Before The Coffee Gets Cold Book Review: Go Back in Time and Uncover the Stories of Love, Regrets

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a Japanese science fiction fantasy novel originally written by Kawaguchi Toshikazu. It was published in 2015 and then adapted into a movie in 2018. In 2019, the novel was translated into English by Geoffrey Trousselot.

It tells the story of an urban legend in a small cafe in Tokyo. Funiculi Funicula Cafe has been serving tasty brewed coffee and offering its customers a chance to travel back in time. In this story, we'll meet four customers who want to avail themselves of the time travel experience even though they are warned that nothing they do in the past will change their present or future. Additionally, there are rules that they have to follow-they can't meet people who haven't been to the cafe, and they have to come back to the present before their coffee gets cold.

Author

Kawaguchi Toshikazu is an author and playwright based in Japan. He is the talented mind behind the beautiful and heartfelt story of the novel Before the Coffee Gets Cold, which is actually adapted from a play he produced that won a grand prize in a drama festival. He is also known for being a producer, director, and playwright for the famous theatrical group, Sonic Snail.

Theme

This novel centers mainly on the love, loss, and hope the four customers have for their loved ones. With the magical realism of time travel, the story portrays the regrets that they have to overcome, even though nothing in their present time will change but themselves. Overall, the author tells us an important lesson: there is comfort in facing our reality.

Characters

The different stories of these captivating female cafe staff and customers are the juicy substance that makes up the whole novel. These key characters below are the charming personas that you should follow in the story:

Tokita Kazu

Kazu is one of the important characters in the novel. She is the one who brews and serves the coffee to both normal customers and those who time travel. She is the cousin of Tokita Nagare, the cafe's proprietor.

Kiyokawa Fumiko

Fumiko is a woman who wishes to return in time to last week to redo her conversation with her lover in the cafe. She is a career woman who graduated at the top of her class at Waseda University and is a successful project director at a big IT firm in Tokyo.

Kohtake

Kotahke is a dedicated nurse and the loving wife of the cafe's regular, Fusagi, who's suffering from an early stage of Alzheimer's disease. She unexpectedly finds herself going back in time instead of her husband, who has been waiting for his turn to get that chance to give her something.

Hirai Yaeko

Yaeko is also a regular in the cafe and owns a snack/mini-hostess bar near Funiculi Funicula Cafe. She wants to return to the time when her sister is still alive to tell her her regrets for running away from her and their family.

Tokita Kei

Kei is the wife of the cafe's owner. She was born with a weak heart, so she has always been in a hospital. Despite that, she is always smiling and friendly to everyone. She wants to travel to the future to meet her yet-unborn child, whom she'll never get to know.

Plot

The Lovers

Fumiko didn't part with her boyfriend, Goro, on good terms. Instead of having a proper conversation about their relationship or saying a proper goodbye, they ended up arguing instead. So Goro left for America to pursue his dream job, leaving Fumiko with regrets and unsaid words.

A week had passed since Fumiko decided to come back to the cafe where she and Goro had their last talk. Then she asks Kazu to let her go back in time to last week. And when she does, she gets to talk to Goro once again. Thanks to that, she got to speak a little honestly, even though she still hasn't had the heart to tell him her most inner thoughts. But, unlike what happened in the past, their talk didn't end in disaster.

Husband and Wife

Fusagi frequents Funiculi Funicula Cafe to get the chance to travel back in time to the moment he still has his memory of his wife, Kohtake. Despite losing his memories, he's still eager to take the seat where he can time travel because he has something to give his wife that he couldn't give her when he still had his memory of them as husband and wife.

One night, Kohtake came to the cafe for a moment for herself. Perhaps a little time of weakness to agonize over the fact that her husband no longer remembers her. However, that time becomes her chance to time travel herself when she learns from Kazu that Fusagi wants to give her an envelope, which she assumes is a letter from him that she surely wants to read. So, she took their offer and went back to the time they went together to the cafe when Fusagi's memory was still intact, gets the letter from him, and finally learns the love that her husband has for her despite forgetting her because of Alzheimer's.

The Sisters

Hirai Yaeko ran away from home because she doesn't want to take over the travelers' inn in Sendai that her family has been running for years. She wanted to pursue a different path than that, so she fought for her freedom but ended up having a fallout with her parents instead, making her leave the family for thirteen years. With that, her younger sister, Kumi, took over the inn's management in her place, making it a thriving business in her hands. And with the takeover problem solved, Kumi regularly visits Tokyo to visit her sister and persuade her to return home. But Yaeko keeps running and hiding from her until she hears the news of Kumi's accident, making her come home of her own volition to attend Kumi's funeral.

When Yaeko returned to Tokyo, she went straight to the cafe, putting up a tough face and a weary smile as if everything were alright. But when she comes home, Kumi's death and the regrets from always pushing her away start to eat her up. So, she decided to travel back in time to see Kumi one last time and made a promise to make up with their parents. After that, Yaeko barely returns to the present and copes with her loss by fulfilling her promise to her sister and taking over the things she left behind.

Mother and Child

Kei has always been in hospitals because of a weak heart. And now that she's pregnant, her body is wearing down even more. So, the doctors warn her about the risks of losing her life and the baby's if she still goes through with it. However, Kei loves her daughter and is resolved to become a mother. Knowing the risk of never getting to know her daughter, she decided to travel into the future to meet her yet-unborn child. There, she meets the 15-year-old Miki, her daughter, who misses her and is thankful for the life she has given her.

Writing Style

Kawaguchi's skill as a playwright is evident in this piece. The writing in this novel turns out to be unhandy. While it is written in a simple language, which makes it easy to understand, it is also descriptive in a klutzy way. The author described how the characters and the settings looked a little too much and focused mostly on their emotions, making the story overly sentimental and seeming to be meant for a stage play, which does not help further the plot.

However, these flaws are offset by the gradual progression of the storyline, which tugs at the readers' emotions, making it relatable despite its fantasy aspects.

Hot Scenes

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a story that touches the hearts of many readers with its charming drama scenes and the valuable lessons you can take home with it. Here are some lines that will surely resonate with you for a long time, or perhaps a lifetime:

"No matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart. And if the chair can change someone's heart, it clearly has its purpose."

"The present hadn't changed-but those two people had. Both Kohtake and Hirai returned to the present with a changed heart."

Final Thoughts

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a compelling and moving story that gives you a peculiar time travel experience through the key characters' unique stories. In this novel, you'll come to understand that even if it's impossible to change anything, it's still comforting to have the opportunity to see someone you've already lost, get the chance to let out the things you didn't have the chance to say, and go on with your life with acceptance of your reality.

If you're looking for a book that tells about life, this is a piece you should try to read! Despite the weakness in the writing, it nevertheless captures the interests of fans of the time-travel trope and those who love heartwrenching drama, with lessons that last in the minds of every reader.

FAQs:

What is the Before The Coffee Gets Cold novel all about?

Before The Coffee Gets Cold is a sci-fi fantasy novel about a cafe that grants its customers a time travel experience.

Who is the author of the book Before The Coffee Gets Cold?

Kawaguchi Toshikazu is a Japanese author who wrote the novel Before The Coffee Gets Cold.

Does the novel Before The Coffee Gets Cold have any adaptation?

Yes, Before The Coffee Gets Cold is adapted into a movie last September 2018.