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A review by plantbasedbride
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I have so many complicated feelings about this book.
The writing style was jarring, to say the least. Disjointed, dispassionate, and incredibly repetitive, we are regaled with unending lists of foods ordered as listed on a receipt and told the exact payment and change for each purchase. Each characters’ clothing is described in great detail while we hear little to nothing of their actual appearance or manner. Characters repeating the same line of dialogue back to each other (or just to themselves) several times before moving on with a scene. I almost DNFd several times in the first half as I struggled to connect to the story in any way.
Could this be due to the translation or my lack of experience with Japanese literature? Perhaps. But nonetheless it was difficult to enjoy the first 50% or so of this book.
However, the second half turned everything around for me. Emotional, poignant, and tragic - the humanity and vulnerability I was missing delivered in spades. I found myself quite touched by the final two stories.
And so, I come around again to my complicated and contrasting feelings about this book. Would I recommend it? Yes, for a particular type of reader. Did I fall in love with it? No, sadly I did not. Am I glad I read it? Yes, I believe I am.
Now I’m off to finish my coffee before it gets cold.
The writing style was jarring, to say the least. Disjointed, dispassionate, and incredibly repetitive, we are regaled with unending lists of foods ordered as listed on a receipt and told the exact payment and change for each purchase. Each characters’ clothing is described in great detail while we hear little to nothing of their actual appearance or manner. Characters repeating the same line of dialogue back to each other (or just to themselves) several times before moving on with a scene. I almost DNFd several times in the first half as I struggled to connect to the story in any way.
Could this be due to the translation or my lack of experience with Japanese literature? Perhaps. But nonetheless it was difficult to enjoy the first 50% or so of this book.
However, the second half turned everything around for me. Emotional, poignant, and tragic - the humanity and vulnerability I was missing delivered in spades. I found myself quite touched by the final two stories.
And so, I come around again to my complicated and contrasting feelings about this book. Would I recommend it? Yes, for a particular type of reader. Did I fall in love with it? No, sadly I did not. Am I glad I read it? Yes, I believe I am.
Now I’m off to finish my coffee before it gets cold.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Car accident