Audacity Book Club: May Read

By Nic Daniels

Hello, audacious readers!

I’m so excited to be back after Spring Break. I took time to smell the roses in April and now I’m coming back with something familiar. This month, we’re headed back to Tokyo after a year away with the next installment of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

In an interesting twist, this is not a sequel to Before Your Memory Fades but a prequel that takes place between Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Café. Long-time Audacity Book Club members are familair with the set up but let’s run through them one more time.

In a small alley in Tokyo sits a magical café called Funiculi Funicula that can send people back in time using a peculiar set of rules. And while the present won’t change, the person will.

The beloved café owner, Nagare, and stoic but kind barista, Kazu, are back as we meet a new set of patrons ready to change the past: A husband who wants to tell his currently catatonic wife an unsaid truth. A woman says goodbye to her beloved dog. A daughter goes to make amends with her estranged father. A girlfriend finds the answer to a proposal.

 In a tale that reminds us to not leave anything unsaid, Before We Say Goodbye is as poignant and hopeful as the rest of Kawaguchi’s series. This book is available wherever books are sold as well as in your local library. I hope you enjoy it, and I will see you at the end of the month for the full review.

As always, don’t forget to read audaciously!