Before Your Memory Fades: The Japanese TikTok favourite that will break your heart

The million-copy bestselling series.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s touching Before Your Memory Fades, translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?

On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Like the charming Tokyo cafe Funiculi Funicula, Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time.

From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe comes another heartfelt story of lost souls hoping to take advantage of the cafe's time-travelling offer. Among some familiar faces, readers will also be introduced to:

The daughter who begrudges her deceased parents for leaving her orphaned The comedian who aches for his beloved and their shared dreams The younger sister whose grief has become all-consuming The young man who realizes his love for his childhood friend too late . . .

Featuring Kawaguchi's signature wistful storytelling, Before Your Memory Fades is full of heart and emotion.

Catch up on the rest of the series with Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Tales from the Cafe, Before We Say Goodbye, and Before We Forget Kindness.

© 2022 Picador (Audiobook): 9781529089455

Release date

Audiobook: 1 September 2022