Tag: book review

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Book Review – Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This book is translated from Japanese by Geoffery Trousselot. I am mentioning the translator because translators don’t get enough credit for their work. It takes skill and know-how to translate not just words but nuances of one language into another.

I picked up this book because the premise of the book is so interesting – there’s a cafe down a little side street in Japan where you can travel back in time to meet or do whatever you feel you need to. Who would you meet? What would you do?

Of course, every time travel mechanism has its rules. This one is no exception – you have to stay in that one seat and have to return to the present before the coffee gets cold – will the many rules stop you from attempting to travel back in time?

A woman wants to travel back in time to say the things she didn’t say at her last meeting with her boyfriend. A wife wants to receive a letter from her husband who is losing his memory. A sister to speak to her estranged sister one last time. A mother to meet the child she never met. Although it seems to start out as four different stories, there is a fine link between all the stories and it’s not just the location (the cafe) where these stories take place. I will leave you to find out for yourselves.

I like the simple way the stories are written; direct yet with a certain quietness that I associate with the Japanese culture. I find my heart warmed not only by the people who are so desperate to travel back in time but also by the people who run the cafe, especially by the twist at the end which personally affects the owners of the cafe. It was also interesting to get an insight into some aspects of Japanese culture.

I highly recommend this book to those who want something which tugs at the heartstrings, offers some cultural perspective and leaves you asking questions of yourself and your own heart’s desires.

This book left me wanting to know who are the other people who might have travelled back in time. So it’s a good thing Kawaguchi wrote 3 more books, which I will be adding to my TBR list 😀

Happy Reading!

syc

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Book Review: Shadows Within The Fog by Benjamin Haymond

Romantic fantasy in a real-world setting is not my usual pick but this is a good one. Benjamin Haymond‘s debut self-published novel is a slow burner. It starts off with what seems like unconnected stories about people who are linked in only a small way but keep at it and you start to see the red thread running through these stories and the bigger story which holds them together.

Haymond has taken the age-old idea of a red thread linking people across vast distances to another level, adding a beautiful love story and a thousand-year-old curse into the mix; building more layers into it. Setting the story in real-world locations grounds the tale and makes it more relatable.

Lewis and Katie are our lovers in question, Hildegard, an elderly woman in a care home, has known their story through the ages and Diane, Lewis’ best friend, who has (in my opinion) a slightly complicated relationship with Lewis, tries her best to help. Through these characters, the story unfolds in a rather unusual way; it’s not your normal linear storyline and that’s what keeps you reading; your brain is engaged in their story.

I won’t give any more details away. I will leave you to read it so you can enjoy the revelations for yourselves.

The book did leave me with a few questions but it doesn’t take away from what is, at its core, a wonderful story about love and what one would do to find it and keep it.

Happy Reading.
syc

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Book Review: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

I was so excited to read this second book in the Thursday Murder Club series. By now, I feel that Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are like family to me. Richard Osman has done so well in endearing each character to my heart.

In this second book, things get more serious as Elizabeth’s past catches up with her. An old colleague of hers is in trouble and is asking her for help. He’s made a terrible mistake, crossed the wrong person, and now chose to hide at the Coopers Chase Retirement Village. There are diamonds, a violent mobster, and a local drug dealer involved as well. All these elements come with the full attention of the local police as well as the government department Elizabeth used to work for.

There are some heartbreaking moments as well as some heartwarming ones. But the action and mystery never stop. The very readable writing style and humour worked their magic to draw me further into the story. The numerous twists in the story kept me turning the pages.

I love how we get to know more about Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron, which made me care for them even more. I have become slightly protective of them, even.

I have deliberately kept as many details as possible out of this review so that you can enjoy them for yourselves. Osman’s Thursday Murder Club does not disappoint. I highly recommend reading this book, even if you haven’t read the first one. So have a read and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading!
Here’s my review of the first book in the Thursday Murder Club series.
Looking forward to reading the third book next.

syc