Grave of the Fireflies
  • Published: 11 November 2025
  • ISBN: 9780241780213
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 80
  • RRP: $24.99

Grave of the Fireflies

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The heartbreaking story of two orphans fighting for survival at the end of World War Two, published in English for the first time.

In 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.
  • Published: 11 November 2025
  • ISBN: 9780241780213
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 80
  • RRP: $24.99
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Praise for Grave of the Fireflies

A beautiful and sensitive translation, Grave of the Fireflies is monumentally heartbreaking. With the current state of the world and how suffering, malnourished children displaced by war are once again in the news, it has developed a profound resonance and relevance. I wish stories like this were unnecessary, but that is sadly not the case.

Tom Morton-Smith, playwright and writer of My Neighbour Totoro

Powerfully, in the earliest of pages, we discover how this story ends. A fragile, haunting novella and the source of Ghibli’s seminal Grave of the Fireflies, this book is a profoundly sad and precious gift. In this beautiful translation, its quiet power and unflinching honesty are preserved — a timeless reminder of a past that must never be forgotten

Phelim McDermott, director of My Neighbour Totoro

Powerfully, in the earliest of pages, we discover how this story ends. A fragile, haunting novella and the source of Ghibli’s seminal Grave of the Fireflies, this book is a profoundly sad and precious gift. In this beautiful translation, its quiet power and unflinching honesty are preserved — a timeless reminder of a past that must never be forgotten

Phelim McDermott