Im currently reading Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, and I’m wondering if I should just give up reading it. I read Before the Coffee gets Cold (the first book in this series) last month, and was left underwhelmed. I honestly don’t know why these books get so much praise. It didn’t move me to tears, and, though the books are shorter, they felt so long to read. I didn’t hate the first book, and I’ve heard so many great things about this series, so I picked up the second. I’m not anymore interested in the stories or the characters, so I’m wondering if I should just put it down. Or, if it gets better as you go along. I would love to hear from people who have read it and enjoyed it, or if you didn’t enjoy it. What am I missing here?
The first book is probably the weakest in the series due to the character development of the cafe staff and the repetition. I blame that on the author’s background as a screenwriter. You could tell he was still getting his feet wet as a novelist.
I also wasn’t thrilled with the way some of the stories wrapped up. They often involved a woman sacrificing her life (whether it was her dreams or her own survival) for someone else. For example, >!a successful businesswoman gave up her restaurant and contritely went home to run her parents’ hotel at the insistence of her dead sister!<. That said, I still liked the book because it made me think about what I’d do if I could visit someone from the past. It also exposed me to a different culture with a different set of values from my own.
So far, I’ve read the second book, and I think it’s much better. The character development is stronger, as we get backstories on Kazu and the cafe ghost. That said, if you’re not enjoying it by now, your feelings probably won’t change. There’s nothing wrong with spending time on something else you do enjoy.
Have you read the whole series? At this point the only thing I really care about is the backstory of the cafe ghost. I heard the second book gives more insight but if we never get the full story I might just give up on it.
I own the first 3 books, but haven’t gotten around to the third one yet (my tbr is a mile long). The second book has the origin story for the ghost. It’s sad, as you’d expect, but also insightful.