Just as in the first novel, customers visit the cafe now and again, having heard the rumours of the time-travel chair. Run down by poverty and having lost all hope, Gohtaro broke down in tears of gratitude. He nodded. ‘OK! I’ll do it.’ Mamma, mi dispiace", disse il bambino. Era una semplice conversazione tra madre e figlio, niente di che. Kazu si girò a guardarli, e poi sussurrando "Mamma..." si avviò verso il passaggio a livello, quasi attirata da un polo magnetico. Tales from the Cafe toes a very gentle line, and it does so superbly. It offers us more of what we enjoyed from the first novel, while also building the world of the cafe. People don’t see things and hear things as objectively as they might think. The visual and auditory information that enters the mind is distorted by experiences, thoughts, circumstances, wild fancies, prejudices, preferences, knowledge, awareness, and countless other workings of the mind.”

Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi | Goodreads Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi | Goodreads

Shuichi seemed pleased with Gohtaro’s response. He took the bill and strolled over to the cash register. ‘Excuse me, I’d like to pay.’ A question that defies rational thought but the answer of which lies in the hearts of those who are grieving for the people they have lost, regretting all that was left unsaid, those experiencing guilt over past actions or words that haunt them and prevent them from leading their lives to the fullest and those who want to see their loved one(s) just one more time. We called it“unapologetically awkward and campy, but it is full of soul, presented through clever world building and unfolding of its characters and relationships. A truly memorable and captivating reading experience.” Entering the cafe through the two-metre-high wooden door, he still had to pass through a small corridor. Straight ahead was the door to the toilet, in the centre of the wall to the right was the entrance to the cafe. As he stepped into the cafe itself, he saw a woman sitting at one of the counter chairs. She instantly called out, ‘Kazu . . . customer!’This is quite a short book, so it’s hard to say much about it when trying to avoid spoilers, but yet again this book just filled my soul. I adored the atmosphere Kawaguchi created around the café, how he expanded on the lore of the café itself, as well as on the history of those who work there. On top of this beautiful exploration we are also introduced to new people and are absorbed into new tales. Throughout this book, whilst I was reading it I really felt a sense of peace, of beauty. I cried, as with the first one, when I finished reading it. It’s such a touching and well written plot. And I love the path that Kawaguchi went down for this book.

Tales from the Cafe a book by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and

This book gives us just enough of something new while staying true to what made the original such a roaring success. There is heart and love and sweetness to spare. Kawaguchi is a special kind of storyteller. There were many times when he felt like giving up, filled with doubt about his talent. He was in his thirties and couldn’t see how he could go on working in casual jobs.” I've slowly grown to really like the staff at the cafe, and the endearing and complicated reasons people want to travel to a different time. Whether it's redemption, self reflection, guilt or just a need for some closure, every story is simply yet beautifully told, with every patron having a unique story to tell. The series really does have the potential to go on and on, with countless people visiting the cafe. At the time Gohtaro was homeless and penniless, having been forced to surrender all his assets – he had been the cosigner on a loan obligation for a friend’s company that had gone bankrupt. His clothes were dirty, and he reeked.But also in Japan it seems that being a ghost is pretty good - you can read books, drink coffee and you even need to go to the toilet - though admittedly only once a day - being dead in Japan seems a pretty minimal change of physical condition, this probably why Japan's population is ageing rapidly - too many people retiring to Japan in the hope of an active afterlife. What has remained from the first novel is its same twee and awkward setup and atmosphere. The rules for time travel are silly; the ghost woman is absurd (though nicely fleshed-out this time); the awkward story conceits are strained and difficult to digest. And so, I started to work for Shuichi. I put my head down and tried to learn the job as fast as I could. But after a year, there was a traffic accident. Shuichi and his wife . . .’ Life in Japan on the strength of this novel seems even stranger than I had imagined, even after learning about Godzilla, apparently if you are working for a friend in their small business and they die, you can just take over the business, and raise their child as your own and nobody will complain or cause you any problems, not the law, the banks, or even any grandparents.