The Boy and the Dog

(Hardback)

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Winner of the Naoki Prize

Perfect for fans ofThe Guest CatandBefore the Coffee Gets Cold

'Its no wonder the author won the prestigious Naoki Prize for this novel, which is at times heartwarming and suspenseful, detailing true resilience and survival.'Belfast Telegraph

One dog changes the life of everyone who takes him in on his journey to reunite with his first owner in this inspiring tribute to the bond between humans and dogs and the life-affirming power of connection.

Following a devastating earthquake and tsunami, a young man in Japan finds a stray dog outside a convenience store. The dogs tag says Tamon, a nameevocative of the guardian deity of the north. The man decides to keep Tamon, becoming the first in a series of owners as the dog journeys south to find the boy whom disaster tore him from.

Over the course of five years, Tamon will be taken into six vastly different homes, the final one belonging to his beloved first owner, Hikaru, a boy who has not spoken since the trauma of the tsunami. An agent of fate, Tamon is a gift to everyone who welcomes him into their life.

At once heart-rending and heart-warming, intimate and panoramic, suspenseful and luminous, this bestselling, award-winning novel weaves a feel-good tale of survival, resilience, and love beyond measure.

Heartrending . . . Powerfully demonstrates how love and loyalty can overcome obstacles . . . and how a dogs love can save a person in every possible way. Booklist

Affecting . . . Moving . . . Never feels sentimental or overdrawn . . . [Seishu Hase] proves himself a gifted storyteller. Publishers Weekly

Heartbreakingly moving in its simplicity . . . A touching meditation on shining lights in the face of trauma and hopelessness. Kirkus Reviews

Reviews

What an amazing, beautiful book. In dreamlike, spare prose unsullied by sentimentality, it shows how one dogs dignified presence can bring connection and love to a fractured world. Cat Warren,New York Timesbestselling author ofWhat the Dog Knows
Much like the love of our dogs, this fable about a lost dog and his epicjourneyto find home is a gift to us all. Steven Rowley, bestselling author ofLily and the Octopus
A highly original and unsentimental novel about the powerful bond between humans and dogs. Helen Humphreys, author ofAnd a Dog Called Fig
Affecting . . . Moving . . . Never feels sentimental or overdrawn . . . [Seishu Hase] proves himself a gifted storyteller. Publishers Weekly
Heartrending . . . Powerfully demonstrates how love and loyalty can overcome obstacles . . . and how a dogs love can save a person in every possible way. Booklist
Heartbreakingly moving in its simplicity . . . A touching meditation on shining lights in the face of trauma and hopelessness. Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

Seishu Hasehas published many bestselling novels in his native Japan, a number of which have been adapted for film. He has been nominated six times for the Naoki Prize, awarded biannually to the best work of popular fiction, and finally won it forThe Boy and the Dog.