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Digital Audiobook
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Related to this series)

Narrator
Arina Ii
Publisher
Pan Macmillan
Publish Date
19 September 2019
Run Time
6 hours 52 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Rating
4.6 (10 reviews)

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What to expect

The cosy, heartwarming first book in the multi-million copy bestselling series.

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


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 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
- 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, Before We Forget Kindness and Before I knew I loved you.

Critics Review

  • Heartwarming, whimsical . . . offering comfort at a time when the world seems off-kilter and chaotic

    The New York Times

  • A moving meditation on second chances

    iNews

  • Wonderful introspective examination of grief and regret

    Popculturebandit.com

  • The perfect accompaniment for your dreary commute

    Independent

See more reviews
  • This wondrous tale...an affecting, deeply immersive journey

    Publishers Weekly

User Reviews

Book 4.6

Narration 4.9

  • 5.0 5.0

    A beautiful story beautifully written. I found this book very thought provoking and I know it will stay with me a long time. Very highly recommended ❤️

    Johanna HC 2026-08-02
  • 5.0 5.0

    Excellent narration. Interesting time travel stories. I actually read the book about a year ago but found it difficult to follow the characters (in the book). Naturally they all had Japanese names. I couldn't tell sometimes if it was a man or a woman. The narrator made it very clear who was talking to whom.

    Rocketman 2023-10-24
  • 5.0 5.0

    Wow, just wow. Loved it.

    johanna 2023-10-10

Details

Author
Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Narrator
Arina Ii
Duration
6 hours 52 minutes
Release Date
19 September 2019
ISBN
9781529029604
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Pan Macmillan
Genre
Magical realism, Speculative fiction, Science fiction: time travel / time slip, Fiction in translation, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction
Rating
4.6(10 reviews)
Narration
4.9(10 reviews)

Synopsis

The cosy, heartwarming first book in the multi-million copy bestselling series.What would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time? Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese, explores this age-old question . . .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 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- 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, Before We Forget Kindness and Before I knew I loved you.

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