Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

422 reviews

sarahb919's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Definitely an emotional book, although it doesn’t start out that way. Bit philosophical: Although you can’t change the past you can change yourself and do better moving forward.

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ninahuynh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

I like the stories but they weren't as phenomenal as the media makes them out to be. Definitely a cozy read. There were a few parts that were confusing and had me flipping back to the previous stories to make sure I didn't read wrong, like

Hirai not knowing about the curse, which you would think she would know after spending so much time there and likely witness someone do that.

There seems to be some undertones of misogyny here and there, but I don't know if that is from the translation or from the originial text. This also seems to be a trend in Japanese translated novels I have read.

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skylarkblue1's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Representations: https://trello.com/c/x4zZsSuI/116-before-the-coffee-gets-cold-1-before-the-coffee-gets-cold-by-toshikazu-kawaguchi

If you've liked other recent Japanese translation works in this similar vein, you'll like this one for sure. The rocky translation is still there, but the last 2 stories made me cry :')

Characters were a lot more prominent in this than say, Food Detectives, but there was still a new story and mostly new characters for each of the 4 mini-stories. I really loved the group who runs the cafe, they were really chill and the book felt really calm with them too. Even for the characters that just appeared for 1 story I felt like I understood them, they were all described and explained really clearly and easily.

There's not too much plot, the stories focus heavily around those characters, their lives and why they've visited the cafe. The first 2 stories where a little rough I felt, it had the usual "this has been translated and is understandable, but it feels like a lot is missing between translations". The last 2 stories though, oh boy. I read the 3rd one while volunteering at the library and I was just sat in the corner, surrounded by kids at storytime, just holding back tears :') Then read the 4th story when I got home and just cried at it. Incredible writing there.

Despite dealing with heavy topics as well and being very emotional, it felt pretty light and was certainly a quick read!

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hannavaistila's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

3.0

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dragongirl271's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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basil_touche's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I think the only reason I finished this was because I listened to the audiobook. At least I was able to get some chores done while this was playing, otherwise I would have struggled to get through this. This is just a painfully boring book that doesn't flesh out it characters, which in turn made me not care about their stories.

These stories could have worked but very little is actually dedicated to making the characters feel like actual people or, if it couldn't do that, even just entertaining to read about.

It also lacks any subtly, preferring to explain to the reader every reason a character did anything, to the point that it repeats what it just said constantly. It makes it a very awkward reading experience.

Didn't help that for two of the stories characters either made really weird choices or were pressured/guilt tripped by others into doing things they didn't want

(Hirai being pressured into taking over a family business she didn't want and treated as though she's in the wrong by the narrative and Kei choosing to give birth knowing it would kill her)

which irritated me instead of getting me engaged.

It gets a little credit for the creative coffee time travel method and short length, but I will not be reading the rest of the series.

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ameydireads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“If you could go back, who would you want to meet?”

Mainly centering around grief, regret, and things left unsaid, this book touched me in a way I did not expect. The story plays out in a cafe where people can travel in time. There are many rules attached to this, but the main rule is to drink the coffee before it gets cold. Another rule is that you cannot change the future, no matter what. Nevertheless, the life of these time travellers are significantly changed in the sense that they gain a new perspective in life.

We encounter four people who travel in time and we learn more about their lives. The second story called ‘Husband and Wife’ really made me bawl my eyes out. I can’t imagine how hard it must be when your significant other suffers from Alzheimer and you reach a point where he or she doesn’t recognize you anymore.

There were some things I did not fully understand. For example, where is the woman in the white dress when someone travels back in time and finds themselves sitting at THE seat? Is she on her bathroom break or is it an alternative reality where this woman does not exist?

I also felt that some things were repetitive. The second chapter repeated a lot of the things described already in the first chapter. It does get better though. Aside from this, I would really recommend reading this book because it serves as a good reminder to appreciate the people in your life and tell them what you want them to know while you still can. And we also learn a few things about Japan!

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