A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick

‘Ingenious … touching, surprising and sometimes heartbreaking.’ Guardian

‘If you’re itching to read a new novel by David Mitchell … try this.’ The Times
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In Tokyo – one of the world’s largest megacities – a stray cat is wending her way through the back alleys. And, with each detour, she brushes up against the seemingly disparate lives of the city-dwellers, connecting them in unexpected ways.

But the city is changing. As it does, it pushes her to the margins where she chances upon a series of apparent strangers – from a homeless man squatting in an abandoned hotel, to a shut-in hermit afraid to leave his house, to a convenience store worker searching for love. The cat orbits Tokyo’s denizens, drawing them ever closer.

‘Masterfully weaves together seemingly disparate threads to conjure up a vivid tapestry of Tokyo; its glory, its shame, its characters, and a calico cat.’ David Peace, author of THE TOKYO TRILOGY

One of the Independent‘s best debuts