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The Soul-Catchers

By Naoko Higashi
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Brief Description
The rediscovered magical-realist classic by a bestselling poet for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold A JAPANESE MODERN CLASSIC Discover the original and moving literary gem for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold. What if you... Read More
Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The rediscovered magical-realist classic by a bestselling poet for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold

A JAPANESE MODERN CLASSIC

Discover the original and moving literary gem for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

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 and feelgood, Higashi's classic is an original exploration of our eternal reluctance to let go.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529959017

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 19 March 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Doubleday

Contributors:

  • Translated by Lucy North
  • Translated by Lucy North

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 204.0mm

Weight: 500g

Pages: 176

Collections

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About the Author

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.

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