Mr Kato Plays Family
A Novel

Name: Mr Kato Plays Family
Brand: Macmillan Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Milena Michiko Flašar
ISBN: 9781250901156

Author: Milena Michiko Flašar, Caroline Froh

Narrator: Brian Nishii

Unabridged: 5 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Published: 06/20/2023

Categories: Fiction, Family Life, Friendship, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

"Tokyo-born-and-raised multilingual Nishii makes an ideal cipher for the recently retired Mr Katō..."- Booklist

Milena Michiko Flašar's Mr Katō Plays Family is an eccentric second-lease-on-life novel for fans of A Man Called Ove and Beautiful World, Where Are You.

Mr Katō—a curmudgeon and recent retiree—finds his only solace during his daily walks, where he wonders how his life went wrong and daydreams about getting a dog (which his wife won’t allow). During one of these walks, he is approached by a young woman. She calls herself Mie, and invites him to join her business Happy Family, where employees act as part-time relatives or acquaintances for clients in need, for whatever reason, if only for a day.

At first reluctant, but then intrigued, he takes the job without telling his wife or adult children. Through the many roles he takes on, Mr Katō rediscovers the excitement and spontaneity of life, and re-examines his role in his own family. Using lessons learned with his “play families,” he strives to reconnect with his loved ones, to become the father and husband they deserve, and to live the life he’s always wanted.

A Macmillan Audio production from Forge Books.

About Milena Michiko Flašar

MILENA MICHIKO FLAŠAR was born in 1980, the daughter of a Japanese mother and an Austrian father. Her 2012 novel, I Called Him Necktie, was a bestseller in Austria, won both the Alpha Literary Prize and the Euregio Pupils’ Literature Prize, and was long-listed for the International Dublin Literary Award. In 2017, Flašar won the Niederösterreich Cultural Prize in Literature. She studied comparative literature at the University of Vienna, and currently is the literary fellow with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts, and Culture. CAROLINE FROH translates from German, with a fondness for Swiss-German prose. She holds an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, where she was also a Provost's Postgraduate Visiting Writer.

About Caroline Froh

Caroline Froh translates from the German, with a fondness for Swiss-German prose. She holds an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, where she was also a Provost's Postgraduate Visiting Writer.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Mai on August 15, 2024

Women in Translation Herr Katö spielt Familie While this promised A Man Called Ove, I didn't find myself connecting in the same way. I will say I liked this a bit more at the end, but slice of life novels are often difficult for me if I'm not super engrossed in the character depictions. 🎧 Thank you to......more

Goodreads review by Olaf on June 13, 2020

Herr Kato, gerade erst in den Ruhestand versetzt, lässt sich von einer jungen Frau überreden, in einer Agentur mitzuwirken, die für ihre Kunden abwesende Familienmitglieder ersetzt, also Familie spielt. Während dieser Tätigkeit wird ihm immer deutlicher klar, dass er eigentlich zuhause ebenfalls schon s......more

Goodreads review by switterbug (Betsey) on May 07, 2023

Can a retired husband and father be the protagonist of a coming-of-age story? Do some people grow old before they grow up? Mr. Katō’s cranky privations wrap like rope around his hardened heart. His marriage has declined since retirement--they may as well live on different planets now. He silently bl......more

Goodreads review by Jeatherhane Reads on June 19, 2023

I’m not sure what to think of this book, because I wasn’t sure what was really happening and what was only happening in the mind of the unnamed main character. I actually didn’t think his wife was real for most of this book. He has recently retired, and he feels regret over the things he didn’t acco......more

Goodreads review by Sofie on April 22, 2020

Volledig mijn ding qua stijl en qua personages. Maar toch had ik er geen klik mee, mijn gedachten dwaalden teveel af. Ik vond het moeilijk om er bij te blijven. Misschien komt doordat ik gebeten ben door een ander boek dat ik aan het lezen ben. Misschien miste ik toch net wat meer diepgang.......more

Quotes

“What an extraordinary novel this is! Who wouldn't want to read about someone invited to slip into other personas? But there is so much more here. The book is utterly original, beguiling, and truthful in the deepest sense of the word. By turns playful, humorous and poignant, this book invites underlining so that a reader may return again and again to certain lines or scenes. I absolutely loved it.”
—Elizabeth Berg, New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv

“In an atomized society where we feel increasingly distant and isolated from one another, a chance encounter helps a lost retiree keep from retreating. Mr. Kato Plays Family is an elegant ode to the fragile connections that heal us and help us forgive those we love the most.”
—Marjan Kamali, National bestselling author of The Stationary Shop

“A fascinating intrigue and a warmhearted book about life, and what you can do to improve it.”
—Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg, international bestselling author of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules