The Goodbye Cat

About

Seven cats, seven owners, seven stories about the moments when human and feline lives intersect in ways that change both. A cat comforts a grieving widow. A stray adopts a reluctant bachelor. A kitten helps a couple remember why they're together. Each story is narrated partly from the cat's perspective — not anthropomorphized, but observed with the affectionate precision of a writer who understands that cats participate in our lives on their own terms. Arikawa, whose Travelling Cat Chronicles became an international bestseller, returns to the territory of human-animal bonds with stories that earn their emotions through specificity. The cats are individuals, not symbols, and the humans are better for having known them. A collection for anyone who has ever been chosen by a cat — and understood that the choosing was never yours to make.