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A review by readingoverbreathing
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is one of those that I'd just heard so much about that I knew I had to try it for myself. The premise itself was an instant draw for me — I love a bit of time travel, and invoking the cozy setting of a cafe seemed full of warm possibilities.
However, this has been translated from Japanese, which gives it a slightly stiffer tone than I think most English-speaking readers, myself included, are really used to. I do wonder if some of it was the translation, but I also read in the author's bio on the back flap that this was originally a play which the author converted into a novel, which honestly makes so much sense. The comings and goings of the characters, the vignette structure, the slightly artificial feel to the dialogue, the chime of the door's bell, the static setting of the cafe, all would make much more sense in a stage setting. Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more as a play than I did in this form.
Again, the concept was brilliant and I enjoyed seeing the possibilities and limitations Kawaguchi imposed on the idea of time travelling. The situation in each vignette was slightly different, and slowly allowed you to get to know each of the cafe's regulars and workers and their emotional development, whatever the circumstances they faced — and there were certainly some heavy ones.
I can see why a lot of other readers found this to be a cozy read, but honestly, for me, it wasn't quite that. I think some of that is just how I pictured the cafe in my head — once it was mentioned it was in the basement, I just kept envisioning a rather dark, empty, sparsely decorated space that did not at all invoke a sense of coziness.
I am glad I read this and did enjoy it in the sense that it was so vastly different from anything else I've really read, but I can't say I'm interested enough to read any of the other books in this series. I feel like I got to see enough of the possibilities that 'that chair' was able to offer, and I certainly don't feel a strong enough emotional pull to get invested beyond this first book.
However, this has been translated from Japanese, which gives it a slightly stiffer tone than I think most English-speaking readers, myself included, are really used to. I do wonder if some of it was the translation, but I also read in the author's bio on the back flap that this was originally a play which the author converted into a novel, which honestly makes so much sense. The comings and goings of the characters, the vignette structure, the slightly artificial feel to the dialogue, the chime of the door's bell, the static setting of the cafe, all would make much more sense in a stage setting. Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more as a play than I did in this form.
Again, the concept was brilliant and I enjoyed seeing the possibilities and limitations Kawaguchi imposed on the idea of time travelling. The situation in each vignette was slightly different, and slowly allowed you to get to know each of the cafe's regulars and workers and their emotional development, whatever the circumstances they faced — and there were certainly some heavy ones.
I can see why a lot of other readers found this to be a cozy read, but honestly, for me, it wasn't quite that. I think some of that is just how I pictured the cafe in my head — once it was mentioned it was in the basement, I just kept envisioning a rather dark, empty, sparsely decorated space that did not at all invoke a sense of coziness.
I am glad I read this and did enjoy it in the sense that it was so vastly different from anything else I've really read, but I can't say I'm interested enough to read any of the other books in this series. I feel like I got to see enough of the possibilities that 'that chair' was able to offer, and I certainly don't feel a strong enough emotional pull to get invested beyond this first book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Death