Fiction

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

  • Downloads：2778
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-01 14:54:37
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Toshikazu Kawaguchi
  • ISBN：1529029589
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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？

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Reviews

Yesenia ，

I really enjoyed this book and the premise。 It made me thankful that at this time I don’t want to travel back in time to have one last conversation with someone。 An almost perfect book。

Theo ，

'I was so absorbed in the things that I couldn't change， I forgot the most important thing。' 'I was so absorbed in the things that I couldn't change， I forgot the most important thing。' 。。。more

Harriet ，

This was a beautiful read！ The writing is very simple but so nice to read - well done to the author and translator。 The premise is very simple but well executed。 Overall， it wasn't the best book I've ever read， but I did enjoy it， and I will give a special mention to the lovely cover！ This was a beautiful read！ The writing is very simple but so nice to read - well done to the author and translator。 The premise is very simple but well executed。 Overall， it wasn't the best book I've ever read， but I did enjoy it， and I will give a special mention to the lovely cover！ 。。。more

John'alee ，

A fun and quirky little read！ Read it in a day， which says a lot for the style of writing ！

Roisin ，

Reviewed after a rum or two: It was ok。 I enjoy the style of Japanese lit， so that helped。 The messaging was a bit sexist， innit。 Even when I viewed it throughout as 'oh they're making peace with themselves！' the ending was abrupt and like 'no lol， these women learned Their Place'It has an interesting idea， but I always like time travel stories。 Much more interested in the story of Kazu and the woman at the table than what was fleshed out。 Reviewed after a rum or two: It was ok。 I enjoy the style of Japanese lit， so that helped。 The messaging was a bit sexist， innit。 Even when I viewed it throughout as 'oh they're making peace with themselves！' the ending was abrupt and like 'no lol， these women learned Their Place'It has an interesting idea， but I always like time travel stories。 Much more interested in the story of Kazu and the woman at the table than what was fleshed out。 。。。more

Nadia ，

هل يمكن أن نغير الحاضر بالعودة للماضي؟ هذا هو السؤال الذي تجيب عنه هذه الرواية التي تدور داخل مقهى صغير به كرسي سحري ينقل الناس عبر الزمان تحت قواعد صارمة التي من أهمها العودة قبل أن تبرد القهوة التي تشكل بطاقة الرحلة فعبر قصص بعض الزائرين نضع يدنا على السؤال الذي انطلقنا منه 。أكثر ما أحببته لغة العمل الشفافة و شخصياته البسيطة و المحببة لكن أيضا أكثر ما أزعجني هو ترك القارئ دون أن يعرف بعض مصائر تلك الشخصيات و دون أن يعرف قصة السيدة الشبح التي تحتل كرسي الزمن

Alexander ，

Если бы книга была написана году хотя бы в 75-77， то по ней Р。 В。 Фассбиндер наверняка снял бы неплохой малобюджетный фильм с Ханной Шигулой и Куртом Раабом в главных ролях。 Потом， спустя лет 35， историю адаптировал бы к русским реалиям В。В。 Печейкин， а К。С。 Серебрянников сделал бы по ней в Гоголь-центре спектакль。 И я бы， скорее всего， на него пошел и мне бы， наверное， даже понравилось。Но читать это как роман невозможно， скука смертная！！！！

Megan Vos ，

This was kindof a last minute checkout purchase， and I had no idea what I was getting。 Tbh I fully went for the pretty cover。I struggled to get into it， but once I did- damn。 Its so well written， it’s comforting and sad and makes you think about everything。 If you could travel through time， who would you want to meet？The book is based in a slightly dodgy Japanese café， that just happens to have a magical chair that allows you to travel through time。 Ofcourse there are rules involved， and as with This was kindof a last minute checkout purchase， and I had no idea what I was getting。 Tbh I fully went for the pretty cover。I struggled to get into it， but once I did- damn。 Its so well written， it’s comforting and sad and makes you think about everything。 If you could travel through time， who would you want to meet？The book is based in a slightly dodgy Japanese café， that just happens to have a magical chair that allows you to travel through time。 Ofcourse there are rules involved， and as with any café， there’s the regular patrons。 The book follows these patrons as well as their time travels。 Describing it as Magical Realism is the best I can do。 。。。more

Abbey ，

This was a really interesting concept， and I really enjoyed each of these vignettes， especially the last one， which broke my heart。 This is my 19th and final read for Tis the Damn readathon！

Giulia Marino ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Confesso che da "Finché il caffè è caldo" mi aspettavo qualcosina di più， avendolo visto in vendita ovunque。 Certo， è un testo leggero， va giù liscio senza appesantire， però non mi ha emozionata granché （giusto il secondo racconto， quello su Kōtake e Fusagi， mi ha smossa un po'， ma parlare di commozione è troppo）。 Insomma， mi chiedo come abbia fatto questo libro a diventare un best-seller。 Ok， l'idea dei viaggi nel tempo col bar e il caffè è carina， ma neanche originale e i personaggi a volte da Confesso che da "Finché il caffè è caldo" mi aspettavo qualcosina di più， avendolo visto in vendita ovunque。 Certo， è un testo leggero， va giù liscio senza appesantire， però non mi ha emozionata granché （giusto il secondo racconto， quello su Kōtake e Fusagi， mi ha smossa un po'， ma parlare di commozione è troppo）。 Insomma， mi chiedo come abbia fatto questo libro a diventare un best-seller。 Ok， l'idea dei viaggi nel tempo col bar e il caffè è carina， ma neanche originale e i personaggi a volte danno quasi sui nervi。。。 Inoltre， bisogna tenere conto che è un testo impregnato di cultura giapponese che a noi occidentali può risultare indigesta。 Per esempio， durante la storia di Hirai che abbandona la sua libertà， il suo bar， la sua vita felice， per tornare a gestire la locanda dei genitori （che l'avevano diseredata e non le parlavano più， offesi dal fatto che se ne fosse andata a Tōkyō perché di dirigere la loro locanda non le fregava nulla！） non viene mai messa in discussione la rabbia dei genitori nei confronti della figlia， colpevole soltanto di aver scelto una strada diversa。 Loro ne escono bene， perché per i giapponesi è normale che dei genitori si offendano se i figli si slegano dall'attività di famiglia per fare altro， ma a noi occidentali un messaggio così può far storcere il naso （sei troppo vecchio per dirigere la tua locanda？ Assumi qualcuno e falla dirigere a lui！ Se voglio fare la barista， l'infermiera， la maestra o qualsiasi altra professione io voglia fare， tu， genitore， dovresti incoraggiarmi a seguire la mia strada invece di diseredarmi e tenermi il muso！ E che ca**！）。 Idem con Fumiko， nel primo racconto， a cui viene la fissa di sposarsi a tutti i costi perché la famiglia le rompe le scatole in maniera ossessiva， dato che gli altri figli sono sposati e lei no， alla veneranda età di 28 anni！ Insomma， tenete a mente che "Finché il caffè è caldo" è un libro molto giapponese （ovviamente） e che potrebbe non soddisfare le vostre aspettative， non certo perché riflette una cultura differente dalla nostra， ma perché a mio parere è stato pompato tantissimo da un punto di vista pubblicitario， quando， in fin dei conti， rimane un libretto carino e nulla più。Ps。 Tra l'altro， io attendevo con impazienza di scoprire la storia della donna vestita di bianco， il fantasma， il personaggio più interessante di tutti proprio perché misterioso， fuori dagli schemi！ Volevo sapere com'era diventata fantasma， qual era la sua storia， chi era prima di legarsi eternamente al bar e quella sedia。。。 Invece niente！ Il libro finisce ignorando il più attraente dei personaggi！ Mah！ 。。。more

Andrew ，

Before the Coffee Gets Cold， by Toshikazu Kawaguchi， is a fun little book about a coffee shop in Japan that has the ability to allow visitors to travel to the past， but with some rules; one cannot leave the seat they are in， one cannot change the past， and one must return before their coffee gets cold。 From this， we get a number of lovely vignettes on life， love， loss and the moments we live in。 Originally conceived as a play by the same author， one can see and feel the construction of a play wi Before the Coffee Gets Cold， by Toshikazu Kawaguchi， is a fun little book about a coffee shop in Japan that has the ability to allow visitors to travel to the past， but with some rules; one cannot leave the seat they are in， one cannot change the past， and one must return before their coffee gets cold。 From this， we get a number of lovely vignettes on life， love， loss and the moments we live in。 Originally conceived as a play by the same author， one can see and feel the construction of a play within the book; it all takes place in one location - the coffee shop， and has a small cast of characters。 It really felt like a play， and in a good way。The stories themselves were well written for the most part。 I agree with some of the criticisms of this book on Goodreads here; it is very light， and does not offer much past a lovely reading experience。 And you know what？ That is just enough for me。 I really enjoyed this book for its poignant moments， its humour， and its relatively well fleshed out cast of characters。 And the cool concept as well。 All in all， a solid magical realism novel about a coffee shop， that revels in the small moments。 Much like a fresh cup of coffee， it can be savoured for a short period of time， and then it is gone。 。。。more

Lauren ，

What a beautiful story！ It’s not as sad as I thought it would be， which I’m pretty grateful for。 My only small complaint is that I think there may have been a translation issue， as some of the wording didn’t make sense。 But overall， a wonderful message: just because you can’t change the present， doesn’t mean you can’t change the future。。。

Angiemela ，

Delicato e triste come solo la letteratura giapponese contemporanea sa essere。

Cláudia Fonseca ，

Sweet and heartbreaking at the same time！

Al Burke ，

Liked this a lot。 Review to come。

Athirah Idrus ，

I didn't expect this but I enjoyed this book - a lot。 Perhaps I'm being a bit generous with the five star rating after the horror of a read I endured right before getting on with this book， but I did love the writing and the flow of this story。 I rarely read a book written by a Japanese that makes me feel all fuwa fuwa inside。 You know， the kind of bubbly feeling that tingles you and makes you go aww。 Most of the books I've read written by Japanese authors tend to be on the 'darker' side。 Sort o I didn't expect this but I enjoyed this book - a lot。 Perhaps I'm being a bit generous with the five star rating after the horror of a read I endured right before getting on with this book， but I did love the writing and the flow of this story。 I rarely read a book written by a Japanese that makes me feel all fuwa fuwa inside。 You know， the kind of bubbly feeling that tingles you and makes you go aww。 Most of the books I've read written by Japanese authors tend to be on the 'darker' side。 Sort of gives you a sense of helplessness or foreboding of an impending doom， that makes you question the meaning of life。 That isn't too bad in itself， sometimes when you're in the right mood， those kinds of books are perfect。 But this book hits me differently。 I love how simple it is and I must say the slow pace does reel me in。 It is about this mysterious cafe - Funiculi Funicula， that is able to transport you into the past or future。 Of course with this ability comes all the rules and they must be performed in an almost ritualistic manner to achieve it。 It is a collection of stories on the people who have used this 'ability' just to be able to go back to a specific moment in time where they believed to be pivotal points in their lives。It is amazing to see different lives and the decisions people make - this is me vaguely trying to describe the story as a whole but it makes me realize that sometimes the smallest change in your perspective can and will affect your life in a tremendous manner。 There were some parts on 'how' the time works that were questionable but they weren't too bad that got in the way of the reading， to me at least。 。。。more

Mrs。B ，

Abandoned。

Alessandra ，

Se dovessi descrivere questo romanzo in una sola parola direi “delicatezza”。 I personaggi sono delicati， la storia è delicata， anche il modo di entrarti nell’anima mentre lo leggi è tale。 E sempre delicatamente te la ruba per poi ridartela a fine lettura un po’ cambiata， un po’ diversa， ma sicuramente arricchita。 Sono stata piacevolmente sorpresa di scoprire che tutte le aspettative che mi ero fatta su questo libro grazie alle recensioni online non sono state deluse。 È vero che la scrittura è mo Se dovessi descrivere questo romanzo in una sola parola direi “delicatezza”。 I personaggi sono delicati， la storia è delicata， anche il modo di entrarti nell’anima mentre lo leggi è tale。 E sempre delicatamente te la ruba per poi ridartela a fine lettura un po’ cambiata， un po’ diversa， ma sicuramente arricchita。 Sono stata piacevolmente sorpresa di scoprire che tutte le aspettative che mi ero fatta su questo libro grazie alle recensioni online non sono state deluse。 È vero che la scrittura è molto semplice e forse manca quel poco di introspezione in più che lo avrebbe reso perfetto， ma questo non cambia il fatto che sia stato in grado di toccarmi il cuore e lasciarmi dentro qualcosa， specialmente nell’ultimo capitolo。 E non è questo alla fine lo scopo di un buon libro？ 。。。more

Ella ，

I liked this book a lot。 It was simple， in a good way – charming。 It was sometimes hard to distinguish characters， but I mostly got it。 This might have been because I’m not familiar with Japanese names， or it might have been that the characters needed to be described better and their roles made clear。 I liked the way all the characters’ lives and experiences intertwined throughout the book: introducing some characters while focussing on others， and then coming back to them。 This novel could have I liked this book a lot。 It was simple， in a good way – charming。 It was sometimes hard to distinguish characters， but I mostly got it。 This might have been because I’m not familiar with Japanese names， or it might have been that the characters needed to be described better and their roles made clear。 I liked the way all the characters’ lives and experiences intertwined throughout the book: introducing some characters while focussing on others， and then coming back to them。 This novel could have been overly complicated， but it wasn’t。 You do need to suspend your disbelief somewhat to enjoy it， though。 If you are thinking too hard about logistics and realism， you will not have a fun time。 It is whimsical and a little idealistic， which contributed to my enjoyment of it。 。。。more

Pratiksha ，

"At the end of the day， whether one returns to the past or travels to the future， the present does not change。 So it raises the question: just what is the point of that chair？ "How a writer can imagine， think and weave a perfect fantasy story can be known after finishing this read。 Before the coffee gets cold is really a good fantasy fiction according to me， it has everything you need in a fantasy fiction-time travel， ghost， rules- if broken will cost your life。 The book is divided in four stori "At the end of the day， whether one returns to the past or travels to the future， the present does not change。 So it raises the question: just what is the point of that chair？ "How a writer can imagine， think and weave a perfect fantasy story can be known after finishing this read。 Before the coffee gets cold is really a good fantasy fiction according to me， it has everything you need in a fantasy fiction-time travel， ghost， rules- if broken will cost your life。 The book is divided in four stories- The Lovers， Husband and Wife， The Sisters and Mother and child。 Every story is heart wrenching and is beautifully narrated by author。This is the story of a cafe that can transport you back in time。 Time travel has some strict rules which one needs to follow。 The most scary rule is， if you stay after your coffee gets cold you will die and after visiting your past also you won't be able to change your present。As you read this book， you will discover what were the reasons that compelled characters to put their life on stake and travel back in time， knowing well that it won't change their present。 And what happened after their visit， were they able to return before their coffee gets cold。Will you go back in time， if yes at what time and will you put your life on stake for that visit，  is there any event or person whom you want to visit and meet？ 。。。more

Tina ，

2。5 stars so I rounded up。 A lovely premise but I think something was lost in the translation。 I did not enjoy the writing。

Anne ，

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a fantasy realism novel about a 10-seat cafe in a back alley of Tokyo that lets you travel back in time （with many rules）。 The book is divided into four parts， each following the story of somebody who travels back in time to face their past。 A young woman visits a man the day they broke up， a wife visits her husband before Alzheimer’s took him from her， two sisters visit one last time， and a mother visits her daughter。Originally a screenplay， the book reads as one。 Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a fantasy realism novel about a 10-seat cafe in a back alley of Tokyo that lets you travel back in time （with many rules）。 The book is divided into four parts， each following the story of somebody who travels back in time to face their past。 A young woman visits a man the day they broke up， a wife visits her husband before Alzheimer’s took him from her， two sisters visit one last time， and a mother visits her daughter。Originally a screenplay， the book reads as one。 Entrances and exits are prominent， tone， sounds， and movements are exaggerated。 I think knowing this improved the experience of reading the book， and overall I enjoyed the stories。What I really liked about this book were the rules to travelling in time: only one seat in the cafe sends you back in time， you can only visit people who have visited the cafe， you cannot leave your seat， you must return before your coffee gets cold， and nothing you do will change the present。 To me， this was an incredibly unique take on time travel， and raises interesting points as to why the various people travel to the past。 If you can’t change anything， why bother？ Each struggle with the question in their own way and come to justify it for their own reasons。 I’d recommend this book to people who enjoy emotional books， or fantasy realism。 If somebody is a big sci-fi nerd who wants to read about the mechanics and theory of the particular type of time travel， they will be disappointed。 However， as somebody who knows a lot of time travel mechanics and “physics”， I enjoyed imagining how it all worked and didn’t feel this was a gap in the story at all。 Instead of mechanical details， there was a deep level of physical and emotional detail in the book， from the character's movements to their internal thought processes。 It made the book very immersive and I felt very connected to the characters and the space， but it never felt heavy or exhausting。 This is a great lighter read for people looking for an escape。 。。。more

Nara ，

Este livro custou-me muito a terminar。 Apesar de abordar temas importantes， é altamente aborrecido e conservador。

Jennifer Girard ，

4。5Such a unique book， I loved how the setting stayed the same but each chapter was focused on a single character。

Kaoru Cruz ，

Read for 52 Book Club under the prompt "author's name with 9 letters。" The only good thing is this book is short。 Read for 52 Book Club under the prompt "author's name with 9 letters。" The only good thing is this book is short。 。。。more

Katie ，

The premise was promising。 It won a bunch of awards in Japan （？）。 I had high hopes。 The Japanese-to-English translator must have really not felt like trying at all if all of those Japanese awards were rightfully won。 It winds up reading like a story about adult problems written by a vague 3rd grader。I made it through the first of the 4 vignettes， hoping the writing style would change for the 2nd vignette， but it didn't。 So I quit。 Life's too short and my To Read List too long to waste any more t The premise was promising。 It won a bunch of awards in Japan （？）。 I had high hopes。 The Japanese-to-English translator must have really not felt like trying at all if all of those Japanese awards were rightfully won。 It winds up reading like a story about adult problems written by a vague 3rd grader。I made it through the first of the 4 vignettes， hoping the writing style would change for the 2nd vignette， but it didn't。 So I quit。 Life's too short and my To Read List too long to waste any more time on this story。 。。。more

Meg Briers ，

such a lovely theme that runs through it and i love how the separate stories weave in and out of each other。 caused me to cry but still an enjoyable read。

Christelle ，

Nice writing。 Reads like a play。 Interesting concept but the stories are a bit repetitive。

Santa ，

Ak！

Ellen ，

I loved this， beautiful story and definitely made me cry at points。 A lot of the negative comments seem to come from not understanding that 1） this was originally a play and 2） this is translated from Japanese so there are going to be differences both in language and culture。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Before the Coffee Gets Cold

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Before the Coffee Gets Cold&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Before the Coffee Gets Cold&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0