoshi, the author manages to do an excellent summary of the people who have travelled back in time. To quote "...over the last thirty years, forty-one people have sat in that chair and travelled back in time. They each had their own reasons for doing so, to meet a lover, a husband, a daughter and so forth, but of those forty-one people, four returned to the past to meet someone who had died. There were two last year, one seven years ago, and then there was your mother twenty-two years ago... four people." Through detective Kiyoshi, readers are reminded once again of the stories of key characters who have returned to the past even after knowing that it is not possible to change the present no matter how hard they try while in the past.

Whether a person chooses to go back in time to visit a family member or a good friend, or visit someone in the future in this cafe, time-travelling to right a wrong does not mean having to change the present, which in any case, the rule does not allow the present to be changed, but even so, without changing the present, it does make a difference to see that someone again. There is always something to learn from the people who have gone back. Regardless of their reasons for returning to the past, there is one thing common among these people - they found inner peace upon their return from the time travel.

Once again, after reading this book, all I want to do is to find one such time-travelling cafe and be a regular there. Why is it that this kind of cafe only exist in books and not in real life?

What will you do if you are given the chance to return to the past?
Who will you want to meet?

Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi |《Reread》

5 stars for Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi |《Reread》.

I have read the first three novels in this series before I decide to recommend it to a Japanese boss-turned-friend. That was easily two years ago, or perhaps more as we sometimes lose track of time. I remember I envied him at that time for being able to read the original Japanese books when I can only read the English translated version where inevitably meanings get lost through translation. It turned out that this Japanese friend enjoys the story so much that he finished reading all five books (published and available) in succession.

In an unexpected twist of events, the one who recommends the books becomes the one who is being recommended. He strongly recommends that I continue to read the books and shares with me that the latest book 5 Before We Forget Kindness published in 2024 is his favourite. Well, where favourites are concerned, his and mine are polar opposites. My favourite was and still is book 1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Back then, I felt that book two and three did not live up to my expectations and the stories turned confusing after a while what with the time travelling - back to the past and forward to the future. That was the reason I did not follow up with book 4 in the series. That was Year 2022 then. Should I decide to continue, I will have to read from book 1 again. I simply cannot imagine myself picking up book 4 and start reading when so much of the story and characters have been lost on me.

Re-reading a book feels like visiting an old friend or a familiar old location. I sure am glad to revisit cafe Funiculi Funicula, the time-travelling cafe located in Tokyo with a unique name. I stand by the 5-star rating I gave to this book back in 2022. After I finish reading this book, I felt exactly the same as how I felt three years ago, that is, all I want to do is to visit one such cafe and be a regular there. If only such a cafe is in existence...

What will you do if you are given the chance to return to the past?
Who will you want to meet?

Review: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

4 stars for The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.

The Reader is a tragic story of a whole life lived. It is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged novel that explores the complexities of human relationships, guilt, and redemption.

Set in post-war Germany, The Reader begins with the unusual relationship, one of unequal experience and power, between a young German man 15-year old Michael Berg and an older woman 36-year old Hanna Schmitz, who harbours a dark secret. The story later turns into a philosophical enquiry into the effects of the Holocaust on a generation whose parents are perceived as at best complicit, at worst perpetrators. Central to the story is the question: what is to be done with the knowledge and the guilt of the Holocaust?

Through Michael's narrative that spans over the years, the author masterfully weaves together themes of love and moral responsibility, raising important questions about the nature of humanity and the consequences of our actions.

A haunting and unforgettable read. This is a story that will linger in your mind long after you finish the book.

Review: The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld

5 stars for The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld.

This is an overdue post. I meant to write my review and post it right after reading, but as usual, things do not always turn out the way we want it, and so, this turns out to be a really late post.

The Enchanted is a dark story about men on the row waiting to die and a woman who is assigned the job of death penalty investigator. Though the tale borders on the theme of death and can be unsettling at times, it is a joy to read this book as it is filled with lyrical descriptions of this so-called enchanted place. To quote "When you walk on death row, you look for the light. Any light." The writer also expressed emotions in an an imaginative and beautiful way. To quote "the sound of freedom is like the wind in the trees, the splash of water hitting the pavement, the gentle caress of rain on your face and the sound of laughter in the open air." The books talks about death, not just the dead but a deeper kind of melancholy about what happens when a person dies. To quote "How odd it is, that the dead weigh more than the living. You would think it would be the opposite, but it isn't. I think it is because souls give bodies lightness and air. When the soul leaves, the body has nothing left and is desperate to return to the earth. That's why it's so heavy."

The story is brilliantly crafted with the first person narrator as the fly on the wall - the quiet unnoticed-by-all observer that sees and hears everything and lives to tell the story of what goes behind the stone walls of the prison dungeon. He is the all-seeing eyes of the inmates, guards, wardens, the priest, and the lady. Ironically, the inmates are the ones with names such as York, Striker, Arden. The rest of the characters are given generic names such as the priest, the lady, the warden.

Death penalty investigation is labour intensive as it takes months to locate ancient records, to track down witnesses from decades before, to uncover the truth of a crime. There is much mystery lurking behind the inmates awaiting execution and the author knows how to get the reader hooked with delicious anticipation by peeling off the layers piece by piece to get the truth out.

The story builds steadily and the plot - I won't say it thickens, because to me, that is not exactly what happens - develops in its own unique way. I savor every drop of word that forms sentences to bring to life a whole new sensation of reading.

A powerful and enchantingly beautiful novel.

Review: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

3 stars for Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa.

This is a tale about the value of kinship, the magic of reading and the power of books that bring together people from all walks of life, and to a smaller extent, the meaning to living.

Set in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the story of living in a bookstore with unlimited access to books is every booklover's dream. How I wish the same for myself, that I too, have a wild, carefree and unconventional uncle who owns and operates a secondhand bookshop, one where I get to work and live in at the same time. It will be a dream come true.

Though the story revolves around a bookstore and books, it is not a story just about manning a bookstore and selling books, it is also about relationship managing, networking and connecting to people. There are obvious parallels between doing a book business and living a life. The author works to draw a parallel between the two, to be connected to people through books. There is the joy to be had in connecting to someone we have little or nothing in common with through books. There are also the wonders of being connected to secondhand books, to be given the chance to experience encounters or connections that transcend time, to be a part of that bookstore where readers can feel the quiet flow of time.

To quote "Even though we think of it as an independent business, what matters in the industry more than anything are the relationships you have with people. I guess that's probably true of the world in general."

Besides the theme of relationship dynamics, the author also explores perspectives and possibilities. People's frame of mind change over time and so do their views on living life on their own terms and on values that feel true to themselves - the search for meaning in life and what one truly wants. Through the characters, we have glimpses about living life, about seeing the world, and about exploring a whole range of possibilities out there.

To quote ".. I don't know, maybe it takes a long time to figure out what you're truly searching for. Maybe you spend your whole life just to figure out a small part of it."

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is not the most ideal story for me, but it is definitely a refreshing one with a gem of a book cover. The paperback with rows of upright books gracing the cover make a lovely addition to my bookshelf.

And yes, I will love to have a Morisaki Bookshop, one where I can call my own.

Review: Lottery by Patricia Wood

4 stars for Lottery by Patricia Wood.

In the midst of watching and rewatching Chinese drama series, I decide that I still want to do some reading. Deep down I know my reading progess will be slow but it does not bother me so long as I know I am still reading. I have no idea what I want to read, so I just randomly scroll to a collection on my kindle and click on it. I laugh out loud when I saw that the book I have so randomly chosen is one titled Lottery.

Initially, I wasn't sure if Lottery will make a good company, but it turns out that my worries are extras. The book makes an excellent lunch time buddy as the characters - Perry, Keith, Gary, Cherry, Gram, Gramp and even those so called cousin-brothers - come alive and leap out of the pages to accompany me on a great many lunches. Perry and his first person narratives never fail to perk up my lunch break. Gradually, his voice and his simple outlook to life turned into a kind of quiet strength for me.

As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, I start to worry if I will ever finish reading this book. Yes, it does feel as if I am taking forever to read this book since I read mostly during weekdays lunch time. Now I have my answer and I know it can be done because reading is just, well, reading. The story will come to an end some day, even if it takes me as long as three months.

Lottery is both a happy and sad story. The protagonist, Perry, is a simple man. And because he is a simple man, everything he sees and does is processed in a different way. And because of that, life becomes so much simpler. And happier. I would say, Perry in Lottery is the thinking cap to a happy life. And oh yes, I learn a new word from him in this book. Perry likes the word "echt" and it keeps popping up throughout the book - it means real, genuine, authentic.

Lottery is a great story. This is echt. This is true.

Review: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

4 stars for Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.

This book has been on my reading list since the middle of last year. If not for my book club's upcoming discussion in February, I doubt I will read it any time soon. For that, I am glad. This is a good story.

The book is a darkly comic look at society expectations, social pressure and conformity. The story revolves around a 36-year-old woman, Keiko Furukura, who works in a convenience store. Through Keiko, readers are told what is acceptable and what is not in the so-called normal world where there is no room for exceptions and where exceptions get eliminated quietly. From page one to the last, we see how Keiko absorbs the world around her and morphs from the person she is to one that the society expects her of. It is both amusing and sad to see the world through Keiko - amusing because she lives in her own world where black means black and white means white, and sad because she tries so hard to try to blend in with society that she loses sight of who she is.

As the author is a Japanese, the book very much reflects the Japanese culture and way of thinking. A good example is how Keiko views herself as not just an individual responsible for herself but to society as well, for the reason that she works in the convenience store. To quote "Sixteen years ago I learned from manager #2 that my pay covers the basic requirement to manage my life so that I’m fit for work. I must get enough sleep before going to work.”

There are also truths of life to learn from this book even if some of them are what I already know all along. The thing is, seeing them put in words, elevate it to a different level. One good example is on the theme of change. A customer commented that the convenience store never changes. Yes, the store is the same but yet to Keiko, it is not. To quote "The same items had always been in their places, but they were continually being replaced. Maybe it made sense to say the store never changes." Another example is people are continually changing according to the world around them. The changes may be subtle but they are there. To quote "I absorb the world around me, and that’s changing all the time. Just as all the water that was in my body last time we met has now been replaced with new water, the things that make up me have changed too. When we last met a few years ago, most of the store workers were laid-back university students, so of course my way of speaking was different then."

This book is well written and easy to read. There is pretty much nothing to dislike. My only gripe is, reading a novel that is originally written in Japanese and subsequently translated to English, something or many somethings - be it culture, mannerism or way of expression - are bound to be lost through the translation. Interestingly as well as ironically, the translator chooses not to translate the Japanese way of saying I-understand-what-you-are-saying from "Hai" in Japanese to "Yes" in English. For people who are not familiar with the language difference, it will have been a disaster in understanding, as "Hai" in English is used to express grief, horror or regret.

Truth be told, I have never paid much attention to convenience stores or the people who work in them. Having read the book, I now see these stores in a different light. This book offers not only a bird's eye view on convenience stores, but also the finer details of how a worker of one such store can gain vital information - about customers in the store and expected business volume - simply through listening to sounds, observing behaviors and checking the weather. The detailed descriptions and observations offered in the book are so realistic and practical that I wonder if the author is writing from own experience, having worked long term in one such convenience store before.

Though it is never explicitly mentioned in the book, the protagonist, Keiko, clearly displays the symptoms of autism - finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling, getting very anxious about social situations, and finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on her own. As such, it makes me really curious as to how the story will pan out, especially when Keiko increasingly is in dire need of assistance. In the end, I feel that the author does a brilliant job in concluding the story. Its ending is one which I am sure sits well with Keiko, the Convenience Store Woman.

Review: Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4 stars for Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

This post is an added bonus. I definitely did not expect it. And I surely did not foresee it. Even as I started out reading this book after Christmas Day, I expect to finish reading after New Year's Day. So, I am really happy to end the year with the exact same series that kicked off my reading this year - Before the Coffee Gets Cold. It's a great wrap-up!

Even though I read book 1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold and book 2 Tales from the Cafe in the beginning of this year - twelve months ago - it is not difficult to get into the story again as the author helps to refresh on the story and characters by his storytelling.

Before your Memory Fades is very much similar to the earlier two books, in that it is also about a time-travelling cafe and a heartwarming story on four customers. The only difference is the setting. Instead of Cafe Funiculi Funicular in Tokyo, it is now Cafe Donna Donna in Hakodate, Hokkaido. Initially, I am confused when I read about this second cafe, but soon, I realise the author has it all brilliantly worked out to connect it back to book 1.

This Coffee Gets Cold series is about a strange urban legend attached to a particular seat in the cafe - it allows the person sitting in this seat to time travel, to the past or to the future. There are some strange rules to follow regarding who can pour the time-travelling coffee for the customer who decides to sit in this time-travelling chair.

One important rule while being back to the past is that, you cannot change the present, no matter how hard you try. So, one may ask "What use is the time-travelling if you cannot change the present?" But the thing is, some things change, even if the present reality does not. This book is a good reminder to us on how important the ordinary life that we take for granted is, and how much happiness can be experienced from having someone you care about by your side. Sometimes, things that are put off saying until tomorrow are never said.

Reading this book makes me miss Hokkaido. Not only that, it makes me regret giving Hakodate a miss when I visited Hokkaido back in 2018. If I had visited Hakodate then, being a tourist, I would most likely have paid a visit to this very steep street where Cafe Donna Donna was located and so would have an inkling of how the scenes in this book play out.

If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet?

Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

4 stars for A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

It didn't seems possible at first that I will be able to squeeze in one last reading and a book review before the year is out. I started reading A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve and somehow managed to finish the book at the stroke of midnight; Christmas Day! For that, I feel blessed to have made it.

I am pretty sure most, if not all, of you have read or heard or even watched A Christmas Carol. It is after all, a well-known classic novel by Charles Dickens. I am embarrassed to say that this is my first time reading this timeless story though I have watched the show once. But well, as the saying goes "better late than never".

This book is a celebration of human kindness. It is so well-liked that the book has become an important part of a traditional English Christmas. I hope I can start my own tradition of reading this book during the Christmas season every year henceforth.

The story is about an old mean man, Ebenezer Scrooge, who has no place in his heart for others. One freezing cold Christmas Eve, the ghost of an old friend paid him a visit and told him he will be haunted by three spirits. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past who showed Scrooge shadows of the things that have been. The second is the Ghost of Christmas Present. The third is the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come who showed Scrooge shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before him. By visiting his past, present and future, something amazing happens within Scrooge.

This is a most apt book to read on a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. It teaches us to be happy, grateful and to be contented with time.

..And because the book I bought - from The Green Grocer bookstore while on a vacation in Melbourne, Australia - is a Puffin Classics, the adventure isn't over when I reach the final page. I love it that there are still more interesting things to discover about the author and the characters and their worlds as I continue to flip the pages - author file, who's who in A Christmas Carol, some things to think about, a Victorian Christmas and a Dickensian glossary.

Review: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

4 stars for The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

This book is what I will call, an unexpected rescue read. Over the years, I have put more books than I care to remember, into the out of sight, out of mind list. These are books that I fail to finish, not for lack of trying, but due to one reason or another, find myself unable to read to the end. This book is one of them. I remember wanting to read a story that does not involve parents, a father or a mother - mostly Young Adult fiction - and this book fails to meet that criterion at that point in time. Since then, this book has been out of my mind for quite some time until lately, when I chanced upon an IG post by a booklover who shared her love for this book and said she feels that this book is underrated. I remember the book right away and quickly move it back to my reading list again. As usual, my greatest fear is missing out on good reads.

It is when I pick up the book to start all over again, with a fresh perspective, that I realise what I have blatantly missed out the first time round. And I think to myself "How did I manage to overlook such a beautifully written story?" The truth is I have passed judgement on this book too early into my reading. The protagonist is indeed living with her father, but being 30 years old, the story will not in any way qualify as a Young Adult fiction which I am trying to avoid so badly.

This book is mostly about words, their language and the imagery it projects. The author is an expert at manipulating words. Such is her power that I am held prisoner by her writing; letters that resolved themselves quickly into characters, then words, then sentences. They make such enchanting passages that I find myself reading and re-reading them, trying to absorb as much of them as I possibly can.

The Thirteenth Tale is about England's best loved writer, Vida Winter and the truths to her life story and a bookseller, Margaret Lea who grows up with a love for books and reading and taking care of them in the bookstore.

The story is narrated in first person by Margaret who has no interest in contemporary writing and is more at ease with writing the biography of dead people than of the living.

To quote "The shop was both my home and my job. It was a better school for me than school ever was, and afterward it was my own private university. It was my life."

To quote "My real work is in the bookshop. My job is not to sell the books—my father does that—but to look after them. Every so often I take out a volume and read a page or two. After all, reading is looking after in a manner of speaking. Though they’re not old enough to be valuable for their age alone, nor important enough to be sought after by collectors, my charges are dear to me, even if, as often as not, they are as dull on the inside as on the outside. No matter how banal the contents, there is always something that touches me. For someone now dead once thought these words significant enough to write them down."

I think to myself as I read, how wonderful it must be, to grow up in a bookstore, especially one that is owned by the family, to be able to help out in the bookstore, to be with nothing but books, and to have nothing to do but read. Literature, biography, autobiography, memoirs, diaries, letters, you name it, the bookstore has it. How wonderful is that!

The author also put down in words simply, the very truth to the existence of books.

To quote "People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continue to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humor, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic."

This book is like a gateway to another world, at least before Vida Winter starts off on her own extraordinary story. It is difficult to like Vida Winter's story because it disturbs me to read about characters who are mentally deficient, and children whose behaviour are likely the result of parental neglect and/or lack of discipline. Even though I dislike the story within the story, I am absorbed by the storytelling. And the more I learn, the more curious I am about the missing gaps in the story. It is hard to fathom how the violent vagabond of a child who refuses to communicate properly with anyone except her sister, develops into a disciplined author with dozens of bestselling novels to her name.

The Thirteenth Tale is a spellbinding story. Not only does it bind me to the story, but it also bespells me to quote thirteen of the passages as my favourites. It is definitely not a deliberate move on my part. Reading this book is magic indeed. Underrated? Yes, definitely.

Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows |《Reread》

5 stars for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows |《Reread》.

I highly recommended this book to my book club for our next discussion in October. It goes without saying that I adore this book and do not mind reading it again.

It feels strange to say this, that even though I read this book less than a year ago, not quite so long ago in fact, I find that I have already forgotten much of the finer details in the story. Reading the novel again helps bring back fond memories of my first time reading it. The story is still as endearing, informative and amusing as I remember it, about a book club and its members who read books, talk books, argue over books and are drawn closer and dearer to one another over time.

After reading the book a second time, I still stand pat on the 5-star rating and detailed book review which I wrote and posted on 13 November 2021. Yes, definitely still holds true.

Review: In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn

4 stars for In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn.

After I emerge from the depth of the Mappie Murders series, I thought I will have difficulty getting into the next book. Luckily, my worry is unfounded. I manage to choose the next book well and In an Instant steps up to fill the empty void left by the whodunnits much better than I expect.

The book is about a sudden accident that causes great damage and suffering. The story is not so much about the mishap itself, but rather the revelation of a base instinct for self-preservation and the natural tendency to protect one's own, that when tested makes the characters in the story capable of things they never believe themselves to be capable of. This and the aftermath of that fateful day, when the consequences of the choices made by the survivors come back to haunt them, are what make the story so engaging and thought-provoking.

The story revolves around three families, the Millers, the Golds and the Kaminskis. The entire story is told in first person viewpoint by a sixteen-year-old Finn Miller which later evolves into a fly-on-the-wall perspective. I think it is impressive that the author thought of such a brilliant way to narrate the story; the fly-on-the-wall perspective turns the protagonist Finn invisible and silent, a witness to everything - yet she is nothing but an awareness - thus enabling honest insight into all the other characters, even when they think they are alone.

What makes the story memorable is the heartbreaking journey of travelling alongside Finn who bears witness to all that happen but yet entirely helpless as she moves fluidly from scene to scene with ease that makes perfect sense.

The story explores the theme of friendship, loss, grief, denial, regret, guilt and love.

One of the focal points of the story is the friendship between the Millers and the Golds. The lesson taught here is that outward appearances are deceiving and people are not what they seem. The perfect friend you think you have can turn into a perfect foe in an instant, in a single tragic night.

Another focal point is how the characters cope with their loss. One character chooses the easy way of denial where out of sight equates out of mind while another prefers to be constantly reminded so that the loss will not be forgotten.

The story explores the theme of regret well. Regret is a difficult emotion to live with because there is no turning back. What's done is done. There is no "what-if". But in order to have regret, one needs to have a conscience, and that's where the irony comes in. The author put it down beautifully in a single sentence. To quote "I’ve always believed regret is the most difficult emotion to live with, but in order to have regret, you need to have a conscience: an interesting paradox that allows the worst of us to suffer the least in the aftermath of wrongdoing." So, yes, there is one character who is portrayed as such.

Then there is the theme of love, that of husband and wife, parent and child, friend and friend, human and animal, and above all, a mother's love for her child. The story explores the different dynamics of relationship. One may seems indifferent or even ignorant of another within the family but it may well turn out to be otherwise.

I enjoy every bit of the story until I hit the 64% of the book after which, it feels very much like reading a young adult novel rather than a literary fiction. I am not saying that it is not good as the protagonist is, after all, a sixteen-year-old teenage girl who is full of zest and supposed to be having the time of her life. And her good friend and sisters are all in that age bracket which makes sense to the story being kind of young adult. It is just that, well, call me jaded or whatever, I am not a fan of young adult story.

At the end of the story, I am surprised when the author reveals that the story is inspired by a real-life event that happened when she was eight years old. I actually feel sad for the author that the two not-so-nice characters in her book are not crafted out of thin air but from her experience in life. Reality bites but that is life.

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Did Not Finish The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

I have not expected this - posting a DNF review so early in the year. Since the start of the year, I have only put up three reviews, this is the fourth, and to think that it is a DNF makes me kind of sad. As with past year, my aim is to limit myself to no more than three Did Not Finish reviews, and that means, after this one, I will be left with only two more to go.

This is the first time I am reading Erin Morgenstern’s books. I choose to read it because it has garnered many great reviews. Indeed, it is beautifully written and incredibly imaginative, but only while it last. The opening paragraph "The circus arrives without warning" captivates my attention. In fact, the whole of the first chapter has me there. A mysterious circus with towering tents has sprout up overnight in a town and not only that, it opens at nightfall and closes at dawn. It has such a great start that it piques my interest and intrigues me to no end.

Unfortunately, grabbing a reader's attention is of no use if it is not sustainable. After the first few chapters which I read with gusto, I struggle with the rest. I thought I will be able to keep going but after a while, I find that I simply do not care for the book anymore as the story stretches over the years, decades even. It is so slow moving that I am bored to tears.

I will say that reading this book is nearly tragic because the beginning is so promising, and then, nothing happens. Still, I am glad to have given it a try even though it is not to my liking. If not, I will always be wondering if I have missed out on a good read.

Review: Tales from the Cafe (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4 stars for Tales from the Cafe (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

After reading Before the Coffee Gets Cold, I find myself at a loss on what's next. The book is so well written that I worry my next book will not be as good. In truth, my mind is still very much rooted in the time-travelling cafe Funiculi Funicula, and I want to spend more time with the cafe and its owners. In the end, I decide to go with Tales from the Cafe.

As with the earlier book, this book also comprises four stories and together, they form the novel. By now, I have witnessed eight coffee pouring rituals that will send a person in that seat back to the past. Because of that, I am very much impressed by the author's fluid descriptions of the series of actions performed each time. Even though the same ritual is being performed time and again, the author never describes it the same way but present it differently each time. It feels as if this is the author's way of telling us that each individual who opt for the time travelling experience can go through the same coffee pouring ritual, but will experience the same event differently. And that is so true of real life.

Since this is cafe where you can travel back in time, so technically, you can travel to the future too. What I mean is the time travelling should work both ways; not only can one be transported back to the past, one can also be paid a visit by another from the future. But for some obvious reasons, hardly anyone wants to travel to the future. But what happens when it does happen? That is when the line between the past, present and future gets kind of blurry. When I start to think deeply into how the future links with the present and how the past moves forward to the present and future, I start to wonder where the reality actually is. In short, my thinking gets all muddled up as the logic becomes no logic. It's complicated.

One thing I like to point out is while I am unnerved by the appearance of the intermittent "CLANG-DONG" in book 1, I actually look forward to seeing them in this book 2. Perhaps because they are uniquely applied in this series or because I have already gotten used to seeing them around, no matter how, I feel a certain comfort in seeing this catchphrase. I can say with much confidence that if there is a third instalment, this catchphrase will surely make a comeback.

Even as the novelty of a time-travelling cafe wears off, the stories brought to life in this book are as heartwarming and touching as those in book 1. Here, more characters are introduced and they all feel like a natural extension of the cafe and its patrons. You simply do not feel that the author is trying too hard to create the connection of customers with the cafe.

To be able to better appreciate this series, it will help if the reader is familiar with the Japanese culture or at least have some ideas about the Japanese way of life or social behaviour. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some Japanese in the past, and perhaps that is part of the reason I am able to enjoy and appreciate much the stories in this little Japanese cafe.

Once again, after reading this book, all I want to do is to find one such time-travelling cafe and be a regular there. Why is it that this kind of cafe only exist in books and not in real life?

What will you do if you are given the chance to return to the past?
Who will you want to meet?

Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

5 stars for Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

I first come across this book in Kinokuniya Singapore flagship store two years ago. Two things about this book caught my attention - the title and the two cups of coffee that grace the book cover. Yea, happiness to me, is a cup of coffee and a really good book. I remember thinking how wonderful it will be to have a copy I can call my own. Fast forward two years and my wish comes true.

Ever since that bookstore trip, I scour the library for this book each time I am there. But the book is always loaned out to some other lucky member. Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. And still, the book is not available, to me. The funny thing is, the harder it is to get my hands on a copy of this book, the more determined I am to read it on the dead tree version. So, you can imagine how delighted I am to receive this book as a Christmas gift. And that is when I decide Before the Coffee Gets Cold shall be my first read of the Year 2022.

Though labelled as literary fiction, this book is not your typical literary fiction. There is the element of fantasy that twirls around the story and gives it a mystical feel. The story centers around a cafe called Funiculi Funicula. What makes this cafe special is that it is a time-travelling cafe; it can transport one back in time. But in order to go back to the past, one has to obey some very frustrating rules, with the most important rule being to return to the present before the coffee gets cold. Hence the title. Also, this travelling across space and time does not come without certain risks.

The entire book comprises four stories and together, they form the novel. The stories are related in one way or other, so one should follow the proper sequence when reading. The different characters, both the cafe owners and the customers, varied in their personalities to reveal something uniquely Japanese. The tales of the characters are so beautifully weaved that it gives pause to your reading to stare off into space to contemplate relationships and communication.

The author has a way with managing and building up anticipation such that it lures the reader to keep the pages turning. The ending of each story is also brilliantly crafted. In fact, each of the ending is so well written with the message it is trying to send across that it not only warms my heart, but at the same time, sends chills down my back.

Basically, everything about this book is good right down to the end. The only shortcoming for reading a novel that is translated from the Japanese is - I can't help but wonder - how much of the story, in terms of Japanese culture, mannerism and way of expression, is retained, and how much is lost through the translation. Also, I wonder how the cafe's name, Funiculi Funicula, comes about from the translation as I am quite sure it is not the original Japanese cafe name.

After reading this book about a time-travelling cafe that pretty much leaves its customers alone, all I want to do is to visit one such cafe and be a regular there. There will surely be no lack of interesting happenings and touching moments. If only such a cafe is in existence.

What will you do if you are given the chance to return to the past?
Who will you want to meet?

Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

5 stars for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

5 HUGE stars.

This is a lovely, charming, and utterly delightful story. It has been such a long time since I am swept off my feet by a novel. I should have read this book earlier but it is hard to get past myself, to get started on a book with a title that is a mouthful. That and one without the usual paragraphing but letters to tell a story. Still, it is better to be late than never. I am very happy to have finally read this book which has been on my reading list for as long as I can remember.

Set in 1946, a group of people from the Channel Islands correspond with an author about the books they have read and the joy they found in reading. Through the letters, we learn how the Reading Society, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, comes into being and who the members are and what they do.

What start out as fragmented and not-quite-so-clear letters of exchange with the author, Juliet Ashton, soon fall into place like pieces of jigsaw puzzle. On top of books and reading, this is also a story of the German Occupation of Guernsey for five years following their landing on 30 June 1940. The Guernsey characters and their stories help reveal the sufferings and strength of the people during the German Occupation of the Channel Islands.

This is a book that requires years of extensive research. That by itself is enough to impress me. But the author does not stop at that, she goes above and beyond. She has a way of delivering the story that makes it funny and uniquely hers. The roast pig story is amusing and leaves a lasting impression. Equally fascinating, moving and at times hilarious, are the stories and wartime experiences of the Guernsey Islanders. Ultimately, the humor in the writing is what keeps my eyes riveted on the book.

It is also entrancing to read about a book club, their members, the books they read and what they do during their reading sessions. The notion of "have books will travel" rings so true. Books certainly have the power to connect and bond people from all walks of life. There is mention of other books and authors but one that stands out is Wuthering Heights and the Brontë sisters. I am really glad to have read this book and thus know what the author is talking about. Another name that pops up quite often is Charles Lamb. In fact, I am so intrigued by this writer that I actually consulted Google about him and his sister, Mary Lamb, and if his sister really did stab their mother to death.

The Potato Peel Pie Society is such an endearing read that I find myself at a loss when the story comes to a close. I want to go to Guernsey and join their book club. I want to be a member of the Potato Peel Pie Society.

Before I read this book, I cannot imagine myself reading a book that is made up of letters only. Now, I think the idea is awesome. In fact, what I want mostly, is to explore another book written in letters.

P/S: This story is best read on a paperback. Why, you may ask. Because one can easily flip the book back and forth, countless times for reference on the letters exchanged with author Juliet Ashton. Well, technically, you can do that with a digital reading device such as Kindle, but it does not have the most efficient way of locating words and pages. So, even when there is a paperless edition available, please read this story on the dead tree version. You will not regret it.

Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

3 stars for The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

This book has been at the back of my mind ever since my ex-colleague turned friend Gi mentioned to me in passing, that she has read it. I know vaguely that the story has something to do with depression, but other than that, I have no idea the writing style nor the finer details of the story. Due to recent happenings, I decide to read this book, to see if it can offer me a better understanding to this mental illness.

The Bell Jar is a depressing story of a woman struggling with mental health. The protagonist, a 19-year old Miss Esther Greenwood, feels inadequate all the time. Even though she excels academically, she sees herself as anything but good; she is a terrible cook, she cannot dance, cannot ride a horse, cannot ski, does not know shorthand and does not know enough languages. She has trouble sleeping, eating and reading. As her condition progressively worsens, she undergoes the dreaded bell jar experience, the sudden descent into deep depression, one that triggers suicide attempt, and was finally warded. Through it all, the novel explores social expectations of women in the 1950s. It examines Esther's quest to forge her own identity, to pursue what she wants in life, to be herself rather than what society expects her to be. The book also gives an account of the treatment of mental health in that same period of time.

It is interesting to note that the protagonist's descent into mental illness parallels that of the author's own experience with what may have been clinical depression. Author Sylvia Plath died by suicide at the age of thirty, a month after the book's first United Kingdom publication. The writer's suicide on 11 February 1963 brought her instant fame in England. Unfortunately, the limelight comes too late to help this young American woman stranded in the British countryside with two young children and no money in the early sixties.

Truth be told, I find no joy in reading this book. It is sad and gloomy and all too depressing. Each time I put the book down for a break, I find myself dreading to continue with this cheerless story. I am also put off by the way the story flits about and moves on before finishing the parts that are clearly left hanging in the air. The book list down all possible ways to end one's life. You name it, the story has it. It is definitely not a book for those who are suffering from depression, anxiety or panic attacks. At the end of the book, I find myself none the wiser about major depressive disorder. It does not offer me any further information to what I already know about depression, except that this book, the only novel by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath, contains references to real people and events in the author's life.