The uplifting new Japanese cat novel from the million-copy bestselling author of The Travelling Cat Chronicles THE PERFECT READ FOR CAT LOVERS 'Quirky and life-enhancing' THE TIMES Biggest Books of the Autumn 2023 _____________________

Against changing seasons in Japan, seven cats weave their way through their owners' lives. - A needy kitten rescued from the recycling bin teaches a new father how to parent his own human baby

- An elderly cat hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be together for ever

- A colony of wild cats on a holiday island shows a young boy not to stand in nature's way

- A family is perplexed by their cat's devotion to their charismatic but uncaring father

- A woman curses how her cat constantly visits her at night Bursting with empathy and love, THE GOODBYE CAT explores the unstoppable cycle of life as we see how the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down.

A huge bestseller in Japan, every page is a joyous celebration of cats and how we cannot resist sharing our lives with them. 'A book for every cat lover.

An enchanting insight into the mysterious world of cats and their humans' CELIA HADDON, author of Being Your Cat **Includes seven beautiful cat drawings** _____________________

READERS ADORE THE GOODBYE CAT - 'Wonderful! These cats are charming and truly come alive.

The book is full of human - or rather, cat kindness' ***** - 'Irresistible.

This is the first time since The Travelling Cat Chronicles that I cried my eyes out over a book' *****

- 'I'm glad I didn't read it outside because I couldn't stop crying. Truly life-enhancing' *****

About the Author

HIRO ARIKAWA is the multi-million-copy bestselling author of THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES and THE GOODBYE CAT. Passing through a scenic mountainous region of Japan, the famous Hankyu line is a privately run railway that connects Osaka and Kyoto and is famous for its maroon-coloured vintage-style carriages. One of its much-visited stops is the city of Takarazuka, where the author of this book lives. Published twenty years ago, this enduring Japanese classic has sold 1.4 million copies and has been published worldwide.

Philip Gabriel is the author of Mad Wives and Island Dreams: Shimao Toshio and the Margins of Japanese Literature and Spirit Matters: The Transcendent in Modern Japanese Literature and has translated many novels and short stories by the writer Haruki Murakami and other modern writers. He is recipient of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature (2001) for his translation of Senji Kuroi’s Life in the Cul-de-Sac, and the 2006 PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize for his translation of Murakami's Kafka on the Shore.