A Tale for the Time Being- Ruth Ozeki. 4 Stars. (Man Booker Shortlist 2013)

[Joi]

This is a book I really don't know how to review. I simultaneously LOVED this, and hated it. But mostly loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book. Was on the way to giving it 5 stars. Maybe the ending had too much suspended disbelief for me, maybe the ending was too scientific for my liking, maybe I just didn't "get it". But I feel like I did "get" what the book was trying for and didn't like it.

Ruth Ozeki writes of two unlinear timelines and stories. We first follow Nao, a Japanese teenager writing in her diary. She reveals in the first entry that she plans on killing herself, but wants to tell the story of her grandmother first. In telling her grandmother's story, she ends up telling more about herself through her story, and her trials and tribulations. I thought Nao's story drove the entire book. It was from a unique perspective with a unique voice. It had great insight into Japanese culture, the struggles of being American born, and the difference between western and eastern ways of life. Nao's story gets 5 stars.

The second plotline follows Ruth, an author in the Canadian isles who finds Nao's diary washed up on the coast, and tries to find out the truth of Nao. Did she kill herself, is her family ok, is she ok, were they effected by the 2011 tsunami? Her story was interesting enough, it felt really 'real' compared to the far off-ness of Nao, and the ending. Her husband was blah, and the other minor characters were forgettable, but I found myself always rooting for Ruth.

I feel like I understand what the ending was going for, but I did not like it. I get it's supposed to be meta, evocative, and question the readers perspective. Who was writing what, whose the writer, whose the author. What is the timeline? Are there alternate universes, how can quantum physics alter our entire existence? Schrodinger's cat! UGH. JUST TOO MUCH. YOU ARE TRYING TOO HARD! I can see why this got on the Man Booker nomination list, amongst other accolades, but I just couldn't get into the ending. I almost knocked my rating down to 3 stars due to it. But I can understand the complexity and what the author was going for. I can appreciate it. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

[Jgrace]

I really enjoyed this book, but you are right. The ending was a bit over the top.

[Denizen]

The ending did knock the book down to 3 stars for me although I probably liked it a little less than you all of the way through. I was far more interested in Nao's story than Ruth's. ( I read it about 2 years ago.)