A Tale for the Time Being in Overdue Podcast

Nov 06, 2018 Sam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio-books, rc2018, mooberry-library

Some books just come to you at the right time. This book folds like origami and listening to it was like hearing a symphony. So many layers and thoughts and feelings. This has quickly found it's way into my top 5. Now to find the print version so I can reread it. ...more

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Sep 17, 2013 Melanie Greene rated it it was amazing

http://dakimel.blogspot.com/2013/10/a...

Nao! Wonderful, complicated, smart, bullied, depressed, buoyant, philosophical, super Nao. She's a treasure of a character, and her tale is the definition of engrossing. I wanted to devour it in one setting, but Ruth wouldn't let me. (Ruth the character, not Ruth the novelist.) Ruth makes it all about her, possessive of Nao even with her husband. And possession gradually gives way to obsession, which is a whole delightful journey of its own, no matter how ...more

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Jan 29, 2014 Liesl rated it liked it

Shelves: september-11th, well-fed-head, world-war-ii, overrated, 2014, bullying, overdue

A complex, clever take on a reader deciding the ultimate course of a story. Nao's voice is strong and her journey is engaging and interesting to follow; her relationships with both her father and old Jiko are central to the story, and I enjoyed reading how these developed through time. However, the themes present occasionally become repetitive. In comparison, Ruth's portions of the book are fairly dry and listless; I had difficulty connecting to her as a character and wish that she existed more ...more

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Dec 16, 2016 Maggie M rated it liked it

It started off great, but little by little there was some mysticism that was awkwardly foreshadowed. Eventually this mystic element came to the fore, and just ruined the whole book. The fact that the mystical events all circled around Ruth made it so much worse, because Ruth turns out to be a very unlikeable character.

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Apr 01, 2018 Becky rated it it was ok

I wanted to like this book because a friend cared enough about it to mail it to me, but I never really got into it. Some parts even seemed well suited for me - I am a fan of books with unreliable narrators and unusual format, but a lot just didn't grab me. It turns out Buddhism/spirituality, writers with writers block, island rainstorms and metaphysics aren't very engaging for me. I was most interested in Nao's relationship with her father,(view spoiler) ...more

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Sep 01, 2015 Sarah rated it really liked it

Wow. Loved it even if I didn't totally understand the ending!
Totally original story that covers a wide range of topics. I will think about this book for a long time. Really wish we had chosen it for Book Club. ...more

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