Before the Coffee Gets Cold
If I had to pick a theme for 2023 of my books, it might be “the year I started reading more asian writers”. Continuing in that tradition, I picked up Before the Coffee gets Cold because it became available off my holds. I’m pretty sure this was a recommendation from the NY times so I snapped it up and finished the book within 3 or 4 days.
It is quick, easy, breezy reading. almost like potato chips for your brain, except that in this case, the potato chips are perfectly fried.
The conceit of the book is simple. There’s this cafe, as old as time itself, and on it, there’s a magical seat that lets you go back in time. There’s a couple of rules, you can only go back in time within the cafe, and meet people who’s been to the cafe before. You cannot change anything in the future, and you cannot leave the seat. You must also return before the coffee the waitress pours you as you begin your journey gets cold.
So basically you get to visit the past again. And its a one time trip, you cannot do it multiple times.
With this basic setup, the author manages to spin some pretty nice tales about what one might be able to do with such a setup. You cannot change the future, so the only thing you can do is gain more insights into the past. Perhaps you left your boyfriend or girlfriend in haste, and redoing it lets you hear their side of the story. Perhaps you regret never letting your wife know how you really feel and that they’d rather you leave them instead of take care of them in their dementia old age.
the translation is well done and I’m beginning to get the hang of reading japanese text translated into english mostly because I think the japanese language has a verbosity that english written text doesn’t. Its not worse, its just different, but it does have the air of a bit more formality than I’m used to reading in my fiction.
In any case, I highly recommend this book becuase its so short and well written. Its mind candy, but the best type.
Oh there’s even a movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqV4T…