Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Ratings668
Average rating3.7
This was a lovely, short, and thought provoking read.
This one is hard to review for me, due to the nature of this book, not a huge amount actually happens. So the pace would likely be considered slow, HOWEVER, you learn a lot about love and life and loss and hope and just... how humanity operates, and I couldn't put it down.
I loved how the magical realism in this book lends itself to true life lessons about how every moment, and every decision, matters.
I have already purchased the other 3 books in this series and will be spreading them out over 2024 when I feel like a reflective, and truly beautiful reading experience.
4.5/5 stars
An enjoyable read. If you like this premise—people having one last chance to talk to someone—then I'd say go for it. However, perhaps it's not something everyone would enjoy. It's not slow, we move quite quickly through each character's story, but if you're looking for something “exciting”, then perhaps you won't find it here.
However, the characters are well-developed and each is unique in their experience and the “loss” they experience. Importantly, I didn't find any of the character POVs worse than any other. For this kind of book, this is essential I think and Kawaguchi nailed the balance.
Essentially, I'd pitch this book as an exploration of one central theme: saying goodbye. In some form, each chapter's POV character must say goodbye to someone they love. As we progress through the chapter they learn to accept and move-on in their lives.
No matter who we are, and no matter how we will say goodbye to the people we love—whether through death, illness or life circumstances—everyone will go through this experience over and over in our lives. And the question is: how do we overcome this loss?
I think Kawaguchi's answer to this is simple: it is good to be sad in saying goodbye, because it meant we had something to say goodbye to. If we can appreciate this, then we realise it's better this way because the alternative is never having had someone worth saying goodbye to. A reality that is perhaps even sadder than saying goodbye.
In my opinion, Before the Coffee Gets Cold provides a convincing persuasion of this idea. If this theme is something that interests you, then this book is a subtle and satisfying exploration of it.
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4/5 for writing, 4.5/5 for story and 3/5 for impact.
I struggled with this book in it's written form and it almost made my DNF list. However, I decided to try it in audio book format and that made it a lot more manageable. It was a cute book with a nice premise. I liked the focus on 4 different stories under the same time travel idea. But I still have unanswered questions that I presume might get answered in a sequel which unfortunately I don't think I will ever read.
Did not care for any of the characters.
A disappointing execution for a very interesting premise.
Los personajes y sus historias me han llegado al corazón, he estado la mayor parte de la lectura con los ojos húmedos.
Aunque tiene una premisa interesante por sí sola, es una historia donde lo importante son los personajes.
Vamos conociéndolos poco a poco mediante las conversaciones y las situaciones que van teniendo entre ellos en la acogedora cafetería. Cada uno tiene sus propios problemas y preocupaciones y es bonito ver cómo se esfuerzan en superarlos y también cómo, a pesar de que cada uno está lidiando con lo suyo, se preocupan por los demás y se ayudan entre ellos.
Es difícil no encariñarse con los personajes después de todo lo que pasa.
3 3/4 stars !!
“No matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart. And if the chair can change someone's heart, it clearly has its purpose”
4 stars • I really liked this. It has some faults, but I adore the premise of small time travelling coffee shop. This kind of soft fantasy, with a focus on realism is my favourite. And I really love this book's depiction of time travel. There are rules to it... a lot of rules. And this creates quite an interesting story. ☕️
I also liked the format of the novel. The story is split into four chapters, each focusing on a different character. Some chapters are better than others. I really adored the second chapter the most. It's a bittersweet story of a man with Alzheimers and his wife. Really moving. Some chapters I didn't like much and felt needed some improvements (specifically the first one).
The writing style is written like a play. Pretty much all of the story takes place in the coffee shop with characters leaving and entering, feeling very much like a play. This style is not for everyone! But it didn't affect my enjoyment too much. And I really wish this was a play I would go watch it for sure.
(also the cover of this book betrayed me! There's a cat on it. I was expecting more cats. I am disappointed by the lack of cats in the novel.
I saw some reviews that were not a fan of the writing style, but I believe it's just some things that are bound to be lost in translation — in this case the slightly awkward storytelling style of the Japanese.
I enjoyed this novel despite the writing, as the soul lies within the stories, not the context or the characters.
Reminds me of midnight diner. If you enjoy that you will enjoy this too.
“I was so absorbed in the things that I couldn't change, I forgot the most important thing.”
I'm a little disappointed with this book not gonna lie. Maybe it's not for me but it felt like there wasn't enough there for me to truly enjoy the book. It felt more like a collection of short stories than one book.
The second story was the only one that I felt truly connected to, and I think this was because we were shown more of their relationship and knew more about the characters so I actually felt something for them. The last story annoyed me so much as I really hate that trope and somehow everyone was okay with it???
had I not read it outside, I probably would have cried. did expect it to be even sadder than it was though
J'ai l'impression que la traduction ne rend pas justice au texte. J'ai apprécié lire les règles et les quatre histoires mais sans adhérer/ressentir l'idée et les sentiments portés par les personnages.
Il y a peut-être quelque chose que j'ai raté avec ces personnages féminins. Je ne les ai vues qu'évoluer dans leur rôle d'amoureuse, d'épouse, de fille et de mère : elles étaient toutes définies, circonscrites à leur relation au masculin.
SUCH an enjoyable read!! I really want to read it right over again, so I can pick up on more details this time. I found the style captivating, and the stories both realistic and impactful, something that changed my perspectives on things. 100% would read again, and 100% so happy I did!! Thank you to my dear friend, Deanna, who sent me the book :) <3
The first story was a bit of a bad start. It was immediately very repetitive and the dialogue was very stiff. Although I feel some of that was due to translation and maybe cultural differences. After I got into it however it became much less repetitive and more meaningful.
The later stories were all about the people in the cafe which helped. The message was great in every story, and even though the dialogue still felt somewhat emotionless, the other text explained the feelings some more. I did feel the end stopped somewhat abruptly.
I loved the story and the concept a lot. The only thing that holds this back from being a five-star rating is the writing style. There were so many times that I wished the author/translator had painted a picture with words instead of plainly describing the scene. It lacked beautiful writing, but it was rich in compelling stories, characters, and moments of devastating emotions. I cried like a baby reading this book more than a few times. I will read the other books in this series because I think the concept of this cafe is special and worth revisiting.
Tried to listen to it but couldn't get in to it...
I think this is a book that you should read and not listen to. So that is why I am DNF this book and maybe in the future I read it instead.
Read for our workplace book club of June (I'm a bit early). Based on a simple idea (being able to go back in time but inside a very strict set of rules quite different from usual), in a very small café setting, the author is able to draw several beautiful stories of the people going around, their lives, their wins and losses. It gives a big time for reflection and introspection and made me shed some tears.
“The first rule was: The only people you can meet while in the past are those who have visited the cafe. This would usually defeat the purpose of going back. Another rule was: There is nothing you can do while in the past that will change the present.”
Loved how this book read as 4 short stories. The third story was by far my favourite, the other three fell a tad flat. I really wanted the story about the woman in the dress, I feel like we should have gotten her story as she was a consistent character throughout all 4 stories.
This book was so comforting. I liked the connection between all of the characters and I loved the idea of this magical café. I can't wait to see who we meet in the next books!
A cozy read but I found it to be a bit slow and dull at times. Also, I had quite a hard time remember all the character named and how they were all connected.
This book was heartwarming and bittersweet.
'...no matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart. And if the chair can change someone's heart, it clearly has it's purpose.'
So lovely and tender and sweet. Very triggering for folks with: death of partner, death of parent. What I loved most about this book was the emphasis on shifting perspective. There was nothing magical: time travel doesn't change the present, but instead the perspective of the person.
Lovely.