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A review by novelfables
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
5.0
This story explores love and loss in the warmest, most optimistic, and most beautiful way. It takes place in an atmospheric, cozy coffee shop that remains unchanged by the test of time. The story's progression and these characters’ individual experiences are perfectly pieced together in an emotional, yet cathartic wonder. We follow many characters, whose lives are intertwined by this cafe, as they experience pivotal hardships. Hardships they get to come to terms with in a unique way: time travel.
The magic realism and the atmospheric nature of the cafe become familiar, repetitive, and routine, which helps to ground you like a warm, calming hug of certainty as you ride out the waves of emotional uncertainty with each page turned. Be prepared; it took me forever to read the last chapter through tear-splattered glasses.
On a side note, I really just love the mundane food, drink, and atmosphere of cafes or bars in stories. Before the Coffee Gets Cold gave me the same warm feelings of [b:Strange Weather in Tokyo|18283207|Strange Weather in Tokyo|Hiromi Kawakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375634096l/18283207._SY75_.jpg|2974590] with the food and sake, [b:The Name of the Wind|186074|The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)|Patrick Rothfuss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1270352123l/186074._SX50_.jpg|2502879] where old Kvothe is tending The Waystone Inn, or the routine of [b:Convenience Store Woman|38357895|Convenience Store Woman|Sayaka Murata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523623053l/38357895._SY75_.jpg|51852264]. I just love the repetitiveness and predictability of it all. There's something extremely comforting in that.
The magic realism and the atmospheric nature of the cafe become familiar, repetitive, and routine, which helps to ground you like a warm, calming hug of certainty as you ride out the waves of emotional uncertainty with each page turned. Be prepared; it took me forever to read the last chapter through tear-splattered glasses.
On a side note, I really just love the mundane food, drink, and atmosphere of cafes or bars in stories. Before the Coffee Gets Cold gave me the same warm feelings of [b:Strange Weather in Tokyo|18283207|Strange Weather in Tokyo|Hiromi Kawakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375634096l/18283207._SY75_.jpg|2974590] with the food and sake, [b:The Name of the Wind|186074|The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)|Patrick Rothfuss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1270352123l/186074._SX50_.jpg|2502879] where old Kvothe is tending The Waystone Inn, or the routine of [b:Convenience Store Woman|38357895|Convenience Store Woman|Sayaka Murata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523623053l/38357895._SY75_.jpg|51852264]. I just love the repetitiveness and predictability of it all. There's something extremely comforting in that.