The Goodbye Cat is a poignant set of seven short stories, all with a tale to tell about human life - family, friendships, love, death, bereavement, and just the journeys we take navigating growing up, growing old, and moving on, but mainly told from the perspective of the cats that are a part of that journey, or else bear witness to it all.

I really enjoyed these short stories, as I enjoyed The Travelling Cat Chronicles, and Nana from TTCC features towards the end of this book too. One of the stories did make me cry, I had two cats at home while growing up, and not having any since, I miss them, these cat-based books have become a bit of a stand-in for my much-missed little friends.

I will say that once I got into the rhythm, the stories did become repetitive and didn't feel like successive ones had anything new to say or contribute to the collection, but they were still worth reading in their own right. I read the book from start to finish in one go, but this would probably be better read by dipping in and out to read a story at a time and let it linger for a bit. It hasn't put me off Japanese cat stories at all, and I'm glad to have it in my collection.

The Goodbye Cat is a collection of 7 short stories in which a cat is the central character. It is a gentle and poignant collection, laced with humour, love and grief. The stories are told in a simple, straightforward style and shed insight into Japanese as well as feline life. Easy to read and quietly touching. A very enjoyable read.

Fans of 'Before The Coffee Gets Cold' will likely adore the stories in this little novella, especially if they love cats. A heart warming, very Japanese (in writing style) read.

Beautifully written, this anthology of short stories is both cosy and gentle, yet also pulls at the heart strings. While many of the stories are very sensitive, it is worth checking the TWs!

A very cosy and heart-warming read that is perfect for cat-lovers and people who love lyrical writing!

Awww what a lovely book. I am drawn to books with cats right now. This was emotional and poignant. I would like to read more by this author.

This book was unlike anything else I've read before. I felt it really explored and expanded upon our relationships with cats and gave me something to relate to. It certainly made me love my own cats even more than I already do

The Goodbye Cat is a collection of seven short stories all surrounding the role cats play in our lives and the lessons we can learn from them. This book explores themes of family dynamics, friendships, coming of age and grief all told through the eyes of cats.

I really enjoyed this book! All the stories were very heart warming, emotional and quick to read. The descriptions of family life felt very realistic and relatable. I thought the stories being told mostly from the cats' perspective was really fun and unique.

However I did find some of the stories slightly repetitive as I read this book cover to cover so for this reason I think this would be a great book to keep on your bed side table to dip into every so often when you need a quick, feel good story.

Overall, I thought this was a fun, adorable read. It's a book about cats so you can't really go wrong!

Such heartwarming and grounding stories. Really makes you look at your pet cats in a different viewpoint from now on!

Amazing book for cat lovers or anyone wanting to hear from a unique narrator!

From the author of the hugely popular 'Travelling Cat Chronicles' comes another cat-fest, exploring the connections between various cats and their human companions. And for fans of the previous book there is an appearance by Nana and Hachi in the last couple of stories in this collection. Just a lovely book to read.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

3.5

I loved all of the cats!!! Some stories made me cry though! So cute and melancholic. I need to find more books like this.

A great book of short stories really gets into your heart.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This was such a cute book. Though it got very sad in places (as you can probably tell from the title of the Goodbye Cat), I enjoyed reading it immensely. I really enjoyed the different personalities of each of the cats and the differences and similarities in the stories.

As with all short story collections, there were some stories that I loved and some that I didn't like so much. In this book, I really liked the Cat Island story and the one about Hachi. I also enjoyed the last story in the book and I loved the connection between that one and Hachi, being stories about two cats owned at different times by the same owner.

As with any translated book, it was very different from the style I'm used to in Western works. I feel like Japanese stuff in more thoughtful and is often more told than shown. I think a lot also gets lost in translation. So I wouldn't say the writing was amazing, but I do think a lot of that is down to the type of book and translating it from a Japanese style.

Overall, if you like cats, this is a good book to choose!

This book seriously needs to come with some full on disclaimers!
Sadly this book was a DNF for me but not because of a lack of skill on the authors part no this book was told in such a masterful way that it broke my heart and by the time I was 50% in I could not continue any longer.
The heart wrenching stories of cats passing on was completely sole destroying.
As many of you might know I have worked in veterinary surgery’s for a few years now and having seen so much heartbreak I just couldn’t emotionally cope with reading and reliving so many memories.
If you’re a bit tougher than me then I would highly recommend. If it destroys you to think of loosing a pet then stay away or have a bit glass of wine ready 😂

My thanks to Random House U.K. Transworld Doubleday for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Goodbye Cat’ by Hiro Arikawa. It was translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel.

The author is well known for her internationally bestselling ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’ and has now written this book containing seven charming short stories about cats.

The book takes its title from the first story which relates the tale of Kota, a rescued kitten who aspires to live long enough to become a nekomata, a feline supernatural entity found in Japanese folklore. His reason for seeking this transformation is so that he can remain with his human forever. So sweet.

This is followed by ‘Bringing Up Baby’ about a manga artist who adopts Spin, an abandoned kitten, just before his wife arrives home with their newborn baby. Spin helps the new father learn to parent his own child. Again, this is a delightful tale.

The following five stories continue this trend of exploring loving relationships between cats and their humans. In them the cats are often sentient sharing their perspectives with the reader. Some were quite moving, bringing tears to my eyes. Each story is headed by a line drawing of a cat.

The final two stories in the collection feature Satoru and his cats, Hachi and Nana, who had featured in ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’. I have had this on my ‘to read’ list for ages and after this amazing book, I plan to read it very soon.

I find this kind of uplifting Japanese literature very satisfying on a number of levels. Within the pages the cycle of life and death is acknowledged including grief and loss as well as the power of love, empathy, and devotion. I feel that this kind of literature can prove meditative in nature. I certainly find it so.

Overall, ‘The Goodbye Cat’ was a wonderful book and one that I expect will be enjoyed by cat lovers and those who enjoy this gentle style of Japanese literature.

Having read and loved the previous book The Travelling Cat I was looking forward to reading this collection of short stories.
It is written in the same thoughtful and caring manner and reflects the authors love and understanding of cats but I found I preferred reading a whole book to a series of short stories. It is just a personal preference, I found I was more invested with the characters.
That said, the style of writing will appeal to all cat lovers and the book also gives an interesting insight into life and culture in Japan.

While I enjoy many Japanese books in translation, this oarticular title was not one for me I am afraid.
While I understand that there is a huge affinity between many Japanese people and cats that goes beyond even the British love of their pets, it isn't an affinity I share to the same extent.
The stories were sweet, some of the cat characters were charming, even some of the adults were sweet and charming and the stories themselves were sometimes quite engaging. That having been said, there are other Japanese short story collections which I have enjoyed far more.
This is a second title from this author ( which I hadn't read) and I understand that there are references back to The Travelling Cat Chronicles, so if you have read that title you will no doubt be equally charmed by this whimsical set of stories all centred round the many ways one can say goodbye.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this e arc and this is my honest review.

If you want to see me weep, give me a book like this. I had previously read the Travelling Cat Chronicles by this author and cried my eyes out. No change here. A collection of stories about cats and their humans. A nice read, but have tissues ready.

As a cat lover, I loved The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa even though it left me in floods of tears. This book is slightly different in that this is a collection of 7 short stories rather than one novel. Hiro Arikawa knows cats and their relationships with their owners inside out and it shows. His stories tell of a cat’s position in a family, their devotion and love even though they appear not to show it, and the total grief at their loss. They are all completely unforgettable in their own unique way. The final 2 stories revisit the exquisite relationship between Nana and Hachi from The Travelling Cat Chronicles. If you have not read this, this gives a good insight into how good that novel is as well.
I loved all the stories, the most notable being Kota, who is worried about impending fatherhood. Then he rescues a tiny, vulnerable kitten called Spin. Having no idea how to look after Spin, he seeks advice, and the parallels are then drawn between that and looking after the new baby.
Even if you don’t particularly like cats and dogs or even tortoises are your thing, there is something in the writing about the unbreakable bond between animal and human that will get to you. Be prepared and have tissues at the ready though.
I was a little apprehensive before picking this up as I did not believe anything could touch The Travelling Cat Chronicles for content. I am happy to say The Goodbye Cat is wonderful in a different way and I would recommend Hiro Arikawa’s beautiful writing to anyone.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, Hiro Arikawa and the translator for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you love cats and want an uplifting read, this one is for you. A touching collection of short stories about seven cats and their owners. The cats reveal their qualities of intuition and empathy. Utterly enchanting.