A review by aliencatl0rd
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
4.0
I loved the diary. The philosophical questions this young girl raises, the emotionality of it, and the path her life took were all spectacular. I highly recommend it.
Unfortunately, Ruth. Annoyed. The. Piss. Out. Of. Me.
She is clearly a highly educated and experienced person, but how Ozeki wrote herself in this novel blows my mind. Instead of a positive sense of being emotional, sensitive, and curious, I felt that she was naive and lacking self control. A lot of her problems throughout the book were of her own doing—such as frequently taking offense to her husband's factual way of communicating (can't she understand him after all this time?), and somehow believing that the diary was taking place in the present and freaking out when she realized it was probably ten years old. Sixteen-year-old Nao had a better sense of how to communicate and understand people, even after avoiding some serious conversations for a long time!
Although the closing of the book brings around a very interesting topic about reality and the remaining question of, "Who wrote who into existence?" I was so tired of Ruth being whiny that I really wished the book ended with the completion of the diary. I feel distraught because Nao's diary was incredibly powerful but Ruth squandered it with her attitude. I sincerely hope that if Ozeki ever writes her autobiography that she frequently mentioned Ruth struggling with in the novel, that she doesn't present herself like this. :/
Unfortunately, Ruth. Annoyed. The. Piss. Out. Of. Me.
She is clearly a highly educated and experienced person, but how Ozeki wrote herself in this novel blows my mind. Instead of a positive sense of being emotional, sensitive, and curious, I felt that she was naive and lacking self control. A lot of her problems throughout the book were of her own doing—such as frequently taking offense to her husband's factual way of communicating (can't she understand him after all this time?), and somehow believing that the diary was taking place in the present and freaking out when she realized it was probably ten years old. Sixteen-year-old Nao had a better sense of how to communicate and understand people, even after avoiding some serious conversations for a long time!
Although the closing of the book brings around a very interesting topic about reality and the remaining question of, "Who wrote who into existence?" I was so tired of Ruth being whiny that I really wished the book ended with the completion of the diary. I feel distraught because Nao's diary was incredibly powerful but Ruth squandered it with her attitude. I sincerely hope that if Ozeki ever writes her autobiography that she frequently mentioned Ruth struggling with in the novel, that she doesn't present herself like this. :/