'A fragile, haunting novella... this book is a profoundly sad and precious gift' Phelim McDermott, director of My Neighbour Totoro'Nosaka reminds us of the small lives that are lost in the churn of war and who are left without even a memorial' Rowan Hisayo BuchananThe heartbreaking Japanese classic telling the story of two orphans fighting for survival at the end of World War Two, published in English for the first timeIn the dying days of the War, Seita and Setsuko must fend for themselves. Firebombs have obliterated their home in Kobe, leaving them searching for shelter and scrambling to survive in the depths of the countryside. But, as their suffering becomes a constant companion, so do the lights of the fireflies – shining from the bomber planes, and the insects glowing by the lake at night.This unforgettable semi-autobiographical tale by Akiyuki Nosaka won him the Naoki Prize, cementing his place in the Japanese cultural canon. Published here for the first time as a standalone story, Grave of the Fireflies illuminates the untold sorrows of normal people who live in the shadow of war.'A beautiful and sensitive translation... I wish stories like this were unnecessary, but that is sadly not the case' Tom Morton-Smith, playwright and writer of My Neighbour Totoro

'I am still unable to leave the burnt-out ruins' Akiyuki Nosaka, 2014In 1945, Akiyuki Nosaka watched the Allied firebombing of Kobe kill his adoptive parents, and then witnessed his sister starving to death. The shocking and blisteringly memorable stories of The Cake Tree in the Ruins are based on his own experiences as a child in Japan during the Second World War.They are stories of a lonely whale searching the oceans for a mate, who sacrifices himself for love; of a mother desperately trying to save her son with her tears; of a huge, magnificent tree which grows amid the ruins of a burnt-out town, its branches made from the sweetest cake imaginable.Profound, heartbreaking and aglow with a piercing beauty, they express the chaos and terror of conflict, yet also how love can illuminate even the darkest moment.

'A fragile, haunting novella... this book is a profoundly sad and precious gift' Phelim McDermott, director of My Neighbour Totoro'Nosaka reminds us of the small lives that are lost in the churn of war and who are left without even a memorial' Rowan Hisayo BuchananThe heartbreaking Japanese classic telling the story of two orphans fighting for survival at the end of World War Two, published in English for the first timeIn the dying days of the War, Seita and Setsuko must fend for themselves. Firebombs have obliterated their home in Kobe, leaving them searching for shelter and scrambling to survive in the depths of the countryside. But, as their suffering becomes a constant companion, so do the lights of the fireflies – shining from the bomber planes, and the insects glowing by the lake at night.This unforgettable semi-autobiographical tale by Akiyuki Nosaka won him the Naoki Prize, cementing his place in the Japanese cultural canon. Published here for the first time as a standalone story, Grave of the Fireflies illuminates the untold sorrows of normal people who live in the shadow of war.'A beautiful and sensitive translation... I wish stories like this were unnecessary, but that is sadly not the case' Tom Morton-Smith, playwright and writer of My Neighbour Totoro

'I am still unable to leave the burnt-out ruins' Akiyuki Nosaka, 2014In 1945, Akiyuki Nosaka watched the Allied firebombing of Kobe kill his adoptive parents, and then witnessed his sister starving to death. The shocking and blisteringly memorable stories of The Cake Tree in the Ruins are based on his own experiences as a child in Japan during the Second World War.They are stories of a lonely whale searching the oceans for a mate, who sacrifices himself for love; of a mother desperately trying to save her son with her tears; of a huge, magnificent tree which grows amid the ruins of a burnt-out town, its branches made from the sweetest cake imaginable.Profound, heartbreaking and aglow with a piercing beauty, they express the chaos and terror of conflict, yet also how love can illuminate even the darkest moment.