A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki - 3.5 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

A Tale for the Time Being is narrated by two characters, Nao, a suicidal 16-year-old Japanese schoolgirl living in Tokyo who keeps a diary, and Ruth, a Japanese American writer living on British Columbia's Cortes Islands. She finds Nao's diary on the beach in a plastic-wrapped Hello Kitty lunchbox that also contains a batch of old letters.

Ruth’s husband, Oliver, is excited by the idea that this package floated from Tokyo all the way to British Columbia. He thinks it’s part of the debris flow from the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. Ruth is more concerned with Nao’s implicit suicide threat.

Ruth is trying to write a memoir but has been suffering from writer’s block. Her discovery, like the novel that contains it, proves irresistible. Nao’s diary reads like a series of letters addressed to an imaginary “you.” Nao wants to tell the story of her grandmother, Jiko, a 104-year-old Zen Buddhist nun. More ominously, Nao intends to chronicle her own end: she plans to commit suicide when she’s completed her account.

The chapters alternate between Nao’s diary and Ruth’s life. Ozeki skillfully develops the two parallel story lines. Her characters are connected through their deep lonliness. Ozeki's powerful writing explores the intimate human relationships that drive both women. I'm not particularly drawn to this style but I thought it was very good.

[Charlie]

Nice review. I read this last month. For the first half of the book, Nao reminded me of Holden Caulfield. I loved the way everyone came to understand and appreciate everyone else's situation once they stopped pretending they could read people's intent.

[NancyJ]

Excellent review. I read this book last year, and it was in my top 10. I like your line about how the characters were connected. I just read her debut novel My Year of Meats, and she did something similar with two women on opposite sides of the ocean. My Year of Meats is lighter and more straightforward, but she still manages to tie in interesting and complex ideas.

[Olivermagnus]

NancyJ wrote: "Excellent review. I read this book last year, and it was in my top 10. I like your line about how the characters were connected. I just read her debut novel My Year of Meats, and she did something ..."

I'm really enjoying the PBT Favorites. It's exposed me to so many new authors that I wouldn't have read without their nominations. Even when a book isn't really my cup of tea, I can see why someone else would consider the author a " favorite".

[NancyJ]

Me too. I love the mix of authors and styles. As always, I wish there was more time. I can't believe in a few weeks 32 of the them will be out of the game. I just finished a Margaret Atwood book and I really want to read the next in the series, but I feel like I should use the time to read a new author.