Scan barcode
A review by dark_reader
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
I only read the first of four episodes in this apparently million-copy selling internationally beloved book adaptation of the author’s own play, and the extremely awkward writing in translation is a barrier to continuing.
I can’t say how much of the issue is the original Japanese text versus the translation, but it’s likely both. There were parts where it seemed the translation was excessively literal, but even just the manner in which characters’ clothes were listed when they entered the scene, and the time unnecessarily spent on describing mundane actions and character interactions, were enough to qualify it as poor writing.
I often love Japanese novels and the ways their characters act and think and the cultural details, but this was exceedingly sloppy. I shall overcome my usual urge to finish a book just because I started it and return it to the library now.
I can’t say how much of the issue is the original Japanese text versus the translation, but it’s likely both. There were parts where it seemed the translation was excessively literal, but even just the manner in which characters’ clothes were listed when they entered the scene, and the time unnecessarily spent on describing mundane actions and character interactions, were enough to qualify it as poor writing.
I often love Japanese novels and the ways their characters act and think and the cultural details, but this was exceedingly sloppy. I shall overcome my usual urge to finish a book just because I started it and return it to the library now.