The classic Japanese bestseller published in English for the very first time – a darkly funny and relatable book portraying the lives of five women’Witty, wise and thought-provoking’ Cecelia Ahern’Crackles and pops with humour, empathy and intelligence’ Lisa Owens, author of Not Working’So brilliantly written that I kept trying to memorise sentences in order to repeat them to people later’ Roxy Dunn, author of As Young as ThisIzumi needs to get a job. Haruka needs to stop talking about how she once had cancer. Kato needs to get through a shift at the convenience store without being harassed.
Mito needs to break up with her boyfriend – or marry him. Sumie just needs somewhere to live. In this classic Japanese bestseller, published in English twenty-five years after it took Japan by storm, the lives of five ordinary women are depicted with irresistible humour and searing emotional insight.

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.