About this book
(blurb from Exclusive Books)
Translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving Before the Coffee Gets Cold explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe 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 cafe’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, see their sister one last time, and 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 cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .
My thoughts:
My thoughts:What a fascinating notion!
Set in a secluded cafe in Tokyo, the story is told in four parts. As the reader progress through the book, it is possible to see that these four seemingly different stories, are in fact intertwined. It reads very much like a play (the same location, with different, but limited characters). Afterwards, I did read somewhere that this was either meant to be a play or the author is a playwright – which makes sense.
What make this little café different? Well, it offers the “secret” ability for the patrons to time travel. But there are numerous rules that must be obliged to. There is a specific chair used to travel back it time, but it is occupied by a mysterious woman most of the time. When time travelling, you can only meet with people who has visited the café previously, and you’re not allowed to leave your spot. Also, you can’t change the past to change the future – and the most important rule, you have to be back before the cup of coffee placed in front of you, gets cold.
“With the coffee in front of her, she closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. It was her moment of happiness.”
Yes, a lot of rules – and the reader is reminded of it often.
So, you may ask, if you can’t go back to the past and change things, why even bother to do it. To me, it was more about closure, about how it changes the ‘time traveler’.
“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.”
“Before The Coffee Gets Cold” is an emotional and at times, heart-wrenching read. It is charming, tender and heartening. It is about relationships and expressions of love.
I found the characters realistic and likable, and once you get used to the style of writing, there is a beautiful and patient flow to the stories. Pure writing, and quite readable, but I did wonder, on numerous occasions while reading this book, if some of the emotive connections between some of the characters would have been more impactful in the original language, Japanese.
It is minimalist, and thought-provoking – what would you do if you can travel through time to revisit certain situations, especially if you only have very limited time to do so?
I did miss the use of chapters in the stories though, that made this very short book (just over 200 pages) feel longer to read. At times the writing did come over as being repetitive, and I really want to know more about the women in the dress? Did her coffee get cold?
But I can wholly recommend “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” if you want a book to read in one sitting – one that is poignant, charming and hopeful.
“Water flows from high places to low places. That is the nature of gravity. Emotions also seem to act according to gravity. When in the presence of someone with whom you have a bond, and to whom you have entrusted your feelings, it is hard to lie and get away with it. The truth just wants to come flowing out. This is especially the case when you are trying to hide your sadness or vulnerability. It is much easier to conceal sadness from a stranger, or from someone you don’t trust.”
With thanks to Exclusive Books for the opportunity to read this book. Published by Pan MacMillan.
The Details:
Picador
19 September 2019
9781529029581
224 pages
Other books in the series:
- #1 Before The Coffee Gets Cold
- #2 Tales from the Cafe
- #3 Before Your Memory Fades
- #4 Before Saying Goodbye (Coming in September 2023)
About the Author:
https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/toshikazu-kawaguchi/28093
@roelia_reads Happy new month! ❤️ What are you currently reading #Booktok? I am loving #beforethecoffeegetscold so far! ☕ #roeliareads #booktoksa #ebrecommends @Exclusive Books @Pan Macmillan SA #currentlyreading #booktok #readersoftiktok ♬ original sound –
