The Travelling Cat Chronicles

It's not the journey that counts, but who's at your side.

Nana is on a road trip, but he is not sure where he is going. All that matters is that he can sit beside his beloved owner Satoru in the front seat of his silver van. Satoru is keen to visit three old friends from his youth, though Nana doesn't know why and Satoru won't say.

Set against the backdrop of Japan's changing seasons and narrated with a rare gentleness and humour, Nana's story explores the wonder and thrill of life's unexpected detours. It is about the value of friendship and solitude, and knowing when to give and when to take. TRAVELLING CAT has already demonstrated its power to move thousands of readers with a message of kindness and truth. It shows, above all, how acts of love, both great and small, can transform our lives.

Review

Anyone who has ever unashamedly loved an animal will read this book with gratitude, for its understanding of an emotion that ennobles us as human beings, whether we value it or not ― GUARDIAN

Fleet, funny and tender... Arikawa clearly knows cats as well as any human can. ― TIME Published On: 2018-10-25

It has the warmth, painterly touch, and tenderness of a Studio Ghibli film - and it is a delight to read ― FINANCIAL TIMES

Bewitching… as self-possessed and comforting as – well, a cat ― Sunday Telegraph

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is delightful. Like a tender feline companion the uniqueness of this book is its subtle yet persistent charm that insinuates itself into your heart long after the encounter has ended. ― FIONA MELROSE

A book about kindness and love, and about how the smallest things can provide happiness ― STYLIST

Arikawa has a lightness of touch that elevates this to a tale about loyalty and friendship ... while speaking to our basic human need for companionship ― IRISH TIMES

Heart-wrenching but uplifting ― RED MAGAZINE

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is why I read books. This beautiful story has everything. It's funny, heart-warming, heart-breaking and kind. ― FOREWORD BOOKS

Prepare to have your heart strings tugged by this quirky tale . . . It's a deceptively gentle story that you won't need to be a cat lover to fall for. ― SUNDAY MIRROR

About the Author

Hiro Arikawa (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 (Translator)
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.