Before We Say Goodbye: A Novel (Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series, 4)

by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Hardcover, 2023

Status

Available

Call number

895.636

Original publication date

Tokyo, Sunmark Publishing, 2021

Publication

Hanover Square Press (2023), Edition: Original, 240 pages

Description

Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:The fourth novel in the internationally bestselling Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series The regulars at the magical Caf� Funiculi Funicula are well acquainted with its famous legend and extraordinary time-travel offer. Many patrons have reunited with old flames, made amends with estranged family and visited loved ones. But the journey is not without risks, and there are rules to follow. In the tradition of Toshikazu Kawaguchi's sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series, readers will once again be introduced to a new set of visitors: the husband with something important left to say; the woman who couldn't bid her dog farewell; the woman who couldn't answer a proposal; and the daughter who drove her father away. Featuring signature heartwarming characters and wistful storytelling, in the beautifully haunting Before We Say Goodbye, Kawaguchi asks: Who would you visit if you could travel through time?… (more)

Original language

English

Language

ISBN

1335009116 / 9781335009111

User reviews

LibraryThing member srms.reads
4.5⭐️

“There are many crossroads in life. All regrets stem from what happened at one moment we never imagined would happen to us. When our own action brings about an unexpected result, how can we not experience huge regret? After all, do we ever get another shot?”

Before We Say Goodbye by
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Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot) is the fourth installment of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series and personally one of my favorites (along with Book #2, Tales from the Café ).

Set in Café Funiculi Funicula in Tokyo, we meet an interesting cast of characters (both old and new) – café regulars, owners and staff and first-time visitors who come to the café for the unique experience of time travel. The rules are the same and no one can change their past. Then why go back? Love, regret, nostalgia, guilt, the need to say goodbye and to share what was left unsaid. In four interconnected stories we meet a former professor who spent most of his life busy with his career desires to speak to his wife who is now bedridden after an accident; a husband wants his wife to take the opportunity to say goodbye to their beloved dog Apollo who passed on while she was dozing; following a cryptic message left by her deceased former boyfriend a young woman visits the café to meet him for the last time and finally a young woman hopes to say goodbye and apologize to her deceased father for her behavior toward him during their last meeting.

The beautifully written, insightful and heartwarming stories inspire pause and reflection. This short novel left me with a lump in my throat and a smile on my face. Definitely recommended for fans of the series and can be read as a standalone.

Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Before We Say Goodbye was published in the United States on November 14, 2023.
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LibraryThing member Mav-n-Libby
These are such cute and quirky books. This is the second one I read and really, I wanted to read it because a woman wanted to back and visit her dog that had passed and I sobbed. I definitely think I liked the first book better and maybe, eventually, I'll check out the other two books in between
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the first one and this one...but besides that one story, I feel like this book didn't hit as well as the first one did.
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