Author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Genre: Magical Realism / Contemporary Fiction
Ideal for: Readers who love quiet, emotional stories that blend the ordinary with the extraordinary. Perfect for fans of The Midnight Library or Klara and the Sun.
Introduction
Some books don’t just tell a story—they invite you into an experience. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is one such book. Set in a small, tucked-away café in Tokyo where customers can travel back in time, the novel is both magical and heartbreakingly human. It’s a story about longing, regrets, and the deep desire for connection, but also about learning to accept the present and moving forward.
This isn’t a book filled with high drama or sweeping adventures. Instead, it is quiet, intimate, and deeply emotional. Reading it feels like being wrapped in a warm blanket on a rainy day, while sipping coffee that is just a little too hot but too comforting to put down. It’s a reminder of how much even the smallest moments matter.
Plot Summary (Spoiler-Free)
At the heart of this novel is a quaint café called Funiculi Funicula. On the surface, it seems like any other coffee shop—dimly lit, with the smell of freshly brewed coffee lingering in the air. But hidden within its cozy walls is a magical possibility: customers can travel back in time.
The catch? There are strict rules. You can only meet people who have visited the café. You cannot change the present, no matter what happens in the past. And perhaps the most pressing rule of all—you must finish your coffee before it gets cold, or risk being trapped forever.
It’s an extraordinary premise wrapped in ordinary circumstances. Kawaguchi takes what could be a whimsical, even fantastical idea, and grounds it in everyday life, making the magic feel both believable and profoundly meaningful.
Four Stories, One Café
The novel is structured around four interconnected tales, each centered on a different character who comes to the café seeking solace in the past.
The Lovers – A woman who wants to revisit a conversation with her boyfriend before he leaves for America. Husband and Wife – A nurse who longs to see her husband after his memory has begun to fade. The Sisters – A woman who never reconciled with her sister before she died. The Mother and Child – Perhaps the most moving story of all, where a pregnant woman wishes to meet her unborn child.
Each story is tender, bittersweet, and layered with emotion. The time travel isn’t flashy—it doesn’t alter history or change the world. Instead, it allows each character to find peace, closure, and the courage to move forward.
What struck me most was how Kawaguchi uses these stories to show that even if we can’t rewrite the past, we can still change ourselves. The power of the café isn’t about undoing mistakes, but about understanding them and choosing to live differently in the present.
The Characters: Quietly Powerful
While the café itself feels like a character, it is the people who truly make the book shine.
Kazu, the stoic waitress who serves the coffee and ensures the rules are followed, is both enigmatic and strangely comforting. She feels like the quiet guardian of these fragile human stories.
Fumiko, the woman left behind by her lover, captures the desperation of wanting to hold on when it’s already too late.
Kohtake, the nurse, reminds us how love can endure even when memory fades.
Hirai, the estranged sister, carries the weight of guilt until the café gives her one final chance.
Kei, the café owner’s wife, embodies sacrifice and maternal love in ways that will break your heart and patch it back together.
Each character feels deeply human—flawed, vulnerable, and yearning. Kawaguchi’s writing, while simple and straightforward, cuts to the core of these emotions in a way that lingers long after the last page.
Themes: Time, Regret, and Acceptance
At its core, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is about the universal longing to revisit the past. Who hasn’t wished for just one more conversation, one more moment, one more chance to say what went unsaid?
But the brilliance of the novel lies in its refusal to give us neat resolutions. The café’s rules ensure that the past remains the past. What changes is not the timeline, but the people. Each character walks away not with a different life, but with a different perspective.
It’s a quiet yet powerful reminder that while we can’t rewrite our histories, we can choose how we carry them forward. Acceptance, forgiveness, and love become the true gifts of time travel.
The Writing: Simple Yet Poetic
Kawaguchi’s prose is understated, almost minimalistic. Some readers might find it plain, but I found it perfectly suited to the story. The simplicity allows the emotions to shine through without distraction.
The pacing is deliberate, almost meditative—inviting you to slow down and reflect alongside the characters. Each story unfolds like a gentle sip of coffee: warming, soothing, and quietly profound.
It’s not a book you rush through. Instead, it’s one you savor, pausing after each chapter to sit with your own memories and regrets.
Why This Book Resonates
I think Before the Coffee Gets Cold resonates so deeply because it speaks to something universal. We all have moments we wish we could revisit—words left unsaid, choices we’d make differently, people we’d love to see again.
But instead of offering fantasy wish-fulfillment, Kawaguchi gives us something far more meaningful: the understanding that closure doesn’t come from changing the past, but from finding peace with it.
It’s a lesson that lingers, making the book feel less like a story and more like a quiet companion, whispering truths about life and love.
Final Thoughts
Reading Before the Coffee Gets Cold feels like sitting in that café yourself, nursing a warm cup and listening to the stories of others who carry regrets, grief, and love. It’s a book that doesn’t just tell a story—it makes you reflect on your own.
I finished it feeling both heavy-hearted and uplifted, as though I had been reminded of life’s fragility but also its beauty. It’s a novel that stays with you, urging you to cherish the present, to speak the words you’ve been holding back, and to savour the fleeting warmth of connection—before the coffee gets cold.
