This novel wasn’t loud or dramatic, but it definitely left something heavy in my chest. 

 by Kazuo Ishiguro is one of those books that are introduced softly at first, almost calm, but then, slowly, it reveals a truth that is cold and terrifying.

The book follows Kathy, a woman who looks back on her childhood at a boarding school called Hailsham. At first, it seems like a normal place, but something always feels strange. The words used: “carers,” “donors,” “guardians” start to build a new world, one that is not like ours, but also too close, which is what makes it kinda disturbing.

As you keep reading, you understand what Kathy and her friends really are. They are not raised to live full lives. They are raised to serve a purpose. And the worst part? They accept it. There is no fight. No escape.

You want to believe there is hope, but the more you read and the more you know, the harder it is to breathe.

For me, it was disturbing, not in a horror way, but in a deep, emotional way. It made me think about control, society, and the way people can be shaped by what they are told to believe. After so many years we have accepted so many things, and we just live with them, no questions asked, and even if you ask…there’s no way to return or fight back.

What moved me the most was how the characters still loved, still cared, still tried to enjoy little moments. Even when they knew their fate.

This is not a happy book. But it’s an important one. It asks questions that are not easy to answer. 

What does it mean to live, if your life is not your own?

 What makes us human: our bodies, or the feelings inside us?

FAQ – Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (with spoilers)

It’s about a group of children who are raised for a dark purpose: to donate their organs when they grow up. The story follows them as they slowly learn the truth and try to find meaning in their short lives.

The novel explores the value of life, the dangers of control, and how people learn to accept even the cruelest things if they are taught to. It also speaks about memory, love, and the human need to be seen and understood.

 I think it’s to show us how easy it is to lose our humanity when we treat others as tools or products. It also asks us to think about how we define identity and what it means to live a “real” life.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Never Let Me Go, a dystopian novel by Kazuo Ishiguro: 

Some stories are small, almost quiet, but they carry so much weight inside them. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi feels like that. It’s a book that you finish and then just sit there, staring at nothing, because your heart feels so heavy…

The story takes place in a small café in Tokyo. This café has a special chair that allows people to travel back in time. But there are strict rules, you can only visit a moment with someone inside the café, you can’t change the present, and you must return before your coffee gets cold.

Each chapter tells the story of someone who uses the chair: a woman who wants to see her boyfriend one last time before he leaves, a wife who wants to read a letter from her husband, a sister who wants to say goodbye, and a mother who wishes to meet the daughter she never knew.

I think a way to describe it would be: a story about longing, about regret, and about the very human wish to fix things, even if we know we can't. Every story is touching. Some are sweet, others are almost unbearable in their sadness. But all of them are filled with love.

The writing is simple, but full of feeling. The symbolism of the coffee cooling down reminds me that even time, even the smallest moments, are precious and cannot be held forever.

While reading it, I kept thinking about my grandpa. About the conversations I wish I could have again. About the moments that seemed small at the time but now feel huge. 

There’s this weight that settles in my chest, a soft ache that reminded me how much I can miss someone, something I can't still explain fully with words. 

 didn’t just make me think about time travel; it made me wish for one more afternoon sitting next to him, talking about nothing and everything at the same time. 

This was just not just a time travel story. It’s about the memories we carry, the people we miss, and the small, important things we wish we could say if only we had one more chance.

Is Before the Coffee Gets Cold worth reading?

It was for me. It’s an emotional, beautiful book that explores love, regret, and the wish for second chances in a unique and gentle way.

Is Before the Coffee Gets Cold a love story?

In some ways, yes. It’s not just romantic love, it’s also about love between family, friends, and even the love we carry for people we have lost.

Should I read Before the Coffee Gets Cold in order?

Yes, it’s best to read the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series in order to fully understand the characters and their connections.

What is the message in Before the Coffee Gets Cold?

For me, it was that we may want to change the past, but what matters most is cherishing the people we love now, before it’s too late. It’s about acceptance, forgiveness, and appreciating every moment.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A heartfelt story about love, loss and time

There’s something very gentle and quiet about 

, like a voice telling you something painful, but in the kindest way. This novel by Kazuo Ishiguro (who also wrote 

Never Let Me Go, which is one of my all the time favorites

) explores love, loneliness, and the idea of what it really means to be human.

The story is told through the eyes of Klara, an Artificial Friend. Basically, a robot made to be a companion for children. She’s curious, observant, and filled with a kind of innocent hope. Klara watches the world from a store window until she is chosen by Josie, a sick teenage girl who lives in a future where kids are "lifted" to be more successful.

At first, it may seem like a science fiction story, but it’s really about relationships: between mother and daughter, between friends, and between humans and machines. I think a way to describe it would be like a slow walk into the heart of what it means to love someone, even if you're not human.

The book just shows us a world full of quiet sadness and gentle beauty. I was left asking myself: Can machines love? Or can they make you experience that feeling related to being loved? What makes us truly human? And why do we still feel alone, even when surrounded by others?

(PLEASE, BE AWARE THAT THERE COULD BE SPOILERS BELOW)

 It’s about Klara, an Artificial Friend, who is bought to care for a sick girl named Josie. It explores love, technology, loneliness, and what it means to be human.

 No, Josie recovers from her illness by the end of the book, although there are moments when it seems she might not survive.

The RPO building is where Josie’s father works. It's also where Klara goes to ask the Sun for a special favor, believing it will help Josie.

 Klara is not described in great detail, but she is presented as a robot with a kind face and human-like features, built to be friendly and comforting for children.

 It’s about the need for connection, the pain of isolation, and how love can exist in many forms, even in something artificial.

 Her illness is never named exactly, but it seems to be a result of the "lifting" process, a genetic enhancement done to help children succeed.

The cooting machine is a strange machine that Klara believes is harming the Sun. It shows how she interprets the world with emotion and belief, not logic.

The biggest irony is that Klara, who is not human, shows more loyalty, hope, and emotional care than many of the actual people in the story.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: A Story About Hope, Love, and What It Means to Be Human

There are times when a book doesn’t just tell you a story, but it also gives you a history lesson, an emotional experience, and a deep reflection all at once. 

This novel follows a Korean family across four generations, from the early 1900s to the 1980s. It begins in a small village in Korea and takes us to Japan, where the family tries to survive, to belong, and to protect their future. The story takes place during a time when Korea was under Japanese rule, and later, when Koreans living in Japan were treated like outsiders, even after decades, which was so heartbreaking for me because it’s something that we still see nowadays around the world.

The characters feel incredibly real. You grow attached to them. You feel their pain, their hope, their losses. Sunja, the main character at the beginning, is strong and brave. Her choices shape the future of her family. Her children and grandchildren live through poverty, discrimination, and personal heartbreaks. But through it all, there’s love, sacrifice, and resilience. God, I loved the presentation of these values in this book.

Even if you don’t know much about Korean history (like me), this book teaches you in a very human way. You learn through the characters' lives. It’s not always easy to read because some parts are really heartbreaking, with things that feell unfair, but it makes you think deeply, even weeks after finishing the book.

 a story about what we carry from the past, what we lose when we leave our home, and how identity can be both a gift and a burden. As a migrant woman that haven’t been in her country for the last 7 years, this book resonated with me deploy. 

 is about how history can shape your life, even when you didn’t choose it.

It’s a multi-generational historical novel that follows a Korean family living in Japan during the 20th century. It shows their struggle with poverty, discrimination, identity, and love across four generations.

There is a minor LGBTQ character later in the book, but you would really need to pay attention to be able to notice it, because it is not the main focus. The story mainly follows themes of family, identity, and survival.

It’s not based on one specific real family, but it is inspired by real historical events and the real experiences of many Korean families who lived in Japan during that time.

The main theme is resilience in the face of injustice. It also explores identity, belonging, sacrifice, and how political history affects personal lives.

Historical fiction, literary fiction, family saga.

Noa, Sunja’s son, discovers a painful truth about his father and his own identity. He struggles deeply with shame and ends up living a separate life, tragically ending in suicide.

The book has 58 chapters, divided into three parts.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: Summary and brief review

Some books don’t just tell a story, they pull you into a dream, or maybe a nightmare. 

 by Mona Awad was one of those books. It’s tense, gothic, poetic, and filled with a kind of sadness that tries to get you with every page. I haven’t read Bunny by this author yet, but I’m definitely tempted to do it soon after reading this one.

First, I chose to read this book simply because of the name (duh). And when searching for some reviews, I read it was a mix of literary fiction, horror, and psychological thriller with fairy-tale elements. Now, my thoughts:

In short words, the novel follows Belle, a woman obsessed with beauty and skin care (not fiction at all, considering the world we currently live in), haunted by her mother’s mysterious death. When she returns home for the funeral, she’s drawn into an elite spa that promises perfection, but at a cost. The deeper she goes, the more she loses herself (literally…?).

As for the fairy-tale elements, I wouldn’t say they are obvious. It’s more about how you interpret them. Since beauty is the main theme and considering the physical description of Belle and her mom, you could definitely think of Snow White or even Jasmine.

I think a way to describe it would be like a story about how far we go to chase beauty, the pain that comes with it, and the ghosts we carry (from the past or from your own expectations in the present).

I liked Mona’s writing in this one because it was very delicate, but at the same time, full of emotion making you feel kinda scared, yet desperate to know what’s happening next and at some point you need to stop for a moment to process the chapter and see if your mind is playing tricks on you or if that’s reality… It also made me wonder two things: First, why do we hurt ourselves for beauty? And second, why does grief feel like a dream we can’t wake up from?

This book is dark and weirdly beautiful. And I liked that mix! If you like gothic, eerie stories with an emotional punch, 

Rouge by Mona Awad: Summary and brief review

Sometimes, the heaviest stories are not the ones shouted loud, but the ones whispered quietly. This is how it felt reading this one… Like someone whispering in your ear, giving you goosebumps.

Greek Lessons by Han Kang is one of those rare books that says everything important with very few words. Reminding me, again, that sometimes you don’t need to say much to express something as immense as love.

In this story, we meet a woman who has lost her ability to speak after going through some difficult times (experiencing trauma), and a man who is slowly losing his sight. Both of them are trapped by their own silence, their own loneliness. But when they meet, something very delicate happens, something that doesn’t need to be explained with many words.

I think a way to describe Greek Lessons would be: like trying to catch a warm breeze with your hands. It’s delicate, fleeting, but leaves a real feeling inside your heart.

Han Kang doesn’t show brutal scenes of pain. Instead, 

she uses simple, beautiful prose to make you feel the sadness and the longing

. Every page is filled with emotions that are almost too big to name: grief, fear, love, and hope.

It’s a short book, and still, it stays with you long after you finish it. It reminds you that even in the middle of loss, even when everything feels broken, there are still ways to connect with another soul. Even silence can be a kind of language.

If you are asking about the Greek language, there are many free online resources, apps, and textbooks to help you learn! But in this book, Greek is more of a symbol for seeking something new and finding meaning again after deep loss.

The novel follows a woman who has lost her voice and a man who is losing his sight. They meet in a Greek language class, and slowly, a silent, deep connection forms between them, helping both to heal invisible wounds.

You can see some Greek phrases in the book. Greek can be challenging for beginners, especially because of its unique alphabet and grammar. But like anything important, with patience and practice, it’s possible to learn.

A reading journey.

Greek Lessons by Han Kang: A story of loss, language, and connection.

FAQ – Greek Lessons by Han Kang

How can I teach myself Greek?

What is the plot of Greek Lessons?

Is Greek an easy language to learn?

More Stories

Never Let Me Go, a dystopian novel by Kazuo Ishiguro:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A heartfelt story about love, loss and time

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: A Story About Hope, Love, and What It Means to Be Human

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: Summary and brief review

Rouge by Mona Awad: Summary and brief review