Book - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

I don’t recall where the recommendation came from but I picked this up during a trip to Oxford at the delightful Blackwells in Oxford. Much more than a book shop, more a lifestyle or a place I could call home. I could have picked up half a dozen books, I stuck with two. 

By the time it came up the to-be-read pile I realised I’d picked up the sequel. At the last minute I switched to as it was a signed copy but I didn’t realise it was a different book! 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a pretty unusual take on time travel. It’s reflects on how people may have may make different decisions if they had their time again. Set in a Japanese coffee shop, the two things that attracted me to the book. It’s modern yet steeped in tradition, as much of (what I’ve seen of Japan) is. 

Possible as the coffee shop in question is a century old or maybe as the book has been translated from Japanese. The same seat has existed in the coffee shop all this time for one reason; when anyone sits there, they have the opportunity to go back in time. Of course, like in any time travel tale, there are consequences. And rules. A lot to remember when you are already in a highly emotional state while whizzing back to a bygone time.

In Before the Coffee Gets Cold we learn the stories of the four people coming in specifically for the back in time experience. Some people know about the cafe’s magic power; others just wander in. I’m astonished people don’t notice the strange ghostly goings-on, but it wouldn’t be a fantasy story if they did.

A wonderful read which makes me look forward to part two and more if this author’s work.