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Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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Tales from the Cafe

A Novel

by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Narrator Kevin Shen

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Length 5 hours 32 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“This lyrical sequel to Before the Coffee Gets Cold follows four characters who travel forward and backward in time to meet friends, lovers and family, using the magical coffee served at Tokyo’s café Finiculi Finicula. The time travelers cannot change the past or the present by their travels, so why do they bother? Kawaguchi tenderly explores that why, gently inviting his audience to realize just how important our seemingly insignificant daily actions and kindnesses can become. Narrator and actor Kevin Shen brilliantly brings the café denizens to life, from a seven-year-old girl to an aging mother. Through his narration we see the café and come to care deeply about the family running the café and their customers. Because, in the end, happiness is what matters.”
— Claire • Honest Dog Books

Bookseller recommendation

“In this engrossing and creative sequel to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Kawaguchi brings us more intriguing tales of people who want to travel in time to spend a few more moments with someone important to them. As they explain why they wish to travel back or, more rarely, forward in time, we learn not only about them but also more about the cafe owner and employees. Kawaguchi weaves and connects their stories with great skill and insight into human nature and relationships. I loved being back in the cafe with new customers, and I especially loved learning more about those I already knew from the first novel as details of their lives gradually unfolded, woven through the new tales. This marvelous book can easily stand alone, but for the full picture and listening pleasure, listen first to Before the Coffee Gets Cold.”
— Nancy • Raven Book Store

Summary
About the author

From the author of the international bestseller Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this book follows four new customers who hope to travel back in time in a little Japanese café.

In a back alley in Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time.

With faces both familiar and new, Tales from the Cafe follows the story of four patrons who visit to take advantage of café Funiculi Funicula's time-traveling offer and revisit moments with family, friends and lovers. Each one must face up to the past to move on with their lives.

Kawaguchi's wistful and heartwarming new novel once again invites the reader to ask themselves, "What would you do if you could travel back in time?"

Meet more wonderful characters in the rest of the captivating Before the Coffee Gets Cold series:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before Your Memory Fades

Before We Say Goodbye

Before We Forget Kindness

Fiction Science Fiction Fiction - Literary

TOSHIKAZU KAWAGUCHI was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1971. He has produced, directed and written for the theatrical group Sonic Snail. His works as a playwright include COUPLE, Sunset Song and family time. His play Before the Coffee Gets Cold won the grand prize at the Suginami Drama Festival. Before the Coffee Gets Cold has become an international bestseller and has been adapted for the screen in Japan.