Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

497 reviews

snipinfool's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A small underground coffee shop in Tokyo had a rumored ability to allow patrons to travel in time. The cafe had many people visit in hopes of attempting to go to a specific time, but once they realized the specific requirements of the trip, few made the choice to give it a try. The rules, while simple, were very specific. One, the person had to sit in a certain seat. That seat was rarely vacant. Two, once you went to your intended point in time, you could not leave your seat or you would return to the present. Third, the visit lasted as long as it took to drink a cup of coffee. The time traveler had to finish the coffee before it grew cold or there was a penalty. Four, the person they wanted to see had to be in the café at the specific time they wanted to go to or they risked not seeing them on the trip. Finally, the traveler could not change the present by returning back in time. One summer, four people made the decision to take a turn in the special seat and go to a specific point in time.

This was a quick read. I liked the premise of people taking a brief trip in time to an important point in their life. Most of the stories tugged at your heart. I wished the stories were longer as we learned very little about most of the people outside of what happened in the café. I can see this being expanded and made into a movie. The book was originally written as a play in 2010 and later published as a novel. I think it works better as a play, but I did enjoy the short stores of each time traveler.

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sadie_g's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

Love the concept of this book and how it played out and how the stories intertwine together. I ended up getting a lot more emotional than I thought I would at the end of this book.

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josiee's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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hannahfreyvogel's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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cobainity's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

i really enjoyed the concept of this book, but i think the translation must not really do it justice. i can imagine the way in which the book was written makes much more sense in japanese, also that the novel is an adaptation of a play :) i did still like the story though and it was a nice read. didn't love the male gaze but it was kind of compensated by the intricate study of emotion and grief, especially at the end.

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hretzkin's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I liked how creative the idea was, I think it was a unique time travel story. I enjoyed the first three stories and the idea of using time travel to change yourself in the present. Absolutely despised the last story though. It contradicted the message of the first story, or at least how I interpreted it. You can't change the past but you can change the future since it isn't fixed. The last story made it seem like the future is also fixed.

There's definitely some weird gender stuff as all the people who go back are women.

It is a translated book so some of the prose is a bit repetitive but I tried to focus on the themes of the book beyond the writing.

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