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SUNDAY BOOK CLUB

Two Japanese time-travel novels gain international success


Time-travel is a challenging story-telling device. On the one hand, the writer needs to maintain narrative consistency and hew as closely as possible to the known laws of physics. On the other, the reader needS to stay focused to avoid confusion and to suspend disbelief every now and then so we can fully immerse ourselves in the story.

A plethora of books — from Isaac Asimov’s "End of Eternity" and HG Wells "The Time Machine" to JK Rowling’s "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" all the way to the X-Men’s latest iteration in Jonathan Hickman’s "House of X / Powers of X" — center on time-travel or use it as an essential plot point.

Two wildly popular Japanese novels dived into these waters, achieved great success with its local readership, and has since gained a considerable international following.

While many of their Western counterparts deal with time-travel as a means to correct a past wrong, or avoid a future one, these Japanese novels show us that time-travel holds the key to unlock something far more important: a life free of regret.

The best-selling novel "Before the Coffee Gets Cold," written by Toshikazu Kawagushi (2019, PICADOR) is a haunting tale of closure and second chances. Seven individuals’ lives revolve around a non-descript Tokyo coffee house which, according to urban legend, allows patrons to travel back in time.

Originally written and performed as a play, Kawagushi-san crafted a beautiful story about the small group of friends at the Funiculi Funicula Café and how they discover that time-travel reveals more about themselves and their important relationships, rather than the events they seek to alter.

Four seemingly disparate stories meld into one bittersweet novel, with each tale revealing essential elements which make the other three more moving.

While the structure of the story (and the character names) could initially confuse readers new to the Japanese narrative style, you will quickly get into the rhythm of things. And as you progress through the novel, well-drawn characters like bartender Kazu, proprietors Nagare and Kei, and frequent patrons Hirai and Kohtake welcome you like old friends and invite you to join them on their respective journeys.

Meanwhile, the ‘Endless Eight' story arc in the Japanese light novel "The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya" (2011, Little Brown and Company), written by Nagaru Tanigawa, incorporates two thought-provoking elements in its time-travel narrative.

First, time is portrayed as a closed loop rather than a linear continuum. Second, the story recounts the experience from the view of the other persons affected by the time loop instead of the perspective of the person in its center.

"Endless Eight" is part of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" series of light novels and anime, which have achieved icon status for the otaku or geek crowd.

It centers on Haruhi Suzumiya, a beautiful and smart, though bossy, high schooler who can alter reality with the sheer force of her will. The story follows Haruhi and her friends Yuki, Mikuru, Koizumi and Kyon (whom she dubbed her SOS Brigade) as they frantically deal with the fallout of being trapped in ‘a literally endless summer’.

The "Endless Eight" story arc deep-dives into the nature, and perceived limits, of the laws of space-time. But it does so in a subtle and very entertaining way. By weaving provocative ideas into the hijinks and hilarity Haruhi and her SOS Brigade create, Tanigawa-san is able to effectively tackle and consequently make us ponder big questions which would otherwise be unwieldy, such as the nature of space-time, quantum mechanics, and the fragility of reality.

Time-travel is, for now, the stuff of science fiction. But the sheer number and popularity of novels that deal with the subject shows humankind’s longing for the ‘do-over’. With all that happened in 2020, we understandably catch ourselves looking backwards to ‘the time before’ – our lives pre-pandemic.

But this is the reality we have, and it is unfortunately not in our power to undo the past, in particular those events which led up to where we are now.

Thankfully, it is in our power to chart a safer course forward. Instead of wishing we can go back in time, perhaps we should instead look ahead and work to create our better future. — LA, GMA News

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About the authors: Rory J. Bolivar is a registered microbiologist, educator, and writer. Robespierre L. Bolivar is the recipient of the Gawad Mabini, one of the highest Presidential honors bestowed upon Filipino diplomats. Follow them on Instagram @robroryreads and visit their blog about books and reading at https://robroryreads.wixsite.com/bookreviews

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