«Before the Memory Fades» by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is yet another addition to the series of books that began with «Before the Coffee Gets Cold» and continued with «Before the Truth is Revealed». With the characteristic use of magical realism, the author creates a story that bridges the imaginary with the real, sensitively exploring issues of relationships, loss, and the way time affects our lives.

As in the two previous books, the central idea revolves around a unique café, this time in Northern Japan, offering visitors the opportunity to travel to the past. The strict rules remain: each journey is limited and linked to the simple yet symbolic act of drinking a cup of coffee. Through this idea, the author creates an outlet for the stories of people trying to confront the past, either to reconcile with it or to find answers to what was left unfinished.

The book invites the reader to a series of timeless "what ifs": 

• If you could return to the past, what would you choose to change? 
• Is the past a place that can be corrected or just a reality we must accept? 
• And how does memory – with its imperfections, distortions, and selectivity – guide our choices in the present? 

Through the stories of his characters, Toshikazu Kawaguchi sensitively explores these questions, creating a world where literature becomes the means to highlight our deepest concerns: the need to confront what we have lost, to say what we didn't say, and to reconcile with the decisions we can no longer change.

"Before the Memory Fades" is an exciting continuation, but it can also be read before the previous books. At the beginning of the book, there is a diagram showing how Kawaguchi's characters are connected. The narrative reunites the audience with beloved figures, offering glimpses into their lives after the events that marked them. 

The characters, through their journeys in time, confront not only loved ones who were lost or moments they didn't get to experience but also themselves – a self that is no longer the same. Returning to the past is never easy; it is accompanied by nostalgia, sadness, and a sense of unfulfillment, yet it also illuminates how these moments have shaped their present. The book balances between sweet reminiscence and the weight of choices, offering a deeply human and cathartic experience.