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Before the Coffee Gets Cold

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Before the Coffee Gets Cold

By: Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Geoffrey Trousselot - translator
Narrated by: Arina Ii
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About this listen

The million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s uplifting Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?


In a cosy back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe 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.

Prepare to meet the next four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’s time-travelling offer in order to:
- confront the man who left them
- receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by Alzheimer's
- see their sister one last time, and
- meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

‘This book broke my heart, took the pieces, and put them back together in a messy and beautiful way. . . '
-@well.read.woman on Instagram


Continue the beautifully moving storytelling with Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, Before We Say Goodbye and Before We Forget Kindness - all out now!

©2019 Toshikazu Kawaguchi (P)2019 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
City Life Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Science Fiction Time Travel Urban Fantasy Feel-Good Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Tear-jerking City
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What listeners say about Before the Coffee Gets Cold

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A simple, quietly considered novella

Narration was good, unassuming which suited the story.

Sweet little storyline, exploring people's motivations to travel through time.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Take a moment to relax

I loved being transported by the mellow voice of the narrator/interpreter of this book (Arina Ii) through the life stories of the characters. I'm not always comfortable with certain narrators but I really loved Arina!
This is not a book that will change your life but it's memorable through its unique setting. I actually hope friends of mine read it so that we can look at our coffees differently every day.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story

This book was beautiful! I adored the story line and the way it read made the whole book feel nostalgic

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Too many unpronounceable names

Got overwhelmed with the names, couldn’t remember who is who. Had to re read too many times

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

intriguing story

Intriguing story with a happy ending.
The audio narrator did a great job.
i'd recommend this book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ghost

We read this in a book group as we wanted something different. I also listened to this audible which I enjoyed more after the novel. I think it would make a better play, but our group generally enjoyed it and appreciated the premise. One group member had read the whole series which was useful.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Get past the first section

So I’d heard people rave about this book and when I started it the first I was confused. I found the first character to come into cafe really whiny and annoying and I think that’s why I paused listening to it for a while.

But, this month I didn’t really want to spend more on books so I thought I’d go back through my large library and have a look if there were any books that I haven’t finished. And I’m so glad I did!!

Once you get past the first section this book is beautiful and heartbreaking. Not many things make me cry but the last 5 minutes of this book had me reaching for the tissues

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

I loved the plot of the story and the way it was narrated. I was able to get an insight into so many different people's lives.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great premise

what a great story, I like how it all tied together even if it was quite predictable.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration of subtle and absorbing linked stories

It takes a few minutes to enter the world of this very special cafe but the skilled reader draws you into the quiet prose; the stories subtly weave notes of sadness, humour and even suspense. Like the café itself, what at first appears small turns out to be subtly far reaching.

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