Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!

So early December I got a cold. It was very terrifying, as you can imagine, but one of the best (or worst, depending on when my wallet is full or empty) things to happen during that stressful time was my discovery of Booktube. Well, mostly just Jack Edwards. 

There I was, coughing and sneezing and generally just feeling like shit, watching this British white boy talk about his opinions on books celebrities have recommended, books in his airbnb, books read by other commuters in the tube, etc. I was hooked.

Let me get this straight, I haven't stopped reading. Everyday of my life I'm reading. But for the longest time I've only read fanfiction and manga/manhuas and fan-translated webnovels. I can't even remember the last time I've held a book in my hand. So while I haven't stopped reading, I definitely didn't feel like what everyone would consider a "reader". So Jack Edwards and his books was just what I needed to get back into that version of myself (worry not, I haven't let go of my current self yet 😁).

I bought 5 books that I felt were interesting from Jack's most recent videos: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, Normal People by Sally Rooney, Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, and The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller. My current book mood has inspired me to write more so hopefully I'll be able to write a review for each of these books.

➽➽➽

I was on my way home from an exhausting book shopping + early dinner on the metro when I remembered Jack's video where he read books other people in the Tube were reading. I thought (most delusional-y), what if someone on this train was doing the same challenge? Or, what if someone on this train car was agonizing over their next book and couldn't think of anything and was therefore hoping to find a recommendation from strangers on the metro? WELL there I was loaded with 5 books, ready to oblige. Well technically, I only had 2 at the ready, because Casa del Libro packaged 3 of my books in a taped paper bag so I couldn't get them out. I picked Before the Coffee Gets Cold because it was thin and because I was especially excited to read it because it had my most favorite trope in the entire world: Time Traveling. Also, I wanted to leave The Song of Achilles for last because it was the closest in theme to the novels I was currently reading and I was sure I would love it.

Holy shit did I make the right choice. Coffee is the perfect book to start with if you're wanting to get back into reading actual, published, physical books. It's short and sweet, and easy to understand. The time-traveling aspect was exactly what I wanted from it, too. 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is about this coffee shop tucked in a small corner in Japan that could allow someone to travel in time. There are some small rules, with the most important being: you can only travel in time before the coffee gets cold. Well isn't that a most intriguing plot! I certainly thought so.

In my opinion, the book was written a little bit like a short story collection, having the 4 different instances happen in 4 different sections. I'm also of the opinion that short stories are the gateway to reading bigger books so it was definitely a great book to start with. Anyway, this book was a very emotional read for me, having just recently lost my dad to the virus, and anyway, I feel like as I've grown older I've become more emotional. I read this in one sitting (the only book from my haul so far that I've read in one sitting). It was 5 hours of fun, crying, and elation. 

One of the things I liked about this book was how the author sneaked a gut wrenching confession in the climax of each scenario. In hindsight I should have expected it. Still, those reveals made me so emotional and I had to take more than one crying breaks. The one in particular that hit the hardest was the story of the woman who wanted to see her sister one last time. It was the most relatable by far because I, too, would like to speak with my dad one last time. However, all the other instances were as heart wrenching and hopeful as that one. Before I found out that it had a sequel that could hopefully answer my questions, there were some unanswered plot points left by the end which I hated. I was also left wanting by the last scenario. 

Overall I would recommend this book to everyone! 3.75/5* 

my storygraph review