Like all Japanese novels read in translation, this requires some tolerance of the quirky and an acceptance of how unusual the language sounds to the western ear - at times oddly prosaic, at others inappropriately poetic. I like the style but it takes a good deal of suspension of disbelief. The names can be confusing too (Kei, Kumi,Kazu, Kochake) and the plot would sound ludicrous to the uninitiated: a cafe-bound ghost occupies a seat needed to travel through time, so you have to wait till said ghost needs to use the toilet in order to occupy it! Fans of Studio Ghibli will be used to the casual links between the mundane and the spiritual and this story reminded me of Spirited Away: elegiac tones of loss and redemption mixed with random orders of toast and yoghurt. It's short and entertaining and if you like the genre, you will enjoy.

I am a big fan of Japanese literature and this ticks a lot of boxes for me. It's slightly surreal. There are no explanations for why strange things happen in an otherwise regular world. It's full of gentle humour and poignancy and wisdom but without being preachy. It finishes and still leaves you with a sense of mystery and that you have just inhabited a slightly off kilter world. I loved the episodic nature of the book and also the thread which strings the whole story together and yet which only becomes clear at the end. Great characters, strong plotting, a stand out read for me.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a quirky concept that is quick and easy to read. During the course of the book, we meet four cafe customers hoping to use the cafes offer if time travelling. I read this over the course of a couple of days and found it to be enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and the author for the chance to review.

This story of a time-travelling cafe is extremely off-beat and the unusual setting and story are wonderfully enhanced by the translation, which keeps a beautiful balance of poetry and stilted formality. I dont actually know any Japanese but it just feels so Japanese in essence, both setting and language. This slight story is really a lovely, unusual and layered read, the sort of story you could return to time and again.

I was excited to get to read this book when it came up on NetGalley as I lived in Japan for many years, as a child and then as an adult. The translation may have read strangely for a non speaker of Japanese, but to me, it was so wonderfully correct and familiar,
The story itself is of a cafe where time travelling is possible but only if certain rules were followed including finishing the cup of coffee before it got cold. A wonderfully imaginative take on travelling through time. The characters in the story who want to take these trips through time have good reasons and their stories are touching. It really makes the reader wonder what they would do if they had the opportunity to travel back or forward in time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the way it was told. Highly recommended reading, especially if you have lived in and/or speak Japanese and understand the culture.
Kawaguchi san - subarashii hon wo arigatoogozaimasu!

I often enjoy Japanese writing, but the tone of this was quite childlike. That in itself isn't a bad thing, but it wasn't what I was hoping for from the description, which was a bit disappointing.

A gentle, moving, whimsical tale by the author of The Guest Cat set in a café in Tokyo where coffee has been served for 100 years, from where folklore says it is possible to travel back in time. Those who wish to do so must sit in a particular chair and their time spent in the past is limited to the time taken to drink the cup of coffee in front of them before it gets cold. They can only meet customers who patronise the establishment and have to understand that, no matter what, their experience will not change the present.

Four visitors each take such a journey. Each story is touching and told with great empathy for the individual time traveller. To go back to a moment in the past and return in the short time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. Do you see the person you want to, does anything change?

A clever tale told with charm and great skill.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Picador/Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

This wonderful short book is set in a Japanese café where anyone who goes to the café can travel through time, as long as the follow the rules. We follow four main characters (and some great side characters!) through their journeys both in time and in life.

I do not want to add more than what is included in the blurb as it is lovely to watch the four stories unfold and see how some are woven together.

This is a gentle book which is enjoyable to read and I would highly recommend (I would also be very interested to see it adapted for the stage!).

4/5

I requested this book as I have a growing interest in Japan. I’m not sure what started it but it’s been fuelled by reading/listening to some modern Japanese novels, not least Haruki Murakami’s Killing Commendatore. As well as popping my Japanese fiction cherry, that also introduced me to magic realism (a term I hadn’t even come across a year ago). Before the Coffee Gets Cold sits firmly in that bracket as it’s set in a café where time travel is possible. Don’t let that put you off; the story is woven around that premise but the characters live in the real world. The writing is smart and the plot is tight. I really enjoyed this book.

This was a sweet and gentle book. It's pretty compact so easy to get through. However, despite its brevity I felt it lacked pace and didn't engage my interest as much as I'd hoped.

Overall, it's whimsical and playful and a perfect Sunday afternoon read.

As a sucker for a good time travel story, I was drawn to this novel for its science-fiction elements but the novel is firmly focused on the human nature of time travel. In fact, the ability to travel backwards and forwards in time seems to be a natural phenomenon in this book, given little explanation and treated as a quirk of the coffee shop, which adds to the charm of the novel. The book itself is broken down into four distinct sections which allows Toshikazu Kawaguchi to develop the characterisation both the visitors to the café and its owners over time. Characters that appear in the background in the earlier chapters become more prominent and important to the story as it progresses, allowing the writer to foreshadow events and create a sense of continuity across the stories as the focus shifts between protagonists.

While time travel is a central plot device to the story, it is not used to fix problems and instead acts as a way for the characters to work through psychological issues like grief, doubt and regret. By sitting at a special seat within the café, customers can revisit past conversations and gain closure by saying those things that were left unsaid. Kawaguchi explores a range of different relationships through the book such as young lovers, old married couples, sisters and mother-daughter, using the method of time travel to allow these couples to connect in better ways. The novel is definitely a tearjerker and is tinged with tragedy, specifically in the later chapters, but it manages to be uplifting and cathartic too through the ability to go back in time and address missed opportunities.

Written originally in Japanese, the novel does feel culturally different to most Western writing and this is most evident in the dialogue, which feels more formal and stilted compared to English-speaking novels. This adds to the book’s charm, and gives it a refreshingly different tone. Geoffrey Trousselot does a great job in translating the novel to English, ensuring that the book feels authentically Japanese in tone, and maintains the same emotional beats as the original text. The novel feels reminiscent of The Time Traveller’s Wife in the way it makes use of time travel, moving away from the idea of reversing mistakes and creating paradoxes to instead highlight the emotional benefits as the characters use the service as a form of therapy.

The book has already been adapted as a live-action drama in Japan, but I could also see this novel brought to life as a Studio Ghibli movie in the same vein as its more dramatic tales such as, Only Yesterday and From Up on Poppy Hill. Fans of those movies will definitely enjoy the reflective emotional beats of this novel, with a faint hint of the supernatural to drive the narrative forward. In fact, one element of the novel that felt slightly underused was the appearance of the spectral lady who guards the seat used to travel in time – while she was introduced as a spirit who’d gotten stuck in time due to failing to leave the past before her coffee got cold, I felt there was plenty of potential in the character to be developed further. I know that there is a sequel book out there (yet to be translated) so perhaps there is more about that character in there.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a wonderful introspective examination of grief and regret, making use of the concept of time travel in a fresh and satisfying manner. Rather than going back to undo past mistakes, people use the opportunity to come to terms with the consequences of their prior actions. At times devastating, but ultimately an uplifting and hopeful read, this is a novel that will stay with you long after you have finished it. Definitely one for fans of Japanese culture with its enticing, romanticised view of Tokyo.

First line and I’m besotted with this other world....I was right in the middle of another book but have dropped everything for this ( sorry other author) ignoring my poor husband who is now digging in the garden all by himself!

I don’t know what it is about the writing and use of language but I am transported right into the world of this cafe, I think that maybe there is yet another chair for me, the invisible reader. I will not say anything about this story, I never reveal the story line in a review as I really dislike knowing in advance myself. However, I did have to stop half way and found that I needed complete silence to be able to properly inhabit this world and return to finishing the book. It may be the writing style that needs to be absorbed, I always find that if I am reading either plays or literature from another era ( Shakespeare, Chaucer or Pepys) that it is easier if not disturbed. Perhaps this was originally written as a screen script or perhaps it’s the translation, not sure without research.

Anyhow, I would recommend this lovely novel wholeheartedly, lovely story, lovely characters, lovely concept.....only comment being perhaps read it when you can give it the undivided attention it deserves. Thanks to Netgalley, publisher and author for the opportunity to enjoy this in exchange for an unbiased review.

This novel features four short interlinked tales of relationships based in a cafe in Japan, where sitting in a certain seat allows you to time travel. There are, as with most time travel, rules that must be followed. Amongst them are: you cannot leave the seat, you are unable to change the present and you only have until your coffee gets cold.
The narrow restrictions set up by the author form the basis for focussed storytelling which contains enough variation to not seem repetitive despite not departing from the cafe setting.
The stories themselves are insights into Japanese familial relationships and explore forgiveness, affirmation and reassurance.
I enjoyed the quirky nature of the novel and especially the typical ghost of Japanese culture that haunts the shop, reading and drinking coffee.

The coffee served in this café sounds like the most delicious coffee. The description of the sweltering temperature outside of the café actually made me feel too hot so I started fanning myself.

I adored this book and all of the characters, including grumpy Nagare. It was fascinating learning the rules about being able to travel in time when sitting in ‘that’ chair. The chair that is occupied by a ghost lady wearing a white dress. I particularly liked Kohtake’s visit to see Fusagi when he still recognised her, before the Alzheimer’s had taken hold.

I’m not a fan of short stories and at first thought that’s what this book was. However, it’s not. It’s all about the café, the same people, just their time travel.

I did have a little tear whilst reading and I’ve certainly thought about the book since finishing. I know it is one that I won’t forget...just don’t let the coffee get cold!

I rate this book book 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this book. This is a beautifully written story that had me totally captivated. It is about love and family as well as time travel. It is a gem of a book that is definitely worth reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a very cute book with an original theme. A cafe that allows you to venture into your past as long as you adhere to certain rules, which seem a little bizarre but amusing as well. We meet lots of characters who are desperate to return to their past for various reasons, all of them worthy, with an assortment of results. I did find the Japanese names a little challenging at first and had to concentrate to make sure that I didn't mix up the various people. I'm still not sure why the school girl appeared and wanted a photo taken. It's a lovely read, very gentle and entertaining but non the less there are some life lessons to be learnt here in the power of love, understanding, forgiveness and compassion.

This is four short stories (rather than one continuous story, you do see character cross over but they are ultimately separate stories) about people desire to go back to the past. At a little café you get the chance to do so by sitting in a particular chair drinking coffee (while its hot!)

It is a lovely idea and the stories are quick and easy to read but I felt that there was a lot of unnecessary page filler and I'm wondering if this is down to translation.

The concept was interesting and the execution was partly charming. However, the characters were sketchy and stereotypical, the plot repetitive and predictable, the slang was too American sounding in translation, and it was all too sentimental.

Where to start ... Once in a while a little gem comes along !
This book grabbed me with the time travel theme -which is one of my favourite genres. . However the first couple of chapters were a bit of a struggle -. this may have to do with the translation from Japanese. I felt I was reading the author's notes rather than a novel -then I was trying to remember the names of the characters rather than pay attention to the story .- Then it all came together and I absolutely loved it .
The whole story is set in a coffee shop in Japan and if you sit in a certain chair at a certain time ---you can go backwards or forwards in time -although there are rules .-one of which is that you have to return before your coffee gets cold -or there are consequences - and another -that you will never change the present -so why bother at all ?
We then hear 4 different tales of characters who want to go to a different time in their lives. and the effect it has when they return .
This reminded me a little of Audrey Niffenegger novels -a bit bonkers -a bit different -but a fabulous read.

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review

This was a heart-warming little Japanese novella with an interesting concept about time travel in a Japanese café. From the first story, I thought it was quite good – took me a little time to get used to the Japanese names – especially as most of them seem to begin with the letter ‘k’. I initially thought it was four random stories, but as I read the second and third stories, I realised that they were all interwoven into each other with the same characters. As the stories developed, they became more beautiful and endearing and really captured my attention. It’s delightful, charming and poignant. A really lovely book.