The Passengers on the Hankyu Line

DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FEELGOOD JAPANESE NOVEL, BY THE AUTHOR OF THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES

Over 1.4 million copies sold in Japan

‘You will be wrapped in laughter and tears’ Reader review\*\*\*\*\*
‘What I love about it is its Kindness’ Reader review\*\*\*\*\*
‘I wanted to tap the shoulders of the characters’ Reader review\*\*\*\*\*

Famously scenic, the Hankyu commuter train trundles daily through Japanese landscape unaware of the heartaches of the passengers it carries.

On the outward journey we are introduced to the emotional dilemmas of five characters as we puzzle out how they will unravel; on the return journey six months later, we watch them resolve:

• a man meets the woman who always happens to borrow a library book just before he can take it out himself
• a woman in a white bridal dress boards looking inexplicably sad
• a university student leaves his hometown for the first time
• a girl prepares to leave her abusive boyfriend;
• an elderly widow discusses adopting the Dachshund she has always wanted with her granddaughter.

As the seasons come around, so the Hankyu line trundles on carrying the lives and loves of its passengers ever forwards.

Author Biography

HIRO ARIKAWA is the multi-million-copy bestselling author of THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES and THE GOODBYE CAT. Passing through a scenic mountainous region of Japan, the famous Hankyu line is a privately run railway that connects Osaka and Kyoto and is famous for its maroon-coloured vintage-style carriages. One of its much-visited stops is the city of Takarazuka, where the author of this book lives. Published twenty years ago, this enduring Japanese classic has sold 1.4 million copies and has been published worldwide.