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The Goodbye Cat

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE JAPANESE BESTSELLER

A PERFECT BOOK FOR CAT-LOVERS

Against changing seasons in Japan, seven cats weave their way through their owners' lives...

We meet Spin, a kitten rescued from the recycling bin, whose simple needs teach an anxious father how to parent his own human baby; 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; and an elderly cat, Kota, hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be together for ever.

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.

©2023 Hiro Arikawa (P)2023 Penguin Audio Animals Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Cats

Critic reviews

"Bewitching and comforting." (Telegraph)
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Most relevant
So heartwarming and beautifully written. My favourite story was the new dad with the kitten (this one didn't make me cry)

Had me in tears

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love cats and love these stories of cats wonderfully read Brilliantly written there cats are brought to life in the most wonderful way

cats

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Well this one hit me like a tonne of bricks. There are so many sweet moments and sad moments. If you’re a cat lover, you have to give this a read!!

Be prepared to cry!!

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I enjoyed The Travelling Cat Chronicles, so was very pleased to read more from Hiro Arikawa.

Lovely to have more of this

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I’ve only read “The Goodbye Cat” so far. It is a beautiful story of a family and their much loved and respected cats. It is also a story of two cats and their humans. It made me cry.

Inciteful and beautifully written

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