Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Thoughts and Reflections on the Book

Hi there, wholesome reader!

I am here to share some of my thoughts and reflections about a book I have read. This book is titled Before the Coffee Gets Cold, a fictional novel by the Japanese author Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

If you're planning to read this book and don't want any spoilers, this post is definitely not for you.

Book Synopsis

There is this mysterious yet magical cafe situated in a small back alley in Tokyo. A particular seat in this cafe offers a one-of-a-kind experience to its customers – to travel back in time.

However, for one to be able to travel back in time and be able to go back to the present, he/she has to religiously follow some rules. Also, they can only meet those people who have been in the coffee shop before.

The most risky part of all this is when someone becomes too attached with the past, he/she might never want to go back. Whoever tries to travel back in time, he/she should remember to drink his/her coffee before it gets cold.

In this story, four visitors attempt to travel back in time: someone who wanted to confront the ex-lover who left her, someone who wanted to receive a letter from her husband who has Alzheimer's, someone who wanted to see her sister for the last time, and someone who wanted to meet the daughter whom she never got the chance to see.

The Rules in the Cafe

For someone to successfully travel back through time, one has to follow the following rules:

1. You can only use the specific seat for you to be able to go back in time. But for you to do that, you must wait for it to be vacant as a ghost is always sitting on that seat.

2. You can only meet people who have also been in the cafe before. If you wish to meet someone in the past, who have not been in the cafe for once, then sad to say, there will be no way you're going to meet them at all.

3. You can go back to the past but you can never alter anything in the present. No matter what you do, that you think might change the present times, the universe will always conspire to make things happen as they should.

4. The moment the server pours the coffee on your cup is the moment your time in the past starts. And it ends when your coffee has gone cold. You must drink the coffee before it is cold so that you can still get back to the present.

Even though these rules are quite troublesome, many people are still drawn to follow these just to get the chance to revisit the past.

Thoughts and Reflections

The book is simply written; one can easily comprehend the story. It is one of those books where you can find yourself easily hooked on to reading. I also love how it is written metaphorically and it's up to the reader to unravel the message it wishes to convey. While reading the book, these thoughts flowed out and it was actually a good way for reflections.

The book discusses how one can go back to the past but can never alter it for a different present moment. This is very applicable in real life. You can always recall the things that have happened in the past but you can no longer do anything about it to produce a different result in the present time.

It also tells us that things happen the way they should happen. And that we have no control over that. But we should be comforted by that exact same idea and think that we are right where we should be. That whatever we believe is governing this life, whether it is a god or the universe, we should be trusting in its timing.

Another point that really made me realize things is to not get too attached with the past. It is easy for us to replay what happened over and over again. I have read online once that the reason we stick with past events is that it is something we find as certain, since it already happened. The reason we are afraid to let go of the past is the fear of the unknown, since the future is yet to happen. So, you better drink up your cup of coffee before it gets cold, or you'll never get back to the present time!

Overall, I loved how simple this book is, yet it was something that stimulated my thoughts and made me make some reflections on my life. Now that I have shared with you a piece of my mind, the question remains:

Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below. 😉

Thank you for reading my post up to this point. I hope you have a great time ahead!

I'll take delight in writing for you again soon.

Love,
Sam ♡