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A review by jasper_a
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
i'm no stranger to this type of [magical] realism.. particularly because i read a lot of manga [and watch a lot of anime], this sort of thing comes up quite often..
i like the premise overall. i liked the four short stories, and i certainly liked the recurring characters being a through-line in the entire book. AND even though i was moved for a couple of the stories, the plots or resolutions were very obvious.
and to further explain the lower rating, i didn't much care for the english translation of this book. i think the editors could have done a better job localizing the phrasing; every few pages or so, i'd stumble through a sentence or paragraph because of how it was 'written.'
i like the premise overall. i liked the four short stories, and i certainly liked the recurring characters being a through-line in the entire book. AND even though i was moved for a couple of the stories, the plots or resolutions were very obvious.
and to further explain the lower rating, i didn't much care for the english translation of this book. i think the editors could have done a better job localizing the phrasing; every few pages or so, i'd stumble through a sentence or paragraph because of how it was 'written.'