Review: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Title: A Tale for the Time Being
Author: Ruth Ozeki
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Cultural, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 422

"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.”

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine.

Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future. (More from Goodreads)

I saw this book in my then-housemate's possession, in the alternate paperback cover- nowhere near as colorful or interesting-looking. She expressed her enjoyment of the book and allowed me a look to get a feel of the writing, and before I knew it I was well into the first chapter. Unfortunately, I was supposed to be engaging in our weekly study group at the time and she, noticing my obvious inattention, snatched the book away from me again and tucked it safely into her satchel, away from my prying hands.

It would be several more months before I obtained what I thought was a better looking copy of the book (ha!), and a couple more before I actually delved into the book. I cajoled myself into buying it instead of one of the YA/fantasy books I have been eyeing for a while because it was under Literary Fiction, and I was spiteful argued to myself that I needed to read something different once in a while. When I finally opened this book, I gave a great sigh and expected to be pacing through it at the pace of a sun-baked snail slithering across tarmac. In other words, I half-expected to give up reading partway (yes, apparently I'm that much of a YA/fantasy snob).

Fortunately, I was very gravely mistaken.

This is a story of how two different worlds collide and intertwine in the most unimaginable way possible.

We are introduced to a sixteen-year-old Naoko Yasutani by means of her diary entry, written in a quiet little maid cafe in Akiba Electric Town with some shady characters thrown in for measure in the early 2000s. Nao, eloquent and ever the straightforward teenager, dives straight into the nitty gritty of her life without so much as a warning. Okay, there might be some words of caution about how extraordinary her tale was going to be, but I felt like I wasn't prepared before being thrust headlong into her narrative.

Also, she reminds the reader- repeatedly- that she is about to die, and it doesn't take much of a genius to understand that she intends to take her own life pretty soon. Her diary, as it turns out, is supposed to be a retelling of her great-grandmother's life story, currently a Zen buddhist (formerly feminist and poet, among other things) who is over a century old.In other words, it is a protracted suicide letter of sorts, for she does not wish to end her life before ending her grandmother's life story.

While you're barely reeling from the abrupt, unflinching expose into Nao's world, you are introduced to the (more) present time character Ruth, a writer based in a quiet part of Canada with- surprise, surprise- Japanese roots, who comes across Nao's diary, among other relics, in a curious package by the beach. Their shared ancestry is perhaps their only similarity. As Nao details her life's struggles in the diary, Ruth finds herself curiously drawn into her story and races against the diary- and the past- in an attempt to save her.

The slightly awful thing about reading this book is that I can't help feeling more interested in Nao's story, so when we move back to Ruth's side: her relationship problems, quest for more information on the Yasutanis, and her ever-present struggle to finish her book (whatever that was about, it wasn't memorable for me), I find myself almost skimming over her story to get back to the diary. Almost, but not quite. It's as if Ruth had a part to play in Nao's story, even if she were reaching out to the past in a seemingly futile gesture. Her race is not against time, but against the pages of the diary itself- and herself. And that in itself is a unique premise.

An eloquent, moving book that surprised me to no end.

Nao is a little too precocious with her writing, I sometimes find it hard to believe that she's merely sixteen. Other than that, the characters feel raw and real, and they bleed through the pages. Not that everyone in this book bleeds, but you get the drift.

I just made a pun...

It's related to the book.

I'm so used to fantasy books it's hard to believe I can enjoy this book. In any case, I did; it caught me off-guard. I just took a breath I didn't know I was holding in the latter part of the book. This is a hit-or miss, because some people say their enjoyment was ripped from their bosoms the moment [spoiler events] happened, but to me it just added to the charm of the book. I did not feel that the book was in any way rushed. In fact, I think the book paced itself rather well, taking its time where needed, and then hurling us forward into an exciting race against time when it deemed necessary.

Two words for this book: It's magical.

~My Rating~

5 out of 5 Floating Diaries!

★★★★★