Book Review: Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot) (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #4)

 

Rating: 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 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.