User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
4.5⭐
“People tend to feel happy when spring arrives, especially after a cold winter. When spring begins, however, cannot be pinpointed to one particular moment. There is no one day that clearly marks when winter ends and spring begins. Spring hides inside winter. We notice it emerging with our eyes, our skin and other senses. We find it in new buds, a comfortable breeze and the warmth of the sun. It exists alongside winter.” “clang-dong”
Welcome back to Café Funiculi Funicula, where patrons can embark on a journey into the past and/or future as long as they follow a list of rules among which is that nothing done in the past would impact the present or the future and you must return to the present before your coffee gets cold!
“If it is not possible to change the present no matter how hard you try while in the past, then why bother?”A question that defies rational thought but the answer of which lies in the hearts of those who are grieving for the people they have lost, regretting all that was left unsaid, those experiencing guilt over past actions or words that haunt them and prevent them from leading their lives to the fullest and those who want to see their loved one(s) just one more time.
“We can never truly see into the hearts of others. When people get lost in their own worries, they can be blind to the feelings of those most important to them.”This time we meet four new time –travelers. We have a man who visits a dear friend who was killed in a car crash 22 years ago and whose daughter he has raised as his own. Her impending wedding evokes guilt as he has never told her the truth about her parentage. We also meet a man, who was unable to attend his mother’s funeral and travels back in time to see her once again. The son hasn’t had an easy life and meeting his mother proves to be a cathartic experience, giving him a new lease on life. A terminally ill man travels to the future to see the woman he loved and to ensure that she leads a happy life and not allow his death to prevent her from finding happiness. The final time traveler is a policeman nearing retirement who meets his late wife on her birthday – a day he missed on account of work- to give her a gift.
With simple prose, endearing characters (old and new) and stories that touch your heart, “Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot) is an impressive sequel. Though I did enjoy reading the first book in the series, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, I must say that this book is an improvement over the first. Not only is the writing more fluid and less disjoint, but the characters are very well fleshed out and the stories are characterized by much more emotional depth and nuance. We get to know more about the café owner and his family and we finally get to know the story of the mysterious woman who occupies the time-travel chair in the café, vacating it only once a day, opening up an opportunity for others to embark on their journeys. Yes, there is a certain amount of repetitiveness (with each of the patrons being reminded of the rules) but that can be easily forgiven on account of how beautifully written these interconnected stories are. This book made me smile and yes, I did shed more than a few tears. I’m eagerly awaiting the third book in the series.
“Life too, passes through difficult winters. But after any winter, spring will follow.”
Rating: really liked it
I was disappointed by this collection of short interconnected stories. 1.5 stars so it will be 2 stars.
Perhaps if I read the collection which preceded this, 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold', I would have appreciated or understood more about this book.
The upshot of the four stories is that 3 characters want to go back some time in the past, and one person wants to go to some time in the future. One is allowed to do such things if one sits in a certain chair in a 9-seat Japanese café, when the woman who has sat in that chair leaves temporarily to use the toilet (yes, that is true). And if you do not finish the coffee that is placed in front of you by the time the women gets back or if you let the coffee get cold or if you try to leave the seat before she comes back there will be negative consequences. And you can’t change anything in the past either…although that was confusing because the time traveler would converse with a person in the past and that person would talk back to the time traveler (isn’t that changing things…for the person in the past?) …
On a page shortly before the first story is a schematic of 14 boxes corresponding to 14 names with brief vignettes underneath the box about who the character is…and there are lines connecting some boxes to other boxes and phrases of “came from the past” and “returned to the past” and dots connecting different boxes, and solid lines connecting different boxes…I guess that all of that is supposed to be an aid to the reader when she or he gets hopelessly confused…like me. 😐
The collection did not work for me. Within the four 40-60 page short stories were key facts embedded in the story that the author seemed to only reveal when the reader (me in this case) was already exasperated as to what the hell was going on…and then finally the author reveals something critical to understanding the story and then there are characters from previous stories in the collection flitting in and out (and you haven’t fully grasped who those characters were from the preceding stories), and there is a ghost in all of the stories…and fer chrissake this is the second BadRead book I have encountered in the past 2 days. 🙁
Reviews:
• https://booksandbao.com/review-tales-...
• https://samstillreading.wordpress.com...
• https://thereadersroom.org/2020/09/26...
• https://motherbookerblog.com/2020/09/...
• https://www.thecrimson.com/article/20...
Final word from me: It appears all these reviewers read the prequel before reading this and waxed poetically about that book, and found this book to be equally pleasing. So there ya go…once again I am the outsider. Oh well, gotta go. I’ve had enough coffee from this café. 😐
Rating: really liked it
If you had one chance to travel back in time to talk to someone for the last time, who would that be?
Rating: really liked it
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
Tales from the Cafe is the second lot of short tales from Kawaguchi's 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' series, which follows people on a journey into the past (or future) within a magical cafe. There are, as usual, an astounding number of strict rules to follow, but perhaps the most important to remember is to drink the coffee before it gets cold.
This time we follow a man wanting to visit an old friend who died in a car crash 22 years ago, a detective wanting to give his wife the birthday gift he was never able to give, a son wanting to see his departed mother one last time and a dying man wanting to see the girl he could never marry. Connecting them all are the staff of the cafe, a small family unit in themselves.
Already being familiar with the cafe environment and staff, I felt more of a connection this time around and found the stories to be more cohesive. Although they're all contained within their own story arc, the staff offer a more complex and slow building tale that connections everything together. We also discover who the enigmatic lady in the white dress is too, which added a bit of closure to some of the mysteries left open in the previous installment.
I've slowly grown to really like the staff at the cafe, and the endearing and complicated reasons people want to travel to a different time. Whether it's redemption, self reflection, guilt or just a need for some closure, every story is simply yet beautifully told, with every patron having a unique story to tell. The series really does have the potential to go on and on, with countless people visiting the cafe.
At times the constant repetition of the rules got a bit irritating, but on the whole I enjoyed this a lot more than the last one.
Rating: really liked it
I really enjoyed this sequel about the small cafe in Tokyo that can take visitors to the past or the future. If you're looking for something quirky and thought-provoking, give this one a try!
Haven't read Before the Coffee Gets Cold yet? You can still enjoy this one because it reads fine as a stand-alone. This sequel revisits some of the characters from Book 1, but also introduces new ones and extends the story a bit more. The setting is still the same (Cafe Funiculi Funicula) and the same time travel rules still apply. Most importantly, time travelers must return
before the coffee gets cold ☕️.
In a contemplative tone, this story takes us through the experiences of some of the individuals who have time traveled at the cafe. Their stories are interesting and give the reader much to think about. The message of the book is a great reminder to focus on the present; you can't change the past and the future is uncertain.
Rating: really liked it
I was very happy to find out that there is a "sequel" to the first book and loved all of the stories in this continuation of "before the coffee gets cold" so so much! It definitely did not disappoint at all and we even find out more about the characters and the ghost... So beautifully written and just so heartwarming and yet sad at the same time... Its like a slice of life book that makes you learn and reflect a lot. Definitely give the first book a try and after that there is more to be read. Can't wait to see more books of Toshikazu Kawaguchi in the future. 🌟
Rating: really liked it
Enjoyable sequel.
It was delightful to return to Cafe Funniculi Funnicula, where one can return to the past (or possibly go ahead to the future) for a short time, as long as you return before the coffee gets cold. This is a short novella, a series of vignettes that twine together as the various people come to the cafe in order to speak to someone from the past. A man wants to talk with his friend whose daughter he raised when the friend died young. Another man wants to give his wife the birthday gift he was never able to give her. A man who knows he is dying wants to travel to the future to speak to the girl he loves, and a son with regrets wants to talk to his mother again. There are rules that must be followed, and often the results of the visits are not what either party expects from the journeys.
As with the first book in the series, I partially listened to this as an audiobook and partially read it on the page. The audiobook helps me to get the pronunciations of the Japanese names, but the print helps me to see how the stories interconnect.
This is a conteplative tale, the repetition of the rules gets a little tedious, but overall those who sit at the table and travel through time receive what they desire from the encounters and more. They receive closure, confirmation of decisions, and most of all, forgiveness for perceived wrongs. It's always interesting to see that those who the travelers go to visit often have a completely different view of the events or situations than those they are visiting. It allows the reader to think back about regrets and realize that just because we might feel a certain way about something, it doesn't mean that the other person has the same view.
Overall I have enjoyed the two books in this series, hopefully if there is a third book the author can just say "the rules were explained" rather than listing them out one by one every single time.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
This book is just as beautiful and heart-wrenching as the first. I'm sobbing. It's so beautiful!
I was so incredibly excited when I heard that the other books in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi were going to be translated into English! I adored the first book and it was my absolute favourite read of 2019, I even thought about it replacing The Gift as my favourite book! That’s how much I loved it! So of course when NetGalley had the arc available I requested it and was lucky enough to get it!
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Translated by Geoffrey Trousselot, Tales from the Café continues to follow the staff from Café Funiculi Funicula, some familiar faces, and some new to us. Yet again this book tells the tale of individuals who need to face their past in order to move on with their future, and leaves the reader, or at least me, asking what I would change if I could travel back in time.
This is quite a short book, so it’s hard to say much about it when trying to avoid spoilers, but yet again this book just filled my soul. I adored the atmosphere Kawaguchi created around the café, how he expanded on the lore of the café itself, as well as on the history of those who work there. On top of this beautiful exploration we are also introduced to new people and are absorbed into new tales. Throughout this book, whilst I was reading it I really felt a sense of peace, of beauty. I cried, as with the first one, when I finished reading it. It’s such a touching and well written plot. And I love the path that Kawaguchi went down for this book.
I’ve already bought myself a physical copy of this book (and it’s signed!) and I’m also already excited for the 3rd and final book to be published in English! I wish that this was a longer series, but if I can’t have that then fingers crossed more of Kawaguchi’s works will be translated into English. If not then you might find me learning Japanese!
Rating: really liked it
Seasons flow in a cycle.
Life too, passes through difficult winters.
But after any winter, spring will followI read the first installment of this series some days ago and I fell in love with the calmness of the author’s writing.Japanese books usually give me the feeling of calm, relaxing and soothing emotion which hits hard but leaves a soft sadness.I was very afraid while picking up this book thinking that it wouldn’t do justice to the first installment.But I am very pleased to inform you that I was mistaken.This book holds the same charm for me as it’s first installment did.
This book is divided into 4 stories named The Best Friend,Mother and Son,The Lovers and The Married Couple featuring Gohtaro ,Yukio, Kurata and Kiyoshi.Each story has it’s own beauty and it will give you much contentment.
The changes in the café are satisfying.While reading this book,you will feel that you are a part of the character’s happiness and sorrow.Kazu’s life is more elaborately depicted here too.
In a nutshell,if you love Japanese soothing essence and want to read something which will give you a new perspective,try reading this book🎎
Rating: really liked it
Sweet and heartfelt, this collection of stories following this beloved time-traveling cafe reminded me of the importance of living in the moment, healing, and choosing happiness for yourself.
While it wasn’t as engaging or as touching as the first collection, I appreciated the three out of the four stories, the first being one that I felt no particular connection to.
Rating: really liked it
This one was so much better than the first book! I absolutely loved it 😍 and I am longing for more such literature now
Rating: really liked it
[ this is not a spoiler, (view spoiler)
[ the kind of novel in which this was a spoiler would be a bit more fun I think (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is the sequel to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, following four new customers who hope to travel back in time in a little Tokyo cafe. In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time . . .
From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold comes Tales from the Cafe, a story of four new customers each of whom is hoping to take advantage of Cafe Funiculi Funicula's time-travelling offer. It is definitely a unique take on time travel that I found quite fascinating with rules that must be followed.
Among some faces that will be familiar to readers of Toshikazu Kawaguchi's previous novel, we will be introduced to:
The man who goes back to see his best friend who died 22 years ago
The son who was unable to attend his own mother's funeral
The man who travelled to see the girl who he could not marry
The old detective who never gave his wife that gift . . .
Rating: really liked it
It's not an overly exciting book with a lot going out. Quite literally just people having coffee getting the last goodbye. However the character study in this and the very complex and fleshed out characters made this a very intriguing and fascinating book to listen to. Was a perfect book to listen to when I my brain had an hissy fit
Rating: really liked it
And Toshikazu didn't fail to make me cry load of tears yet again! (Sniff, sniff)
I probably used up a box of tissue while reading this. Haha. More emotional than the first. My second visit to Funiculi Funicula was soul-stirring and painful. And although my tears kept streaming down until the last page, I was smiling at the same time, because the stories were hopeful and sanguine. I couldn't help but realise that no matter how bad the situation I am in right now, I can turn it around, have a second chance and be happy. And I will choose to be happy no matter what.
I would suggest reading the first book in order to set the mood for you. A cup of coffee on your side would be great as well.
