Tales from the Cafe: 2 (Before the Coffee Gets Cold)

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In the second story a women just naturally sees herself as a nurse for her husband and is treated quite unappreciatively by him. This story did have heart and I am not going say much negative about this one. The truth just wants to come flowing out. This is especially the case when you are trying to hide your sadness or vulnerability.' In true Japanese fashion, the magic realism of the Tokyo cafe is reigned in by a strict set of protocols for returning to the past — as the coffee is poured the guests leave in a “shimmering steam”; they must not leave their allocated seat inside the cafe and can only meet those they have previously seen there, they must also return to the present before the coffee gets cold otherwise they become trapped as a ghost in the cafe. Kawaguchi wanted to impart the importance for all of us to face reality hence the heart-wrenching rule that no matter what happens or how one tries to change the past, it will not alter the present.

But then...a severe damper arrives. My parade is rained on. Stormy weather comin' in. Insert other precipitation metaphors. Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s 2013 novel is an exploration of time travel and the art of coffee making. Before the Coffee Gets Cold was translated from Japanese to English by Geoffrey Trousselo. TW: Death of sibling, life threatening pregnancy, death while giving birth, death of parent, Alzheimers, husband forgetting his wife. Who wouldn’t want to time travel? Well, you probably wouldn’t if you had to follow these very precise, arbitrary and convoluted rules - yes, even more so than the usual! So the characters in this story can time travel but only to the relatively recent past and they have to sit in a specific seat at a specific table - which they can’t leave once they time travel, which means they can’t leave the cafe - and only for the duration it takes for a coffee to cool, after which you have to drink it down or else risk turning into a ghost forever burdened to haunt the cafe. Also nothing you do in the past can alter the present/future. Yay, so much whimsical fun… From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe comes another story of four new customers, each of whom is hoping to take advantage of the cafe's time-travelling offer. Among some familiar faces from Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s previous novels, readers will also be introduced to:

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despite the characters in this story being given a “second chance” to approach situations/people, the overwhelming feeling of knowing nothing can be done just hurts so badly, and i don’t want to delve any deeper into that, considering it would spoil way too much, but it sits in my chest, and it feels SO heavy. it felt so real, and being faced with reality sometimes feels a little too overwhelming, but as i mentioned before, the manner in which the author approaches this is so soft and so gentle. i felt safe What We Are Reading Today: Before the Coffee Gets Cold". Arab News. 2023-05-30 . Retrieved 2023-09-23.

The first story feels so old fashioned, with a girl crying over being left by a guy and this just continues. I mean the geek boyfriend of a stunningly beautiful girl gets a job in the US (with a game studio of all things) and then his career is in her mind suddenly more accomplished than hers? She works in medical engineering for a listed firm; she is a manager and can supposedly speak 6 languages, but can’t even normally articulate her needs and opinion to him apparently? And then she realizes that happiness lies on waiting for her non-communicative boyfriend to return. The end. On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Like the charming Tokyo cafe Funiculi Funicula, Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time. Treat Your Shelf: Before the Coffee gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi". The Gryphon . Retrieved 2021-09-08. This is quite a short book, so it’s hard to say much about it when trying to avoid spoilers, but yet again this book just filled my soul. I adored the atmosphere Kawaguchi created around the café, how he expanded on the lore of the café itself, as well as on the history of those who work there. On top of this beautiful exploration we are also introduced to new people and are absorbed into new tales. Throughout this book, whilst I was reading it I really felt a sense of peace, of beauty. I cried, as with the first one, when I finished reading it. It’s such a touching and well written plot. And I love the path that Kawaguchi went down for this book. third story: a woman losing her freedom to run her family's inn after her little sister passed. guilt-tripped by her friend saying "that's what your sister would've wanted." no, your sister could not respect that your dreams were different than hersMechanically, from a storytelling and writing point of view, Before the Coffee Gets Cold needs a complete overhaul. The coffee-making process is described with considerable sensory detail. If Benjamin Obler updated his 2009 list of the ‘top ten fictional coffee scenes’ for the Guardian then Before the Coffee Gets Cold would easily make the cut. Kawaguchi has justified the second rule by stating that ‘I wanted the story to be realistic’. The time travellers are unable to change the present which creates a harsh sense of reality despite the magic of their time travel. Meet more wonderful characters in the next captivating novel in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, Before We Say Goodbye , releasing November 14, 2023!