Book Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A small, nestled away cafe in Tokyo is the subject of an urban legend. The stories say that customers can travel to the past at the cafe. The tales are true, though like every seemingly-idyllic situation, there's a catch. Or, more accurately, there's a bunch of rules. A person can travel back only in a certain chair at one of the few tables. The chair is regularly occupied by a woman who happens to be a ghost. Trying to force her out of the chair brings a horrible curse; patrons have to wait till she vacates on her own. Then, they have to sit in the chair and get served coffee. The trip back lasts only as long as the coffee stays warm. And the traveler must stay in the chair. Whoever they want to see or talk to in the past has to show up at the cafe in the time it takes to finish the drink. Finally, and this is the detail that made people much less interested in the cafe's unique powers, whatever happens in the past will have no effect on the present. Nothing will change. With such a set of restrictions, who would bother, even to travel in time?

Well, certain people do in this book (or there'd be no story). They are desperate to resolve situations with loved ones. Most of the people in the novel are regulars at the cafe, so they have a connection to the owners who manage the time travel and to the other patrons. The book goes through four stories where individuals need to come to a better understanding of their relationship to each other and the larger world. I don't want to spoil the surprises, so I won't go into narrative detail.

Overall, the book does a great job with the time travel, because it is not about changing the past or the present. Instead, the characters learn key details or make shifts in their attitudes that improves their own lives even without changing the past or the present. The narrative is very humanist and the outcomes are touching developments.

The writing style is a bit bland. The descriptions are a little repetitive--at first, I thought this was four short stories strung together to make a full book. In large part they are, though the narratives have interconnections. Some characters get more depth as the stories unfold. I found it very interesting and enjoyable. 

The book is discussed on Episode 331 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. Check it out!

Recommended--there are more books in this series, so I will definitely be reading them.