A review by bluebirdsongs
A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ruth Ozeki is an author who's been on my TBR for probably close to a decade now, and the whole time her books have been on my list, I've felt unsure as to whether or not I would enjoy her stories.
I finally decided to take the plunge and try A Tale for the Time Being, and all I can say is WOW. Definitively <i>yes</i>, Ruth Ozeki is an author for me and now I feel like I've been missing out for the last decade.
There is so much in this story that I don't feel like I can adequately do it justice. It was beautiful and thought-provoking and heart-wrenching and hopeful. It also felt particularly special for me because the main settings of Tokyo and the Pacific Northwest are two places I've lived, and so I could picture the environments and narration about them so vividly. I was studying abroad in Tokyo when the Tohoku earthquake happened in 2011, so when Ruth was painting the narrative picture of the immediate aftermath of the disaster, I found myself nodding along. I remember those days so clearly.
I loved how Nao's story was told, and how it incorporated multiple generations of her family. For a while half the fun of taking in the story was trying to piece the timeline together from the events Nao referenced--clues as much for the reader as they were for Ruth. The two sides of the narrative felt very much like 君の名は/Your Name, although the themes and the tone were very different. I wouldn't necessarily go around saying, "If you liked Your Name, you'll like A Tale for the Time Being," because this book is much darker and sadder at times. But some of the same storytelling mechanisms are there. This book was also dense with philosophy, and many of the allusions went over my head but I still got a lot out of the symbolism and the messaging. I also learned a few things about Proust, crows, Pacific ocean currents, and quantum mechanics along the way!
This review has no flow or order or logic, it's pure feels and vibes. And I'm going to bask in it. Ruth Ozeki, you have my attention and I can't wait to read more of your work.
I finally decided to take the plunge and try A Tale for the Time Being, and all I can say is WOW. Definitively <i>yes</i>, Ruth Ozeki is an author for me and now I feel like I've been missing out for the last decade.
There is so much in this story that I don't feel like I can adequately do it justice. It was beautiful and thought-provoking and heart-wrenching and hopeful. It also felt particularly special for me because the main settings of Tokyo and the Pacific Northwest are two places I've lived, and so I could picture the environments and narration about them so vividly. I was studying abroad in Tokyo when the Tohoku earthquake happened in 2011, so when Ruth was painting the narrative picture of the immediate aftermath of the disaster, I found myself nodding along. I remember those days so clearly.
I loved how Nao's story was told, and how it incorporated multiple generations of her family. For a while half the fun of taking in the story was trying to piece the timeline together from the events Nao referenced--clues as much for the reader as they were for Ruth. The two sides of the narrative felt very much like 君の名は/Your Name, although the themes and the tone were very different. I wouldn't necessarily go around saying, "If you liked Your Name, you'll like A Tale for the Time Being," because this book is much darker and sadder at times. But some of the same storytelling mechanisms are there. This book was also dense with philosophy, and many of the allusions went over my head but I still got a lot out of the symbolism and the messaging. I also learned a few things about Proust, crows, Pacific ocean currents, and quantum mechanics along the way!
This review has no flow or order or logic, it's pure feels and vibes. And I'm going to bask in it. Ruth Ozeki, you have my attention and I can't wait to read more of your work.