Sometimes the simplest story has the most impact. That is certainly true of this book by Japanese author Toshikazu Kawaguchi. The story is spare, the characters limited and the action takes place mainly in a coffee shop, and yet there is something very compelling and powerful in that simplicity.

In a back alley in Tokyo there is a coffee shop that has been serving coffee for a hundred years. But there are rumors that it offers something else on the menu – the chance to travel back in time!  But there are rules you must follow. For example, you must sit in a special seat in the coffee shop. Unfortunately that seat is usually occupied and you must wait until it is vacant. Once in the seat, you are able to travel back in time but only for as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.

During one summer four customers decide to take the chance this coffee shop affords them to travel back in time. One is the wife of a man who is slowly falling into dementia. He no longer recognizes her, and yet he still remembers the trips they took together and seems to have a message for her that he has forgotten to give her. Another is a child, whose mother died giving birth, who wants to go back in time to connect with the mother she never knew. Then there are the two sisters who were estranged before a fatal car accident. Can they reconnect one more time? With subtle humor, Kawaguchi, engages us in a startling piece of magical realism, filled with quirky characters, strange rules, and wistful whimsy. This is book one in the series and I am looking forward to reading more about this wonderful coffee shop!

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marain, Lauren, Sharon, Keith and Ken

Book Study Worthy? YES

Read it in ebook format.