A sensitive novel about a seven year old boy, Lukas, and his relationship to his beloved black cat, Night. Translated from the Swedish, the book, although a short novel, has a leisurely style that comes from Lukas's thoughts and feelings. When he is given Night for his seventh birthday, he is purely happy. Even much older brother, known as Whirlwind, cannot dim Lukas's enthusiasm for his little cat. He and Night sleep together, share a pillow, and share also the highly imaginative adventures cooked up in Lukas's over-sensitive mind. Then Night disappears one day when it is raining. Cats don't like rain. Why would Night go out when it is cold and wet? Lukas is bereft to the point of doing odd things, and he doesn't really see his parents and even his difficult brother's loving concern. Focused on his cat and how to get him back, Lukas comes up with stories in his imagination as to where Night is. After a running away episode, it is Lukas's dad who comes up with an imaginative solution: Night has gone to Rainy-Weather Land because he is the only cat who likes rain. Lukas is able to half-accept this solution, and has dreams about Night wherein he goes to this mystical land and talks to his cat, and gradually, over time, he learns to accept though never to forget. Gentle and sad but full of understanding, we see a small boy coming to terms with his loss in often unusual but believable ways. Beautifully written. A few black and white line drawings are included.