before the coffee gets cold 3:
before your memory fades
This is the third and final (at least for now) book in the “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” series – of which the previous two books were reviewed in my previous two editions of Evie’s Book Review. I’ll remind you of what I said in my last review, regarding book two: “This book didn’t add a whole lot to what I learnt from the first, but I’m rarely discouraged by repetition … Kawaguchi (the author) is a romantic. He writes all relationships in such a romantic and soft way… I already praised the first book, and if you liked it, the second is definitely worth the read.” The same stands for this third book. One sweet and interesting addition is that of a psychology questionnaire which the 8-year-old Sachi is reading, which weaves its way into the stories, and lessons learnt by the time travellers. The questionnaire is called: If the World were to End Tomorrow… and includes scenarios such as: Let’s assume you’re in love. If the world were to end tomorrow, would you propose? Or would you not, because it no longer has meaning. Similarly, would you cash in your winning lottery ticket? Or not? As the author points out, the questions are interesting, but they simply bring forward things you already know to be true, about what matters to you in life. I guess the main message of “Before Your Memory Fades” was that death of those you love should not mean the death of your own happiness – as this would suggest that we are born to be sad. Instead, the opposite is true: people are born to be happy. Although an unhappy contemplation, I thought it was a warm and sweet addition, and a nice lesson: La gente nasce per essere felice.
That’s a quote directly from the book – I read this third publication in Italian. It has been about a year since I arrived in Milan. I’m not sure whether reading in a new language changed my perception of the book. The sentences were longer – more words for the same idea. Reading it was slower, which gave me more time to think: I didn’t blitz through this one like I did the last. I thought about the choice of words more, stopping to ask Carlotta their precise meaning.
Mami dice: (Versione Italiana)
Il tuo cervello si concentra di più. Mi ricordo più dettagli. Ad esempio, cerco il significato di una parola che non conosco e quindi riesco a visualizzare meglio la scena descritta.
Io leggo libri in un’altra lingua solamente quando questa lingua e la stessa con cui il libro viene scritto in origine. Per esempio, se un libro nasce in inglese (non mia lingua madre, ma che ho imparato) lo leggo in inglese. In questo modo, posso apprezzare le scelte stilistiche e linguistiche dell’autore o dell’autrice. SIAMO INCLUSIVI. Punto. Credo che questo discorso sia ancora più valido nel caso della poesia perché ogni parola è frutto di una decisione ponderata.
Mami dice (English Version)
Your brain is more concentrated. I remember more details. For example, I look meanings of words which I do not know. And so, I am better able to visualize the scene.
I only read books in another language in order to read books in their original language. For example, if a book is written in English (not my mother tongue, but a language which I have learnt), I read it in English. Therefore, I can then appreciate the author’s stylistic and linguistic choices. This conversation is even more true for poetry, because each word is the result of a considered choice.
Whilst trying to convince Carlotta to answer my question, she asked: Who am I to give these opinions?
The answer of course is that she’s my friend. This email contains a few more mentions of friends and their opinions, and before they happen, I want to express that I think enormously highly of all of them. Love’em all.
So anyways I replied: Who am I to write a whole newsletter of opinions? The sentiment of which is one I hope to have transmitted correctly – I am no one to say what makes books good, only what makes them good to me.
I read 2 more books from this series, you can read my reviews of them here:
1. Before the Coffee gets Cold
2. Tales from the Cafe