Book Review: Before The Coffee Gets Cold

For the NoteNook's September Coffee Month, I also have a book recommendation, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. He has written four more books in this series. I've read the first and am currently listening to the second. The last one, Before We Forget Kindness, was published this week!

The Book

Kawaguchi's books are about time travel. This book tells the story of a café in Tokyo that allows its customers to travel back in time, as long as they return before their coffee gets cold.

In a quiet, unassuming coffee shop in Tokyo, a mysterious urban legend lingers—one that Fumiko, heartbroken but determined, is desperate to uncover. Just a week ago, in this very coffee shop, her boyfriend ended their relationship. Now, Fumiko wonders: what if she could go back to that moment and change the way things played out? Driven by this thought, she relentlessly pursues Kazu, the café's barista, to learn the rules and peculiarities of time travel hidden within the café's walls. As Fumiko embarks on her personal journey, we encounter other guests of the coffee shop, each with their own moving stories—- three more bittersweet but life-affirming attempts to rewrite the past.

The book doesn't leave you untouched because it makes you think about who you would go back in time to - is there someone you would like to say something to? An apology that was never said? A gesture of love or gratitude that was never passed on?

The Author

The book is written by the Japanese author Toshikazu Kawaguchi. He has produced, directed and written for the theater group Sonic Snail. As a playwright, his works include COUPLE, Sunset Song and family time. His works as a playwright include COUPLE, Sunset Song and Family Time. His debut work as a playwright, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, won the grand prize at the Suginami Drama Festival, became an international bestseller and was made into a movie in Japan.

He is also on Instagram and I find his posts and profile quite refreshing. It's not a perfect and polished account, and it has the very fitting name kawaguchi.coffee.

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If you want to learn more about the books, Pan McMillan has put together a wonderful guide on how to read his books.