Before We Forget Kindness

  ‘'In life, there are only two paths: to act or not to act. Humans must choose one.''
The Son: A little boy, who had to experience his parents' divorce, wants to go back in time to show them he is happy no matter what. He wants to show them his smile, although I doubt they would actually care. Meet two of the most self-absorbed parents in Contemporary Literature. Meet two of the most realistic parents of our modern, unethical age...
The Nameless Child: In one of the most heart-rending stories of the series, a widow wants to return to the past to show her deceased husband the son he never had the chance to meet. Bring out the tissues for this one, it will haunt you to the very end. Marvelous and bittersweet.
The Father: A complex family drama of a father who refused to give his consent to her daughter's marriage and a daughter who is devoid of any kind of personality, good judgment and common sense. A girl who can't say ‘no' to anyone is a recipe for disaster. Add idiocy and an inferiority complex to the mixture, and you have no one to blame for your ordeals but your miserable self. Plain and simple. 
The Valentine: Two friends meet each other in the past, having fallen victim to their hesitation, misunderstanding and low self-confidence.
The fifth instalment of our beloved series is the darkest yet. There are a few utterly shocking moments that left me speechless (and that's an understatement...), and the themes of loss and death permeate the four stories. Regret in not expressing what you truly feel, insecurity when your parents cannot make you feel safe and protected, the distance between a wife and a husband when he cannot understand that maternity isn't the be - all and end - all of a woman's existence. The irreparable loss that strikes like a thunderbolt, the harshness of a father that makes everything worse, the low self-esteem that can lead us to serious mistakes, deepening an irrational inertia.
However, do not think that all is pure doom and gloom. We have the precious moments spent with our parents that no one can take away from us. The deep love that death cannot erase. The important lesson of making mistakes and learning since our parents cannot shield us from every evil in the world. We never know when Fate will decide to take matters into her own hands with irreversible results. Let us be aware of this and move on.
In addition, Toshikazu Kawaguchi offers new aspects of the Funiculi Funicula magic, twists that we were not aware of and interesting insights into the Japanese society, customs, and urban legends.
Healing doesn't come from lovey-dovey, fairytale situations. Healing comes through turbulence, pain, deep sorrow. So, if you think that this part of the series is ‘too dark' to belong in the Healing Fiction genre, congratulations on building your own bubble. Now it is time to wake up and face the world.
‘'Regret comes in two flavours: actions taken and opportunities missed.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

*Quick Note on Review Below: I haven't read any other books in this series.

This is an easy, sweet read presented in an easy, almost conversational style. I can see immediately how these stories connect with readers, and how easy it was for these books to find an audience. In this style, somewhat in the plot, and in the message, it reminded me a lot of "The Five People You Meet in Heaven".

Which leads me to some quick critiques: even though some of the stories carried an impact, I thought the moral was a little obvious and a little repetitive. Between the repetitive moral and the frequently repeated character and plot points from previous novels, the overall feeling was that, in a short book, even some of the stories, details, and whole pages were skippable. For this reason, I don't think any of the remaining books in this series are for me.

That being said, I did enjoy reading this book, was emotionally effected (affected?) at parts, and I would be interested in reading other books by this author outside of this series when the opportunity arises.

This was probably my favourite book so far.
It was wonderful to have Kei back in the cafe again dealing with the customers and offering sage advice. The last story of an unrequited love was a great way to end this visit to the cafe but leaving me longing for another visit soon.