Book notes: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Synopsis:

“If you could go back, who would you want to meet?

In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than 100 years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee – the chance to travel back in time.

Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.

Heartwarming, wistful, mysterious, and delightfully quirky, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s internationally best-selling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change if you could travel back in time?” -Audible

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Opening thoughts:

I picked up this book because a friend recommended it. It seemed like a fairly short yet intriguing read with a unique concept. I wasn’t sure what to expect but if it ends up being any good, it seems like it is a series.

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Key notes:

Epigraph

Chapter 1: The Lovers

• There are rules for this magical time-travel cafe
• To travel back in time, the person had to sit in a particular chair that a ghost was blocking, and you could only sit when the ghost went to the restroom for some time. The person also had to finish a cup of coffee before it went cold or else they became the ghost
• Fumiko wanted to go back one week to talk with her ex who left for America to pursue his career
• The ritual worked, but the café worker acted like it was no big deal

Chapter 2: Husband and Wife

• Reader’s note: I’m pretty annoyed at this wife for being such a people pleaser. It’s also frustrating that the husband is so toxic and crushing her hopes by throwing away gifts that she asked about. He has too much ego and pride. And now she’s regretting asking about the letter because he is so insecure and might just throw away the letter because she asked
• Reader’s note: This was a good plot twist. He guessed correctly that she was from the future and knew about his illness

Chapter 3: The Sisters

• There was a girl from the future, who wanted to take a photo with Kei
• The bar owner next door Hirai closed her popular bar for a few days because her sister died of a car accident. But she was back in town and seemed in good spirits 
• Reader’s note: It’s pretty rude of them (the cafe workers) to assume how Hirai is feeling and to tell her how she should act and feel while mourning. People react to and cope with these things in different ways. It was her sister so she should be allowed to respond how she wants
• Hirai wanted to go back in time and see her sister once more to apologize to her
• Her sister Kumi revealed her dream was to run the inn together with her older sister
• Reader’s note: Okay, this has been dragging on for a long time now. I wish I could just fast forward and get to the resolution of this encounter even though it is very touching
• She made the promise to her sister that she would return home and run the inn

Chapter 4: Mother and Child

• The last rule is that you can only travel through time once
• Kei and Nagare met in the hospital when they were both there. They dated for 3 years before getting married and now they both work at the cafe
• Kei’s chronic health condition of having a weak heart makes her pregnancy very dangerous. She may not survive childbirth
• She accidentally traveled 15 years into the future and the girl there was her daughter
• An older Fumiko told Kei that her daughter really wanted to meet her and that just seeing her wasn’t enough
• Miki finally talked to her and said thank you for giving her life

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Closing thoughts:

While I really loved the story, the concept, and how the plot unfolded, there were a few big things that really bothered me about the book.

First off, even though this was an artistic choice, I didn’t like how they revealed a few key pieces of information late. It would have been good to know that you could only travel in time once. Unless I missed that piece of info, I feel like that would have been good to know in the beginning, and I don’t understand why it would have been left out whenever the cafe workers were explaining the rules. It’s just a personal preference but I don’t like it when authors leave out important details when it doesn’t make sense to do so. Basically, I don’t like unnecessary surprises.

Second, and the biggest thing that annoyed me, was how much the characters kept dragging on the scenes that didn’t need to be dragged out. Each time traveler kept wasting time worrying about what other people thought about them and how they were inconveniencing or annoying the people around them. Despite knowing their time was short, instead of getting to the point and asking the questions or saying the thing they need to say, they would waste precious minutes worrying, and then they would worry about how they’re wasting time worrying. There were so many times I wish I could just skip forward to the resolution of the scene because we already know it’s coming. Just get over with it already.

Perhaps some people would make the argument that the extension of the dramatic tension makes for a bigger and more satisfying, cathartic release. However, I felt like it was definitely overdone. This people-pleasing approach seemed so unnecessary when they clearly resolved to travel through time to achieve a goal.

Overall, I would recommend this book, and I’ll probably read the next books in the series. However, I hope they don’t do the same things in the next books.

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One Takeaway / Putting into practice:

This one is easy.

• Say what you need to say and do what you need to do. Don’t wait until it’s too late because you will regret it.

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Nutshell:

A magical cafe allows someone to travel through time, though there are many restrictions.

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Similar books:

• Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Rating:

3.5/5

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