Scan barcode
A review by zajtrajsok
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
2.5
• 2.5 stars ⭐️
• A light read. Underwhelming.
• I liked the concept and the old cafe setting, but I'm not sure I liked the execution. I might have liked it more if it stayed as a play it was originally written as. On the other hand, I didn't really like what those stories were about, so maybe it wouldn't have mattered after all.
! SPOILERS AHEAD !
The first one - A man breaks up with his very attractive and intelligent girlfriend because he's moving abroad, so the girlfriend travels to the past with an intention of begging him to stay. He asks her to wait 3 years for him to return. She is, of course, delighted by this request. Meh.
The third story was about two sisters. The older sister leaves the family business and opens her own bar in a city, so the other sister inherits the family business instead. The younger one keeps begging her 'big sis' to come back home. The younger sister dies. The older one travels to the past to finally hear her sister out and finds out her younger sister's dream was for them to work in the family business together. Feeling guilty, the older sister then basically gives up her own dreams and bar and goes back home to take over the family business as a way to honour her dead sister. Ugh. Very simplified, but yeah. Don't even let me start on the fourth one involving a pregnant character with medical issues - my least favourite. The second one about a married couple - the husband has Alzheimer's and his wife is a nurse - was the best one and made the most sense to me.
• A light read. Underwhelming.
• I liked the concept and the old cafe setting, but I'm not sure I liked the execution. I might have liked it more if it stayed as a play it was originally written as. On the other hand, I didn't really like what those stories were about, so maybe it wouldn't have mattered after all.
! SPOILERS AHEAD !
The first one - A man breaks up with his very attractive and intelligent girlfriend because he's moving abroad, so the girlfriend travels to the past with an intention of begging him to stay. He asks her to wait 3 years for him to return. She is, of course, delighted by this request. Meh.
The third story was about two sisters. The older sister leaves the family business and opens her own bar in a city, so the other sister inherits the family business instead. The younger one keeps begging her 'big sis' to come back home. The younger sister dies. The older one travels to the past to finally hear her sister out and finds out her younger sister's dream was for them to work in the family business together. Feeling guilty, the older sister then basically gives up her own dreams and bar and goes back home to take over the family business as a way to honour her dead sister. Ugh. Very simplified, but yeah. Don't even let me start on the fourth one involving a pregnant character with medical issues - my least favourite. The second one about a married couple - the husband has Alzheimer's and his wife is a nurse - was the best one and made the most sense to me.