Before We Say Goodbye

“There is a curious urban legend about a particular seat in a certain town’s coffee shop. Apparently, if you sit on that seat, it will take you back in time to whenever you wish.” Kawaguchi’s fourth entry in the Before Your Coffee Gets Cold series (after Before Your Memory Fades) returns to this fabled time-traveling café seat in four sweet, interconnected short stories. Though café patrons are forewarned that nothing they do in the past will change the future, they still choose to travel back in time for closure and catharsis. In “The Husband,” professor Monji Kadokura goes to see his wife before the accident that left her in a vegetative state, while in “The Farewell,” Sunao Hikita, who blames herself for her dog’s death, gets to see the pooch one last time. Hikari Ishimori confronts the ex-boyfriend whom she nearly married in “The Proposal,” and Michiko Kijimoto apologizes to her estranged father before his death in “The Daughter.” The mystical curiosity of the café’s existence, only hinted at in each segment, acts as mere background for literary, character-driven storytelling. The result is an examination of love and regret in four acts, written in fluid, dreamlike prose. Simple, sentimental, and profound, this is sure to scratch the itch for series fans. Agent: Neil Gudovitz, Neil Gudovitz & Co. (Nov.)