A review by susy_9
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
4.0
On present day, Ruth discovers a collection of artifacts washed on the beach in the remote island she lives in. Inside she finds a Hello Kitty lunchbox with a diary written by Nao, a teenage girl from Japan. Ruth suspects the items washed up on shore after the 2011 Tsunami.
The story is written from two POVs, one is Ruth and the the diary entries from Nao. Nao who is struggling from depression and loneliness, decides there is no escape from her reality and decides to document Jiko’s life (her great grandmother who is a Buddhist monk) before she ends her life.
The writing is beautiful and lyrical and I really enjoyed reading Nao’s point of view. I found Ruth’s Pov slow and dragging at times. But this was only because I was impatient to see what happened to Nao and her family. There’s mystery and magic intertwined into the story and it all came together beautifully in the end.
The story combines different timelines and characters. Ruth finding the box and struggling with writers block, Nao’s experience of bullying, her dad constantly contemplating suicide, Nao discovering her great uncle’s story who was drafted into war at the age of 19, Jiko who decided to be a monk who becomes a saving presence for Nao and her dad.
“I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you. A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.”
The story is written from two POVs, one is Ruth and the the diary entries from Nao. Nao who is struggling from depression and loneliness, decides there is no escape from her reality and decides to document Jiko’s life (her great grandmother who is a Buddhist monk) before she ends her life.
The writing is beautiful and lyrical and I really enjoyed reading Nao’s point of view. I found Ruth’s Pov slow and dragging at times. But this was only because I was impatient to see what happened to Nao and her family. There’s mystery and magic intertwined into the story and it all came together beautifully in the end.
The story combines different timelines and characters. Ruth finding the box and struggling with writers block, Nao’s experience of bullying, her dad constantly contemplating suicide, Nao discovering her great uncle’s story who was drafted into war at the age of 19, Jiko who decided to be a monk who becomes a saving presence for Nao and her dad.
“I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you. A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.”