The rediscovered magical-realist classic by a bestselling poet for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD THE REDISCOVERED JAPANESE CLASSIC Read the original and moving literary gem for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, with stunning illustrated endpapers. What if you could come back after death to watch over your loved one, installing yourself in a treasured mug, for example, or perhaps your mother's hearing aid, a diary, or even a climbing frame, to feel the clambering limbs of a beloved younger sister? Eleven recently deceased protagonists find themselves floating in the afterlife where a nameless ghost offers them a joyous reunion with their loved ones. But not as you would expect. In a world where souls linger restlessly around after death, unwilling to depart, The Soul Catchers is a comforting, witty, and surprisingly sensual take on the Japanese folk belief that objects can be inhabited by human presences. Utterly charming, Higashi's classic is an original exploration of our eternal reluctance to let go.

Details

ISBN13: 9781529959017
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 176
Edition:
Publication Date: 24 Mar 2026
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 20.6(H)x13.5(L)x1.9(W)244
Weight (gm): 244

Author Biography

Naoko Higashi (Author) Naoko Higashi is a multi-award-winning Japanese poet, novelist, children's writer and screenwriter. She is best known for her work in the Japanese tanka poetry form. Her fictional work includes The House in the Forest of Threads, which won the thirty-first Tsubota Joji Literature Award and was subsequently made into a television drama. The Soul-Catchers was made into a film in 2021. Her most recent work is The Flannel's Thread. Meet her on Instagram- @Higashinaokoh. Lucy North (Translator) Lucy North is a British translator of Japanese fiction and non-fiction. Her translations include Toddler Hunting and Other Stories by Taeko Kono, The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura, and Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi. Her work has appeared in Granta, Words Without Borders and The Southern Review, and in several anthologies including The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature and Found in Translation- 100 of the Finest Short Stories Ever Translated.

Reviews

If you want a calm, simple read, this is the book for you…each short tale is a lesson in connection and is both straightforward, sad and life-affirming. * PA Media *