The Soul Catchers
Published on 19. March 2026
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-1-5299-5901-7 (ISBN)
Description
Who doesn't want a second chance at life?
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 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.
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 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.
Reviews / Votes
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 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 205 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
244 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-5901-7 (9781529959017)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Naoko Higashi
The Soul Catchers
The Japanese magical realism modern classic, perfect for fans of Before The Coffee Gets Cold
E-Book
03/2026
Transworld Digital
€10.99
Available for download
Persons
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 2024. Her most recent work is The Flannel's Thread. Meet her on Instagram: @Higashinaokoh. 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.