It is always a joy to read about fictional worlds! But the one downside is being unable to visit all the amazing places we read about. Wouldn't it be incredible if they were real? Here is a list of places we wish existed in reality (and one that actually does!).
Funiculi Funicula café in:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Toshikazu Kawaguchi, translated by Geoffrey Trousselot
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.
In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer’s, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.
But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold …
Legends and Lattes café in:
Legends & Lattes
Travis Baldree
After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream – opening the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can't go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune's shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more.
But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined.
Hyunam-dong Bookshop in:
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan
Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop.
In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju – they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live.
The library at Hatori Community House in:
What You Are Looking for is in the Library
Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts
'What are you looking for?' So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. But she is no ordinary librarian. Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.
We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:
The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose
Can she help them find what they are looking for?
The DallerGut Dream Department Store in:
DallerGut Dream Department Store
Miye Lee, translated by Sandy Joosun Lee
In a mysterious town hidden in our collective subconscious there's a department store that sells dreams. Day and night, visitors both human and animal shuffle in to purchase their latest adventure. Each floor specializes in a specific type of dream: childhood memories, food dreams, ice skating, dreams of stardom. Flying dreams are almost always sold out. Some seek dreams of loved ones who have died.
For Penny, an enthusiastic new hire, working at the store is the opportunity of a lifetime. As she uncovers the workings of this whimsical world, she bonds with a cast of unforgettable characters, including DallerGut, the flamboyant and wise owner, Babynap Rockabye, a famous dream designer, Maxim, a nightmare producer, and the many customers who dream to heal, dream to grow, and dream to flourish.
Many Hands in:
The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up
Kate Solly
Meet Fleck Parker: Mother, Crafter and Amateur Detective.
Fleck loves a good puzzle. She spends most of her time feeling invisible, caring for three small children and that's fine, really. But it does make her brain itch occasionally.
When Trixie, fellow school-mum and avid crafter, is accused of stealing money from Many Hands, the women's charity known for its charming store full of handmade crafts, Fleck feels compelled to investigate and clear Trixie's name. From playground stake-outs to tailing cars while nursing the baby to sleep, Fleck and Trixie uncover a case more complex than either of them could have imagined.
Blue Blue's Cafe in:
Big Little Lies
Liane Moriarty
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with: witty, noisy and passionate. She remembers everything and forgives no one.
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. But perfection is often an illusion.
Jane is a single mum with a mysterious past who carries a sadness beyond her years.
These three women, all with children starting at the same school, are telling little lies that may turn lethal.
And one restaurant that exists, and can be visited in real life! (If you can afford the flight to Tokyo)
Joël Robuchon in:
Butter
Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton
Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back.
Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body; might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?
