Japanese Literature

Sometimes you have to leave behind everything you know to find the place you truly belong... Nana the cat is on a road trip. He is not sure where he's going or why, but it means that he gets to sit in the front seat of a silver van with his beloved owner, Satoru. Side by side, they cruise around Japan through the changing seasons, visiting Satoru's old friends. He meets Yoshimine, the brusque and unsentimental farmer for whom cats are just ratters; Sugi and Chikako, the warm-hearted couple who run a pet-friendly B&B; and Kosuke, the mournful husband whose cat-loving wife has just left him. There's even a very special dog who forces Nana to reassess his disdain for the canine species. But what is the purpose of this road trip? And why is everyone so interested in Nana? Nana does not know and Satoru won't say. But when Nana finally works it out, his small heart will break...

เรื่องราวของชีวิตอันโดดเดี่ยว กับการตั้งคำถามถึงสิ่งที่ตัวเองเชื่อและค้นหาคำตอบในทางที่เลือกเดิน จู่ ๆ ชีวิตของ 'อากิโกะ' ก็พลิกผัน เมื่อต้องออกจากงานที่ทำมานานปี และใช้ชีวิตตัวคนเดียวอย่างไม่คาดคิด โดยมีเพียงเจ้า 'ทาโระ' แมวลายสลิดตัวโตเป็นเพื่อน เธอตัดสินใจเริ่มต้นเปิดร้านอาหารเล็ก ๆ ที่ขายเพียงขนมปังกับซุปทั้งที่ไม่เคยคิดฝันจะทำมาก่อน มีเพียงความเชื่อมั่นเท่านั้นที่พาเธอออกจาก “คอมฟอร์ตโซน” ก้าวสู่ที่ทางใหม่ ๆ

บันทึกเรื่องราวชีวิตประจำวันของทาสแมวที่รับเลี้ยงแมวจรจัดสีดำแสนน่ารักชื่อ “ไดคิจิ” แปรเปลี่ยนชีวิตให้มีความสุขมากยิ่งขึ้น ผู้เขียนได้เรียนรู้การใช้ชีวิตจากไดคิจิหลายอย่าง ทั้งการทำอะไรที่ตัวเองมีความสุข นิ่งเฉยกับสิ่งเล็ก ๆ น้อย ๆ ยอมรับตัวเองทำไม่ได้ก็ปฏิเสธไป เรียกร้องความช่วยเหลือเมื่อต้องการ สร้างบรรยากาศให้คนอยากเข้าหา และอื่น ๆ อีกมากมาย การมีสมาชิกในครอบครัวจอมซนคนใหม่ทำให้ชีวิตมีความหมายมากกว่าเดิม

Tác phẩm “Nếu ngày mai không bao giờ đến” là tác phẩm thứ 2 của Kitagawa, xuất bản năm 2006. Cuốn tiểu thuyết này trở thành best seller với doanh số bán hàng đạt 90.000 bản và được xếp hạng nhất trong bảng xếp hạng của “Hội nghiên cứu phổ biến việc đọc sách, book sommelier” năm 2007. Có rất nhiều thứ để miêu tả vẻ đẹp của tuổi trưởng thành. Khi từng dòng hồi ức lướt qua đủ để con người ở thì hiện tại cảm thấy bồi hồi và nuối tiếc. Người ta vẫn thường nói, mọi cuộc hạnh ngộ trên đời là do duyên số đưa đẩy, nhưng cũng tồn tại những cuộc gặp gỡ vốn được lên kế hoạch từ trước, chỉ chờ một cái cớ hoàn hảo để tiếp cận đối phương. Đó cũng chính là cách Haruka xích lại gần hơn với cậu bạn Yousuke, người cô thầm mến mộ đã lâu.

Our narrator’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage for company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can set about tackling his bucket list, the Devil appears with a special offer: in exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, he can have one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week . . . Because how do you decide what makes life worth living? How do you separate out what you can do without from what you hold dear? In dealing with the Devil our narrator will take himself – and his beloved cat – to the brink. Genki Kawamura's If Cats Disappeared from the World is a story of loss and reconciliation, of one man’s journey to discover what really matters in modern life. This beautiful tale is translated from the Japanese by Eric Selland, who also translated The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide. Fans of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles will also surely love If Cats Disappeared from the World.