A huge bestseller in Japan, this is the highly anticipated second book from the global bestselling author of The Travelling Cat Chronicles. Made up of seven short stories, The Goodbye Cat takes readers on a journey around Japan. From the breath-taking countryside to sleepy suburbs and a remote holiday island, each story reveals the compassion, devotion, and humility that humans can learn from being close to animals:
A needy kitten rescued from the recycling bin teaches a new father how to parent his own human baby.
A colony of wild cats on a holiday island shows a 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 wakes her at night.
And an elderly cat, Kota, hatches a plan of immortality so he and his owner can be together forever.
As the changing seasons reflect the unstoppable cycle of life, The Goodbye Cat also approaches life and death with humour, wisdom, and insight while exploring the relationships between each person and their cat.
The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel
Doubleday, October 2023