September 15, 2024
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
In a little coffee house on a Tokyo side street, there is an urban legend that visitors who sit in a certain chair can time travel and meet someone from another time in their life. But it's risky: there are rules and conditions, and the most important rule is that you only have as much time as it takes for a cup of coffee to grow cold. If you don't drink the coffee during that time period, there are dire consequences. Knowing this, a number of regulars at the cafe are still willing to take the risk.
A short book with an interesting concept about being able to time travel yet not change anything in the present. Slow moving, character driven with the characters' lives and stories being intertwined. All of the characters have some regret or something left undone that they want to correct if possible. Some readers have complained about the quality of the writing, but that may be due to the fact that the book is translated from the Japanese. There is a certain amount of repetition of the rules and limitations that wasn't necessary after the first time. Overall, I was left with a feeling of sweet sadness, which I didn't need at the time. I also felt disappointed - I thought the story could have been a lot more.
Tokyo
No comments:
Post a Comment