A review by layeredirony
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

my heart went out to nao but i did feel slightly disconnected with ruth & oliver. i enjoyed the story a lot and i love how you peel back layers of who these people are as the book progresses and even towards the very end. i think the characterizations for nao's side of the story are strong, and are definitely stronger vs the characterizations for the characters in ruth's story. 

tbh parts did confuse me esp with the stuff about quantum mechanics/physics in the latter part, and idk if i really completely understood the book haha but i learned a lot from reading nao's story and how her character develops throughout the book. i really liked jiko and haruki #1, especially reading the latter's diaries! it was very thought-provoking reading his thoughts about humanity in the time of war.

my heart  broke with haruki #2. and on that note, i really like the little detail of members of the family sharing similarities!

i was happy with the ending -
it felt like they each got a good ending without being overly cheesy/cliche (e.g. them meeting in person)
. 

overall, not my fave but im happy i read this! learned a lot through the characters' experiences and left me with a lot of thoughts re: time and humanity to ponder on.
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