This week, Annabel reviews Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Find out more about our What we are reading series here.

“I’ve been dabbling in translated fiction recently, inspired by the International Booker Prize, with varying levels of success. The first book I read, The Discomfort of Evening – winner in 2020, was enough to put me off for life and left me wondering ‘what were the judges thinking?’ The second book, The Vegetarian – winner in 2016, was good although pretty dark and depressing.

Finally, I turned to Before the Coffee Gets Cold which I saw someone recommend on Instagram and then happened upon in my local library. This one is in the magical realism genre which isn’t my normal go-to, but it was quite enjoyable. It centres around a café in Tokyo which has the ability to transport people back in time – there are rules like sitting in a certain chair and only having the time it takes a cup of coffee to get cold before you are transported back to the present day. Although the time travel is an important part of the story, the relationships between the characters are more central to the narrative and the overall message is to not leave things unsaid.

I haven’t read much translated fiction before, if anyone has recommendations for translated books they’ve loved please send them my way!”