Before I Knew I Loved You

The sixth book in the multi-million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.

In a special seat in a fabled Tokyo cafe, you’re offered something irresistible – not just a warm, comforting coffee, but the chance to go back in time to revisit the ones you love . . .

In Before I knew I loved you, Toshikazu Kawaguchi takes us back to the warm heart of the mysterious Funiculi Funicula Cafe, with another four guests whose luminous stories of love, lost and won again, will reaffirm your belief in its eternal potential. In this book, we meet:

- The girl who wishes to make amends with the mother she never accepted
- The man who waited for a reply from his girlfriend, and never heard from her
- The woman anxious to travel ahead to know what her future holds
- The student who travels back to meet his father again, who passed away many years before.

Yet the same rules always apply – you must return before the coffee gets cold. And while it does, memories are revisited, people are changed forever, and the enduring power of love transcends the boundaries of time.

The sixth book in the phenomenal, bestselling series, translated from Japanese, Before I knew I loved you asks the irresistible question: what would you do if you were offered the chance to go back in time?

Review

A global phenomenon . . . Kawaguchi certainly has crafted a perfect recipe; may his resonating reunions live on and on and on -- Booklist

The narrative is deeply moving -- Chicago Review of Books on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

Heartwarming, whimsical . . . offering comfort at a time when the world seems off-kilter and chaotic -- The New York Times on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

Endearing -- New York Times Book Review on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

A complete page-turner from the start to the end -- Buzzfeed on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

Heartwarming, quirky, and wistful -- Huffpost on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

Interwoven into what initially feels like a whimsical escape are existential conundrums of love and loss, family and freedom, life and death -- Christian Science Monitor on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

Charming -- Star Tribune on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

About the Author

Toshikazu Kawaguchi was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1971. He formerly produced, directed and wrote for the theatrical group Sonic Snail. As a playwright, his works include COUPLE, Sunset Song and Family Time. The novel Before the Coffee Gets Cold is adapted from a 1110 Productions play by Kawaguchi, which won the 10th Suginami Drama Festival grand prize. It was followed by Tales From the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, Before We Say Goodbye, Before We Forget Kindness and Before I knew I loved you.

Geoffrey Trousselot was born in Hobart, Australia, in 1969. He is the translator of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. Other translations include The I Wonder Bookstore by Shinsuke Yoshitake and Hiroshima: From the shadows of the grass by Toshinori Kanaya. He was a contributing translator to The 20th Century Art in Japan by the Tokyo Art Club.