Far more interesting than expected.

When I read the description of this book, it sounded like a "chick" book of little consequence but it caught me from the first. Two lives apparently unrelated yet somehow they merge in a completely convincing way. Yes, it is about a young girl's diary being read by an older woman with issues of her own and yet its far more interesting than this appears.

Ruth Ozeki skilfully and subtly entwines several lives together until you completely believe in them and care about what is happening to each. The girl's name, Nao is pronounced "Now" and there is delicate play on the meaning and sound of her name which eventually catches one's attention. Ruth captures Japan's ambience and culture of Now/Nao and strangely also of WWII, of Buddhist life, of quantum physics, of a remote corner of Canada, of internet reality, its all very complex and yet gently held together.

Ruth narrates her own book and her natural Japanese pronunciation adds very much to the authenticity and veracity of her brilliantly crafted characters. As someone who has never been to Japan, I almost believed I would recognise the girl's father, see and smell the school toilets, hear the temple drum in the mountains, feel the humidity, smell the cheap cigarettes, taste the oysters, feel the strength of the storm, feel Pesto's feline body under my hand while he sat in the co-pilot's chair.

This is a book that can be listened to several times without becoming boring or stale and I certainly will listen again.

Ruth has devised an unusual, highly imaginative structure to her story which works amazingly well. I congratulate her and would recommend this book to anyone interested in an author who brings her characters to life so effectively that you think you could and should Google them!

77 people found this helpful

Cerebral

Wow! Just finished this wonderful book. Recommended to me after enjoying titles by Haruki Murikami. I know feel inspired to read up on quantum mechanics; French literature; Japanese history & sociology, and modern maritime anomalies. Thank you Ruth for a most enjoyable journey; thank you for the time being.

35 people found this helpful

A Great Read

What did you like most about A Tale for the Time Being?

This book kept my interest from the very first page. The storyline is intrigueing with two different timelines and cultures and a little of the supernatural thrown in. I have listened to this book twice now and have enjoyed it just as much the second time and will listen again in the future. It is what I class as 'a keeper' meaning the writing is so good I can come back to it again and again.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favourite character is Nao and her journey of self discovery from despondency to hope for the future with the help of her ancient great grandmother, a.Zen Bhuddist nun.

What does Ruth Ozeki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Ruth Ozeki is a very good reader, not all authors are, and brings a feeling of authenticity to the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to this book in installments the first time as it was my 'bedtime reading' but this time I listened over two days whilst doing some decorating.

Any additional comments?

I wish I was better at writing a review as I would really like to get over how much I enjoyed this book. It is so original and totally unpredictable which is what I find attractive in a story. Other books on my 'keeper' list are - Behind The Scenes At The Museum, The Secret Life Of Bees, Life of Pi, Being Dead, The Lovely Bones, The Colour Purple and all the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett

28 people found this helpful

one of the greatest books ever written

this was one of the great experiences of my life

I didn't want the story to end and constantly read and reread each chapter

some passages were so poetic I played them dozens of times over

this book is like one giant beautiful poem and no-one could have read it out loud better than Ruth Ozeki herself

I was recommended this book by my sister and have recommended it to friends - everyone agrees it is truly superlative

27 people found this helpful

Amazing! It's now one of my favourite books

Would you listen to A Tale for the Time Being again? Why?

It's a book I go back to time and again. Although I'm a Polish immigrant living in England, there are so many parts of the story that I can relate to.

What other book might you compare A Tale for the Time Being to, and why?

"The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. The storyline, events and structure are absolutely different, but it resonates with reader in a similar way. Characters are easy to relate to and deeply human.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I love the end of Nao's journal. It's so satisfying and calming after a long build up.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It brought me close to tears and made me smile often. I love innocent humour of Nao's writing.

Any additional comments?

Read it and listen to it! I have first bought it as an audiobook, and than bought a paper copy as well. It's one of the books that are worth it.

25 people found this helpful

From a time being to another

Take a seat open the book and attain a superposition and entanglement, in a moment in a possibility. Be, experience the possibilities, create new ones with every decision or doubt. Encounter others in this world, through the pages through time.

Some books are so much more than a story, so much more than words or history, some books are just ideas and imagination; this one is all of that and more. It opens layers and layers of stories and ideas, it gives so much to the mind and the heart of its reader, that you have to explore the references and the other authors mentioned to digest, to taste all that is given in this work.
I had never read this author before but I plan to get more acquainted with her work, her mind is too beautiful to ignore or live without.

23 people found this helpful

Just Beautiful

“..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.”

What a wonderful book this was. I was really sad when it finally finished. I listened to the unabridged audiobook version which was narrated by Ruth Ozeki herself.
Once I started listening, I didn't want to stop.

Ruth a novelist living on a small Island in Canada finds a Hello Kitty lunchbox on the beach. Inside the box she finds some old letters, a watch and a diary, disguised as a copy of Marcel Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu" which is the first book in his "In Search of Lost Time" series.

Very quickly it becomes apparent that the diary belonged to a 16 year old girl called Nao, who tells her reader about her life, which hasn't been easy since she moved to Tokyo with her parents a few years earlier. Nao has been severly bullied at school and her parents are unable to help her as they drown in there own problems. Ruth becomes obsessed with Nao's story and tries to find the girl to safe her. The only person who supports Nao is her great-grandmother Jikko, a Buddhist nun of the incredible age of 104 years. She was my fave character in this story and I just thought she was incredible amazing. Her voice is full of love, tenderness, wisdom and an almost timeless perspective.

“She sat back on her heels and nodded. The thought experiment she proposed was certainly odd, but her point was simple. Everything in the universe was constantly changing, and nothing stays the same, and we must understand how quickly time flows by if we are to wake up and truly live our lives.

That’s what it means to be a time being, old Jiko told me, and then she snapped her crooked fingers again.

And just like that, you die.”

The whole story is written in a kind of epistolary style and changes back between time. There are some elements of magical realism, which gave the story an even greater charme.

20 people found this helpful

It was OK

This books starts off very well but then it sags. And it sags some more, until you start looking at the time and wondering how long you have left. It's not unpleasant and the author/narrator certainly does a superb job with the delivery, but you have to be a pretty patient reader to appreciate it. Still, all the details about the Japanese culture were interesting to discover and those alone could keep you motivated to carry on. There are also some nice musings on time and life, war and death.

16 people found this helpful

Thoughtful and haunting

Contrary to a review I read, I found the story and characters difficult to engage with at first, I but I am so glad that I persevered. This is a complex and thoughtful story that does not exactly unfold, it felt more like life ripped apart with all the gore of the darkest sides of human nature exposed. It is a sickeningly real yet unreal tale, twisted around in time and perspective. We are reading a diary of a Japanese school girl through the eyes of a stranger who tries to anchor the story in her own world by researching the author. As the tale gets darker and nastier we get to step out of the horror of the moment as an observer in time to catch a breath before the next catastrophic reveal.

15 people found this helpful

A bit of a struggle

The story follows Ruth's familiar formula contrasting and comparing Japan and USA. There are some interesting story lines but it does drag and she does tend to struggle to write characters you can have real sympathy with.

The central idea of a character who is an author remarkably like Ruth struggling with writers block and finding a story which mystically writes itself, is a bit literature will eat itself. The strong Buddist overtones are interesting and you can't fault her inventiveness. Just the pacing of the story that sometimes drags.
One big positive is Ruth's reading I think she does a great job of reading the book and the author doing so always give an interesting perspective. She talks about the audio book process in a nice little foot note.
If you have not done so already check out her fantastic "My year of Meats"

14 people found this helpful