Hardcover, 173 pages
English language
Published Sept. 5, 2023 by Picador.
Eg byrja denne boka med innstillinga om at magien frå den fyrste var vekke. Det lot meg nyte denne betre som ei samling historiar frå kafeen. Lettleste og til tidar fine forteljingar.
Still charming, but it’s about time to drink up and return to the present before the coffee gets cold.
The previous entries were able to transform the formulaic repetition into something beautiful through the slice of life progression of the cafe staff and regulars against the backdrop of deeply human situations of love and loss. Before We Say Goodbye felt like the stories were more stilted set pieces, with slight nods to past characters that were more Easter egg than meaningful inclusions or cameos. The emotional topics also felt to have less depth and rely more on shock of the situation/subject or a hidden secret revealed later (being vague to avoid spoilers). Some of the characters from earlier stories in the book get similar nods later on, but the magic and verisimilitude are lost by not having the threads woven intentionally together. I know I’m repeating myself but that was …
Still charming, but it’s about time to drink up and return to the present before the coffee gets cold.
The previous entries were able to transform the formulaic repetition into something beautiful through the slice of life progression of the cafe staff and regulars against the backdrop of deeply human situations of love and loss. Before We Say Goodbye felt like the stories were more stilted set pieces, with slight nods to past characters that were more Easter egg than meaningful inclusions or cameos. The emotional topics also felt to have less depth and rely more on shock of the situation/subject or a hidden secret revealed later (being vague to avoid spoilers). Some of the characters from earlier stories in the book get similar nods later on, but the magic and verisimilitude are lost by not having the threads woven intentionally together. I know I’m repeating myself but that was what made the first 3 books some of my favorite reads of the year and really affirmed my love of slice of life literature.
Part of the miss for me is this is more like book 2.5 than 4 timing wise, so that likely made it more difficult to do anything meaningful with the characters that wasn’t already covered.
Going in with lower expectations may help. Before Your Memory Fades was so emotionally poignant for me and each book felt like it stood on the shoulders of the previous, so I naturally expected a certain level of story telling.
