The Cat In The Coffin [Paperback]

Mariko Koike (Author), Deborah Boliver Boehm (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2009

Recently widowed Goro Kawakubo, the dashing son of a famous artist, hires an au pair, Masayo, to care for his eight-year-old daughter, Momoko. Her only companion is her cat, Lala. Masayo quickly falls in love with Goro's lifestyle and then the widower himself. One fateful night, Goro meets the gorgeous Chinatsu, who soon becomes his girlfriend. Masayo is tormented with jealousy but can do nothing but watch.

Meanwhile young Momoko demonstrates more and more macabre tendencies, further retreating into a world only she and her cat occupy. As Chinatsu tries to win over the potential stepdaughter's affection, she reaslizes she has to compete with Lala, and Chinatsu hates cats. The tension among the wome nin Goro's home climaxes with a shocking act of femme fatale vengeance.

Koike's trademark blend of traditional romance and suspense turns the happy-ending formula of love stories on its head with an added jolt of intrigue and mystery.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mariko Koike was born in 1952 in Tokyo. After graduating from Seikei University, she published Friends of the Wife in 1989 and won the Japan Detective Fiction Writers Award for Best Short Story Collection. In 1995, she won the Naoki Prize for Love, and in 1998, she won a Romance Fiction Award for Desire. Koike is the only writer in Japan to be lauded by both the romance and detective fiction communities for her hybrid works.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Vertical; 1st edition (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932234128
• ISBN-13: 978-1932234121
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,917,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some things can never be forgiven, March 21, 2011

By 

Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cat In The Coffin (Paperback)

This is a haunting tale of unrequited love, unsatisfying revenge and unforgiveable acts. Every character goes wrong with the best intentions. Every moment of indecision has disastrous consequences.

It starts quite simply with a young girl called Masayo taking a job in Tokyo as tutor and glorified babysitter to Momoko, eight-year-old daughter of the artist Goro Kawakubo. Masayo wishes to become a painter, and Goro promises to give her art lessons as well as an excellent salary.

Momoko's best friend and surrogate mother is a beautiful white cat named Lala. Masayo very quickly becomes slavishly devoted to the child, her cat and her father. The three of them live quite happily and innocently together until - well, please read the book to learn the rest.

I find the cover art and the title of this book unfortunate. They give an impression that the plot might be somewhat comic or the content light. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Cat in the Coffin is life-and-death serious, and lays bare the darkest human emotions in a frighteningly quiet manner.

Koike's style is so unpretentious that the sudden shocks of the plot are all the more effective. There are deaths and losses in this story as eerie as anything I've ever read. At the same time, the very telling of it is cathartic.

I loved the novel and note with regret that no other books by Mariko Koike are available in English as yet. Since this book appeared in 2009, perhaps more translations are on the way. I'm hoping!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is this Romance, Suspense or Historical fiction?, August 17, 2010

By 

Scott Christensen (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cat In The Coffin (Paperback)

A young girl moves to Tokyo in the 1940's, learns art and falls in love, and occasionally random characters are murdered. Mariko Koike's writing is very intriguing and her character profiles really pull you in, but I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied by the plot twists. I look forward to seeing Koike's other books get translated as I feel this would have been a 5-star book if it stuck to romance&realistic literature or to suspense but not both. On the other hand it is a short fun read and if you have interest in Japan I do recommend it.