The Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller

A couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo. They work at home as freelance writers. They no longer have very much to say to one another.

One day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. She is a beautiful creature. She leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. New, small joys accompany the cat; the days have more light and colour.

Life suddenly seems to have more promise for the husband and wife; they go walking together, talk and share stories of the cat and its little ways, play in the nearby garden. But then something happens that will change everything again . . .

The Guest Cat is an exceptionally moving and beautiful novel about the nature of life and the way it feels to live it. Written by Japanese poet and novelist Takashi Hiraide, the book won Japan''s Kiyama Shohei Literary Award.

''A rare treasure . . . beautiful and profound . . . whether you''re a cat lover or not, don''t pass this one up – NPR

About the Author

Takashi Hiraide was born in Moji, Kitakyushu in 1950. He has published numerous books of poetry as well as several books of genre-bending essays, including one on poetics and baseball. His other work includes a novel called The Guest Cat, a biography of Meiji poet Irako Seihaku, and a travelogue that follows the traces of Kafka, Celan, and Benjamin in Berlin.

His poetry book Postcards to Donald Evans is published by the Tibor de Nagy Foundation. Hiraide is a professor of Art Science and Poetics as well as a core member of the new Institute for Art Anthropology at Tama Art University. His poetry book For the Fighting Spirit of the Walnut won the Best Translated Book Award for poetry.