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A review by xcrissy67x
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book follows four different people who encounter the special chair in the coffee shop. We explore what their reasoning for wanting to go into the past is and I think that each of those reasonings really make you reflect on your own life, especially if any of these situations are familiar to the reader.
Some of the topics this book touches on includes how Alzheimer's Disease affects and individual but also how it affects families and loved ones, dealing with loss and grief and how you never know what you last interaction with a person may be, as well as a few more themes that are slightly harder to put into words without spoiling anything.
These topics can be quite hard hitting and, though I’m not much of a crier when it comes to books, it did tug at my heart strings and left me with a lingering feeling of sadness. It really is an emotional book so be prepared for some tears if you are easily moved.
One aspect that I adored about the time-travel, is that anything you do in the past, will not change the present. A lot of time-travel books tend to focus on how things in the past could be changed which would then change the outcome. I love the fact that the present cannot be changed as I feel like it forces the characters to not ponder on what could have changed, but rather come to terms with it and be at peace with themselves. Those conversations they have with their chosen person helps them come to terms with what has happened.
Despite the lovely messages behind the book, I couldn’t connect with the characters very much and the writing was rather simple. I didn’t mind the simplistic writing, it just meant that I sped through the book, but I like to have more complex characters that I connect with over time. This book just didn’t deliver that unfortunately.
Overall, this book is a nice quick read with simple language and a wonderful meaning behind it. I found that as I read the book, I was reflecting on what I myself would change if I could sit in that chair in the coffee shop. I would have liked a bit more from the characters but it is quite a short book which probably factors into why I didn’t have that connection.
Some of the topics this book touches on includes how Alzheimer's Disease affects and individual but also how it affects families and loved ones, dealing with loss and grief and how you never know what you last interaction with a person may be, as well as a few more themes that are slightly harder to put into words without spoiling anything.
These topics can be quite hard hitting and, though I’m not much of a crier when it comes to books, it did tug at my heart strings and left me with a lingering feeling of sadness. It really is an emotional book so be prepared for some tears if you are easily moved.
One aspect that I adored about the time-travel, is that anything you do in the past, will not change the present. A lot of time-travel books tend to focus on how things in the past could be changed which would then change the outcome. I love the fact that the present cannot be changed as I feel like it forces the characters to not ponder on what could have changed, but rather come to terms with it and be at peace with themselves. Those conversations they have with their chosen person helps them come to terms with what has happened.
Despite the lovely messages behind the book, I couldn’t connect with the characters very much and the writing was rather simple. I didn’t mind the simplistic writing, it just meant that I sped through the book, but I like to have more complex characters that I connect with over time. This book just didn’t deliver that unfortunately.
Overall, this book is a nice quick read with simple language and a wonderful meaning behind it. I found that as I read the book, I was reflecting on what I myself would change if I could sit in that chair in the coffee shop. I would have liked a bit more from the characters but it is quite a short book which probably factors into why I didn’t have that connection.