Barn Cat

by Kyoko Mori

 A young girl leaves Tokyo with her mother in 1979, carrying her pink suitcase to a new home, a new father and sister, on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.  Thirty-three years later, her mother's belongings are found packed into boxes, her furniture draped in white sheets.  Without so much as a note, she has left the two sisters connected by history, by some idea of family, to look for her.  What happens when people lose their way home?  Like a little barn cat, they grab onto a second family. . . and start again.

Part of the Gemma Open Door Series , originally designed for new readers, these books confirm the truth that a story doesn't have to be big to change ‎the world.

100 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Kyoko Mori was born in Kobe, Japan, in 1957. As a young girl, she learned numerous ways to be creative, including drawing, sewing, and writing, from her mother and her mother's family. From those family members, Mori says, "I came to understand the magic of transformation — a limitless possibility of turning nothing into something."

Mori's life changed completely at age 12, when her mother died. Her father remarried one year later, but the household was not a happy one, and Mori looked for ways to stay away from home. Eventually, she moved to the United States to attend college. She then went to graduate school, where she studied creative writing.

Mori's writing grows out of her personal experiences, but she doesn't always write exactly what happens in her own life. "I think that the best thing about being a writer is that we get to make up things and tell the truth at the same time," she says. Since she received her doctoral degree in 1984, Mori has taught creative writing and has published fiction, poetry, and essays.

Reviews

[John Dyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth buying. Very disappointed. Just when I'd settled down to read this short story it was over. Kyoko Mori is a good writer and this is the seventh of her books I've read. If it were the first, I wouldn't read another. It looks like an outline of a book you'd send to a publisher to get a commitment before writing a novel. Not up to the Mori standard. No intellectual stimulation at all. Save your time and money and take a cat nap instead.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyoko Mori revisits the familiar themes of mother-daughter relationships and fractured families in this tightly woven story. Plus, there's a cat! Although this novella is aimed at literacy learners, it is well-crafted and sophisticated enough to appeal to all readers.

[Amaresh Joshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun quick read, really a short story put out as a book. Reminds me why i prefer novels to short stories :-)

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very brief story that barely scratched the surface of any real depth.

[Rhiannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a lot of plot, unsatisfying ending and jumping around that sometimes felt confusing. I liked some of the ideas but I felt it could’ve been executed better.

[Tom Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

She sets up the story well enough but then it just kind of abruptly ends, rushing into its conclusion without taking the time to dwell on the finer points of the human condition.

Jill reaches across the table and puts her hand over mine.
“If my mother is happiest alone, shouldn’t we let her be?”
“No. We should keep trying. We can’t just give up.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not good for her or anyone to be alone all the time. What we want isn’t good for us if we carry it to the extreme.”

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the points can be made in a story the tenth the size of a rambling epic. We've got generations of family dynamics in this provocative, discussable read, despite its brevity. Is it better to let go, or to hang on? To be loyal to others, or to protect yourself? To be an oaklike anchor, or flexible like a fir?

I will look for more by the author and more 'literacy reads' from Gemma Open Door.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"New readers" you say? Unless they mean recently literate adults, I can't see this being used with kids. It's okay as far as it goes, but these are very bare bones indeed. About time it looks like something is going to happen, it's over. Very disappointing because what's here could have been so much better with a little, even a very little more flesh on the bones. 100 pages should have had a bit more actual content.

[Elisabeth Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

FORMAT: Library Short STory
BUY: Yeah
RE-READ: Yeah
SPICE: N/A
LOVE: The charaters
IFFY:
FAVOURITE: the mom
RECOMMEND: Yeah
Not much to say because this ... really made me think.
I don't wanna say much because I want others to read it and I don't quite have the words to explain how I feel.
I need to read it again.
It made me sad.
But I'm so easily sad...

[Dee Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story. Sometimes I just want a little glimpse into others' lives - I don't really want it to be developed any more. The analogy and the dysfunctional family dynamics were clear and interesting.