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A review by ohbookisme
Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It was a joy to revisit the café after a year away. This location holds such love, wonder, and magic which I personally find so wholesome and carries an essence of home with it.
“I have lived my life unable to tell the truth for risk of losing my own happiness.”
My thoughts:
I was rather skeptical about how this would follow the first book, but learning more about Kazu and how she reacts to certain situation was rewarding in so many ways. There was such an in-depth development of personal expression and feelings that could be quite triggering for some readers as much of this volume explores grief and depression in a graphic way. I definitely felt that I was an observer to these characters, not in an intrusive way, but they were welcoming and seemed aware of the reader in a very interesting way.
I still loved the short story format that this book continued from the first volume, it felt as though we were glimpsing into these characters lives. Albeit brief, but entirely sincere.
“‘If you can’t change anything, why would anyone want to go back?’ Yet he was now standing at the front door of the cafe thinking, ‘Even so, I want to go back.’”
“I have lived my life unable to tell the truth for risk of losing my own happiness.”
My thoughts:
I was rather skeptical about how this would follow the first book, but learning more about Kazu and how she reacts to certain situation was rewarding in so many ways. There was such an in-depth development of personal expression and feelings that could be quite triggering for some readers as much of this volume explores grief and depression in a graphic way. I definitely felt that I was an observer to these characters, not in an intrusive way, but they were welcoming and seemed aware of the reader in a very interesting way.
I still loved the short story format that this book continued from the first volume, it felt as though we were glimpsing into these characters lives. Albeit brief, but entirely sincere.
“‘If you can’t change anything, why would anyone want to go back?’ Yet he was now standing at the front door of the cafe thinking, ‘Even so, I want to go back.’”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt