Messenger Cat Café

Nagi Shimeno, M. Jean

$34.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Harvill
17 February 2026

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Fantasy; Fiction in translation; Cats as pets

The heartwarming, magical Japanese bestseller about grief, love and a cat who will do anything to see his beloved owner again

After a long and happy life with a loving human family, tabby cat Fuuta has passed into the afterlife. But he is not as far from his owner Michiru as it seems. Sometimes the divide between the lands of the living and the dead can be traversed.

Eager to see Michiru again, Fuuta interviews for a position at Cafe Pont, which sits in the liminal space between the two worlds. The cafe is known for its unique service- its living customers can request meetings with the person they'd most like to see again, through the specially selected spirits of messenger cats.

Fuuta must investigate and deliver his messages without unnerving the living, or worse, upsetting the balance of the universe itself. It is a weighty task for a tabby cat, but Fuuta rises to the challenge. After all, the job offers a special reward- he will get to see Michiru again. And he'll do anything to reunite with his family.

By: Nagi Shimeno
Translated by: M. Jean
Imprint: Harvill
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 400g
ISBN: 9781787305441
ISBN 10: 1787305449
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 17 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Nagi Shimeno (Author) Nagi Shimeno is a writer and cafe owner based in Tokyo. She was a 1st Delicious Literature Award finalist and is the author of the Cafe Dodo and Messenger Cat series. M. Jean (Translator) M Jean is a graduate of University of California, Irvine with a bachelor's degree in Japanese language and literature. She studied translation at International Christian University in Mitaka, Japan, where she was inspired to specialize in literature. Messenger Cat Cafe is the first novel to make her cry on the job (but it will not be the last).

Reviews for Messenger Cat Café

Messenger Cat Cafe is exactly the kind of delightful escape we need right now, and such a charming, effervescent novel that even a dog person like me is recommending it to everyone I know -- Lauren Grodstein, New York Times bestselling author of A DOG IN GEORGIA I’d like to think that a messenger cat brought the book to me, giving me a much-needed dose of comfort and positivity -- Shanna Tan, translator of WELCOME TO THE HYUNAM-DONG BOOKSHOP