Reviews
"Before the Coffee Gets Cold... may explore similar ground to its predecessors in the genre, but it inventively limits the mechanics of its time travel to the confines of a small cafe, and is all the more resonant for it... the narrative is deeply moving." -Chicago Review of Books "Heartwarming, quirky, and wistful." -Huffpost "A charming novel about a mysterious Japanese coffee shop in which customers who sit in a certain chair can go back in time - but just while their coffee is cooling." -Star Tribune "Kawaguchi... has a surprising, unerring ability to find lasting emotional resonance. Interwoven into what initially feels like a whimsical escape are existential conundrums of love and loss, family and freedom, life and death." -The Christian Science Monitor "By cleverly weaving fantastic strands into what turns out to be an entertaining tale... Kawaguchi builds suspense from scene to scene, carefully selecting his narrative clues." -The Arts Fuse "The story is gold. Before the Coffee Gets Cold is perfect for anyone who wants to feel connected right now." -BookReporter "Before the Coffee Gets Cold is able to create pathos for the characters who yearn in earnest to change the past... Check out Kawaguchi's work if you fancy a break from the inescapable reality of the pandemic." -The Mancunion "Toshikazu lays out a system of time travel that is unconvoluted and beautifully simple... This charmingly magical novel is about discovering happiness despite the pasts that we desperately want to revisit." -The Harvard Crimson "An affecting, deeply immersive journey into the desire to hold onto the past. This wondrous tale will move readers." -Publishers Weekly "This is a sweet, fable-like tale about a magical seat in a cafe where you can, if you wish, go back in time... An odd read, but also a charming one." --The Sydney Morning Herald "A story about human relationships, missed opportunities and the enduring power of love." --The Gryphon "A thought-provoking and at times tear-jerking realization about what we would say if we could go back in time." --Palatinate "It is full of soul, presented through clever world building and unfolding of its characters and relationships." --Books and Bao, "An affecting, deeply immersive journey into the desire to hold onto the past. This wondrous tale will move readers." -Publishers Weekly "This is a sweet, fable-like tale about a magical seat in a cafe where you can, if you wish, go back in time... An odd read, but also a charming one." --The Sydney Morning Herald "A story about human relationships, missed opportunities and the enduring power of love." --The Gryphon "A thought-provoking and at times tear-jerking realization about what we would say if we could go back in time." --Palatinate "It is full of soul, presented through clever world building and unfolding of its characters and relationships." --Books and Bao
