Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Japan, Time Travel
Pages: 213
Rating: 4/5
Book in series: #1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold
ABOUT
"What would you change if you could go back in time?
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 . . .
Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving story 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?"
THOUGHTS
Even though the characters can´t change the future, the act of revisiting the past still has meaning. It shows that closure and acceptance can be just as powerful as rewriting history.
The book left me thinking about my own relationships, and about what I would say if I had one more chance with someone important, even if my words would not change anything except within myself.
RECOMMENDATION
I would recommend Before the Coffee Gets Cold to anyone who enjoys quiet, reflective stories rather than fast-paced plots. It’s especially suited for readers who like books that explore emotions, relationships, and “what if” questions in life. If you’re open to a slower, more contemplative style of storytelling, this novel will likely stay with you long after you finish it.
To sum up – a tender, heart-wrenching story that made me reflect on my own relationships and the words I wish I could say one last time.
Review writer: Josefin
"What would you change if you could go back in time?
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 . . .
Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving story 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?"
THOUGHTS
Even though the characters can´t change the future, the act of revisiting the past still has meaning. It shows that closure and acceptance can be just as powerful as rewriting history.
The book left me thinking about my own relationships, and about what I would say if I had one more chance with someone important, even if my words would not change anything except within myself.
RECOMMENDATION
I would recommend Before the Coffee Gets Cold to anyone who enjoys quiet, reflective stories rather than fast-paced plots. It’s especially suited for readers who like books that explore emotions, relationships, and “what if” questions in life. If you’re open to a slower, more contemplative style of storytelling, this novel will likely stay with you long after you finish it.
To sum up – a tender, heart-wrenching story that made me reflect on my own relationships and the words I wish I could say one last time.
Review writer: Josefin
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