Short Summary: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a poignant and thought-provoking novel set in a small, quirky café in Tokyo that grants its customers the chance to travel back in time, but with one crucial condition: they must return before the coffee gets cold. The novel weaves together the stories of four different individuals who visit the café to alter their pasts, grapple with unresolved regrets, and search for closure. Each of their stories explores themes of love, loss, guilt, and the complexities of human relationships. The café’s time-traveling experience offers not only a magical escape but also a powerful emotional journey, where characters must confront their deepest fears and desires. Through each of these intimate tales, the novel delves into how people come to terms with their choices and the possibility of second chances.
Book Information:
Title: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
ISBN: 978-1335430993
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism, Japanese Literature
Published Year: 2015 (English translation in 2020)
Detailed Summary:
The Café and Its Rules:
The story revolves around a mysterious café, Funiculi Funicula, located in the bustling district of Kichijoji in Tokyo. The café has a special, magical feature: a time-traveling chair that allows customers to revisit their past. However, there are strict rules about how the time travel works, which are outlined by the café’s owner, Nagare.
To use the chair, customers must adhere to the following rules:
- They cannot change the present: Any actions taken in the past cannot affect their current life.
- They must stay seated in the chair for the entire duration of the trip.
- They must return before the coffee gets cold: The time-travel experience is limited to the amount of time it takes for the coffee to cool down, which is about five minutes.
The café has only one chair that allows for time travel, and it’s reserved for those who are seeking something deeply meaningful in their lives, often related to regrets or unspoken emotions. The idea of revisiting the past to fix mistakes or reconnect with lost loved ones forms the backbone of the novel’s narrative.
The Stories of the Four Visitors:
The novel follows four main characters who each take the opportunity to travel back in time, seeking answers to life’s big questions. Each character's story is distinct yet interconnected by their shared experience in the café.
Fumiko:
Fumiko is a young woman who wishes to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend, Kohtake, after their relationship ended under painful circumstances. Despite being separated for a long time, Fumiko still has unresolved feelings for him, and she wants to confront him about their break-up and why he left her. She uses the time travel opportunity to visit a moment in the past when they were still together. Fumiko is warned that, despite her desire, she cannot change the past, but she’s determined to speak with Kohtake, seeking closure. Her journey reflects the themes of regret and the importance of reconciliation, even when the past cannot be altered.Kei and her husband, Goro:
The second story revolves around Kei, who is devastated by her husband's diagnosis of a terminal illness. Before he dies, she wishes to speak to him one last time and apologize for an argument they had long ago. She wishes to travel back to a time when they were still happy, to express her true feelings. Kei, however, is reluctant to face the consequences of her actions and feels guilty about her role in their troubled marriage. Her journey reveals the difficulty of accepting that some relationships cannot be repaired, no matter how hard we try. Kei’s story examines loss, guilt, and reconciliation with one's choices.The Elderly Woman (The Old Lady):
The third story focuses on an elderly woman who is suffering from the loss of her daughter, Mie, who passed away years ago. The woman wishes to go back in time to when her daughter was still alive and ask her what she could have done differently as a mother. She wants to know if Mie had ever truly felt loved. Through this time-travel experience, the elderly woman is given the rare opportunity to see her daughter once again and to seek closure about their relationship, addressing the grief and regrets she’s carried throughout her life. Her story explores themes of parental love, loss, and the limitations of time, showing how even with time travel, some questions remain unanswered.Natsuki:
The final story features Natsuki, a young woman who works as a waitress in the café. She wishes to go back in time to a day when her fiancé, Yuji, was still alive. She wants to visit the day of his death to understand how he truly felt about her and to make peace with the grief she has struggled with ever since his passing. Natsuki's story serves as the culmination of the novel’s exploration of grief, love, and the passage of time. Natsuki's desire to reconnect with Yuji is a search for meaning in the wake of tragic loss, and through her journey, she learns how to live in the present without being consumed by the past.
The Café’s Emotional Impact:
As each character sits in the time-traveling chair, they come to realize that the magic of the café isn’t in the ability to change the past, but rather in how it allows them to confront unresolved emotions, find closure, and begin to heal. The characters learn that while time cannot be rewound or rewritten, the act of revisiting the past can offer a new perspective and help them accept what has happened. The café becomes a place not of magic in the traditional sense, but of emotional catharsis and self-reflection.
Through these stories, the novel explores how people are often haunted by their past decisions, but also how accepting and understanding those choices is necessary for moving forward. Nagare, the café owner, who has witnessed countless visitors over the years, imparts the wisdom that sometimes, it's not about changing the past but about coming to terms with it.
Themes:
Regret and Closure:
One of the central themes of the novel is the way regret shapes our lives. The characters’ wishes to go back in time represent their desire to fix mistakes or right wrongs that have haunted them for years. Yet, the story ultimately shows that closure cannot always be found through changing the past, but through the process of acknowledging and accepting what has happened. The time travel is a means of emotional release, allowing each person to come to terms with their guilt and grief.Love and Loss:
Love, both fulfilled and unfulfilled, plays a significant role in the narrative. The characters are driven by the need to revisit lost loves, whether it be in the form of a lost partner, a troubled marriage, or a deceased child. The novel explores how love doesn’t always fit into neat resolutions and how loss is an inevitable part of life. The emotional journeys of the characters demonstrate that love can persist beyond time and space, but healing requires embracing the absence of the loved one.The Passage of Time and Acceptance:
Time itself is both a literal and metaphorical theme in the book. The characters' journeys emphasize the need to accept time's irreversible flow. The magical chair represents the allure of changing the past, but the story underscores that true healing comes not from trying to alter what has already occurred, but from accepting time’s limits. Through time travel, the characters realize that acceptance of time and the choices they’ve made is key to moving forward.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a beautifully woven tale of love, loss, and self-discovery. Through its magical premise of time travel, the novel explores how deeply rooted emotions such as regret, guilt, and longing can influence our present lives. The café and its rules create a space for reflection and emotional healing, allowing each character to confront their past, understand their emotions, and ultimately find peace. Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s writing is both heartfelt and thoughtful, providing a touching meditation on the complexities of human relationships and the importance of accepting the past. The novel is an emotional journey that speaks to the universal desire for closure, and the profound impact that coming to terms with one’s life can have on the future.