Part I

[Jenni]

Discussions on Part I live here.

[Susan]

this novel is an outstanding read. Ozeki has given us clear and distinct voices for eac character. When the story switches from Ruth to nao I slip effortlessly into their world/time.

[Susan]

What did everyone think of the appendices? Given Nao's age and her tone of writing I thought it was odd to have Nao insert appendices into her diary. When I read the appendices, I wondered if Nao was the author Ozeki? Even though Nao is influenced by her grandmother, Jiko, the appendices seemed just a little out of her 'intellectual' reach. So, I do wonder who is Nao...is she Jiko, the author, Ruth? Are these characters an extension of the selves as discussed in Zen? It's interesting that Jiko is a Buddhist Nun and the author is a Buddhist priest. Is there a hierarchy in Buddhism?

[Maria Hill]

I thought the appendices and footnotes were written by the Character Ruth (rather than the author). She had to look up a lot of this in order to understand the Diary. Some of the footnotes definitely read as if Ruth is writing them.

[Jenni]

The foot notes were driving me absolutely crazy. They took me out of the story and made it feel really textbook-like. Now that I've switched to the audiobook format, it's going a lot better because the audiobook doesn't have the footnotes. While maybe I'm missing out a bit on the overall experience of the book by not reading those footnotes, I'm finding the book much more enjoyable without them.

And I'm on the same page as Maria, my understanding was that the footnotes and such were the character Ruth notating things on the diary as she read through it.

[Susan]

Absolutely the footnotes are written by Ruth. At first the appendices through me because I didn't read them carefully. I fixated on appendix A because I didn't twig to the fact that it was written by Ruth until I read more closely. The appendix A is Ruth recounting a dream she had of her 'conversation' with Jiko. The second dream she had of Jiko (pg 122) is equally interesting. As a reader, I need to slow down and read more carefully.

[Hollie]

I didn't mind the footnotes so much, but I didn't like the appendices at all. It was too academic for me. I really like the characters, but it's gloomy and a bit slow. I felt like I had to slog through to finish Part I. I normally like slow reads with lots of development, so I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the book.

[Britta]

This is a re-read for me, and I love the book even more the 2nd time around. In the beginning, I didn't see the point of the footnotes, but once you realize that Ruth is writing them while reading Nao's diary & looking up words she doesn't understand, I thought they made sense and actually added an extra dimension to the reading experience.

[vanessa]

Hey guys! I finally got through part 1. I really really enjoy the tone and style of the book so far. I don't know what I expected but I didn't expect it to have like pizzazz and be so fun??
I'm reading it on my Kindle so I click right on the text and the footnotes pop up. Maybe having to read them at the bottom of the page / moving your eyes would've been annoying but it's not bothering me on ebook. I've also been partly reading it on audiobook which has also been entertaining. I enjoy Nao & the mystery so far is keeping me engaged.

[Terri]

I've finished part 1 and finally feel like I'm getting into the story. Like some others here, I found the footnotes and appendices to be a bit distracting by pulling me out of the story. I like this idea of time, and now vs. then, and wonder where Ozeki will go with this! Will continue reading and see if I can catch up with you all.

[Patricia]

I just finished part one also. I took Jenni's advice and started listening to the audio. I like it much better on audio. Listening to her pronounce correctly all the Japanese words and phrases is much more enjoyable then skipping over them as I read. I finally feel like I'm starting to get into the story and waiting to see how all the people will come together.

[Jenni]

Britta wrote: "This is a re-read for me, and I love the book even more the 2nd time around. In the beginning, I didn't see the point of the footnotes, but once you realize that Ruth is writing them while reading ..."

OK this sounds like a way better footnote reading experience! When I got to the end of the audiobook the author does explain that the audiobook and the physical book are designed to be two different reading experiences and that she recommends to experience the book both ways, which I thought was really intersting!