She and Her Cat: Stories [Paperback]

For fans of Mieko Kawakami’sBreasts and Eggsand Murata Sayaka’sEarthlings, this Japanese bestseller from renowned anime director Makoto Shinkai features four inspirational and heartwarming vignettes following women and their cats in their quests for love and connection.

Lying alone on the edge of the sidewalk in an abandoned cardboard box, a nameless narrator contemplates the indifferent world around him. With his mother long gone, his only company is the sound of the nearby train. Just as he fears that the end is near, a young woman peers down at him, this fateful encounter changing their lives forever.

So begins the first story inShe and Her Cat, a collection of four interrelated, stream-of-conscious short stories in which four women and their feline companions explore the frailty of life, the pain of isolation, and the limits of communication.

With clever narration alternating between the cats and their owners,She and Her Catoffers a unique and sly commentary on human foibles and our desire for connection. A whimsical short story anthology unlike any other, it effortlessly demonstrates that even in our darkest, most lonesome moments, we are still united to this wonderous world—often in ways we could never have expected.Makoto Shinkai is the hugely popular and multi-award-winning anime filmmaker of Your Name and Weathering with You. 

Naruki Nagakawa is a Japanese game and anime screenwriter, and novelist. She and Her Cat is inspired by Makoto Shinkai’s praised anime and written by Nagakawa, and will be published around the world. 

Ginny Tapley Takemori is the award-winning translator of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and other highly acclaimed Japanese fiction. She lives in rural Japan.Chapter 1: Sea of Words