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hoganemilya's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
hapikohw's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really have no words to describe this. It was for me a slow book that was definitely worth it in the end when I powered through its darkest parts. I think that is why it felt so slow I stopped listening until months later - not just the pace but the content. I related to Nao too much and the feelings were too much to sit into. But this book is filled with hope and hard questions with too many answers and possibilities on life, death, time, now, the past, being known and knowing. It was just a lot, all good, and I will definitely need to read again more focused and with highlighting tape and some note-taking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Bullying, Death, Body shaming, War, and Pedophilia
kaneebli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racism, Toxic friendship, and Death
Minor: Rape, Cultural appropriation, and War
bra1nw4sh3d's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Blood, Dementia, Cancer, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Vomit, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Trafficking
abij's review against another edition
PLEASE DON'T READ MY RAMBLE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS :)
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"On the way out of town, we passed some minimarts and coffee shops and an elementary school, but honestly, there wasn't much else: a fish-processing plant, a pachinko parlor, a gas station, a 7-eleven, an auto repair shop, a roadside shrine, a bunch of small fields. But then, as we drove, the buildings got farther and farther apart until finally I knew we were in the countryside because it was beautiful. It was like being in an anime movie, with our little bus chugging up and down, winding around the mountains and hugging the cliffs. Below, I could see the waves crashing up on these crazy rocks, and sometimes we would pass a small beach, like a sandy pocket tucked into the rock face." (p.167)
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So this book has been on my tbr pile for years, and I finally read it! I had no idea what to expect when I started reading it, and all I remembered about it was seeing the very mixed reviews about it when it was first shortlisted for the Booker prize. Overall, I was very glad that I went into reading this book with no pre-conceived thoughts about it.
The novel begins with a woman named Ruth finding a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the beach near her home in British Columbia. In this lunchbox she finds a diary written by a Japanese teenage girl called Nao, and the book jumps between the two characters as we follow Ruth's reading of the diary.
For the first few pages and chapters I was definitely not sure about the book. I was worried that the writing of the teenage girl's diary would be too cringe - as I sometimes find this problem with adults writing what they think teenagers sound like - but as I read on, I did grow quite attached to Nao. After all, when I think back to what I was like as a sixteen year old, I was actually quite cringe at times.
I also read quite a few reviews in which people said that they loved Nao's narrative but either hated or got bored with the chapters that followed Ruth. I understand - since Nao's diaries were filled with a lot of drama (this poor child goes through TOO MUCH) - but I really do think the Ruth chapters added so much. She doesn't have too much drama herself, but gets very wrapped up in worrying about Nao from what she reads in her diaries. This to me, was the whole point of the novel. Ozeki's story is very much about human connection, even between strangers who live and exist very far away from each other. In my opinion, the narrative would be very lacking without both perspectives.
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The writing at times was very beautiful, and I found myself being sad when I had to put the book down to do other things - which is what you want from a reading experience!
So this book has been on my tbr pile for years, and I finally read it! I had no idea what to expect when I started reading it, and all I remembered about it was seeing the very mixed reviews about it when it was first shortlisted for the Booker prize. Overall, I was very glad that I went into reading this book with no pre-conceived thoughts about it.
The novel begins with a woman named Ruth finding a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the beach near her home in British Columbia. In this lunchbox she finds a diary written by a Japanese teenage girl called Nao, and the book jumps between the two characters as we follow Ruth's reading of the diary.
For the first few pages and chapters I was definitely not sure about the book. I was worried that the writing of the teenage girl's diary would be too cringe - as I sometimes find this problem with adults writing what they think teenagers sound like - but as I read on, I did grow quite attached to Nao. After all, when I think back to what I was like as a sixteen year old, I was actually quite cringe at times.
I also read quite a few reviews in which people said that they loved Nao's narrative but either hated or got bored with the chapters that followed Ruth. I understand - since Nao's diaries were filled with a lot of drama (this poor child goes through TOO MUCH) - but I really do think the Ruth chapters added so much. She doesn't have too much drama herself, but gets very wrapped up in worrying about Nao from what she reads in her diaries. This to me, was the whole point of the novel. Ozeki's story is very much about human connection, even between strangers who live and exist very far away from each other. In my opinion, the narrative would be very lacking without both perspectives.
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The writing at times was very beautiful, and I found myself being sad when I had to put the book down to do other things - which is what you want from a reading experience!
"The sky does weep, and there is nothing false about pathetic fallacy." (p.267)
Honestly, I have been reading a few books recently that make me question giving a star rating at all, and this was one of them. I do think I very much enjoyed it, and I'm glad I read it, but sometimes I was slightly confused as to the actions of some of the characters. Ozeki covers a lot of topics in A Tale for the Time Being, including bullying (or ijime in Japan), and suicide. The scenes depicting bullying/ijime were very extreme, but I understand that bullying of this intensity probably does happen, especially after reading up on the subject of ijime online while I was reading the novel.
My biggest worry about the book is with the way it depicted suicide... Nao's father spends quite a bit of the narrative being very depressed and suicidal, and his family's reaction to it is to kind of pretend that it isn't happening. His suicide attempts get brushed over as drunken accidents, and his daughter spends a lot of time being angry at him for being 'selfish' and 'cowardly'. Even though this is difficult to read, I did not have much of a problem with it because I don't blame writers for depicting the emotions and reactions of people/characters realistically, even if those reactions are wrong. I will happily read about characters doing things that I morally and personally disagree with because I don't think that authors writing about people doing shitty things reflects on their own beliefs.
However, I do personally think I have an issue with how his depression and suicide is handled overall. The characters are all quite nasty to Haruki about his depression and suicide attempts, until they find out the almost 'honourable' reasons as to why he wants to die, and then soon after he kind of just... isn't depressed anymore. Uhhhhh idk. I'm really not sure how to feel about the handling of this subject and I don't think I will ever work out how I feel about it, but it did just leave me feeling slightly uncomfortable so I will just leave it at that for now....
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Overall, I think my favourite part of the novel was actually the depiction of Ruth's mother and her struggle with Alzheimer's. They all move to a small community in British Columbia, and Ruth believes that there is no point in holding a memorial service when her mother dies because no one was close enough to her to get anything out of it, and her mother was quite happy being alone. She discovers later in the book that actually members of the community were quite fond of her mother:
'"I don't think your mother was weird," she said. "I really liked her. A lot of people on the island liked her. She had friends here, even if she couldn't remember who they were. It's a shame you didn't at least have a small memorial. If not for her, for everyone else."
"I know, I know..."
"Did you know that Benoit visits her grave? He brings her little toys from the Free Store."' (p.401)
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So yeah.... I had slightly mixed feelings about the handling of certain topics in this book, but overall very much kept wanting to pick it up and keep reading. I think I will definitely pick up The Book of Form and Emptiness at least, which is Ruth Ozeki's most recent novel that won the women's prize for fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Bullying, Suicide, and Pedophilia
mateoj's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
I'm gnashing my teeth bouncing off the walls hollering screeching et cetera.
I hesitate to compare this to Murakami because I don't want to fall into the "Japanese authors is the same" trap, but fuck it. A Tale for the Time Being is what I wanted and did not get from Murakami: strange, metaphysical, and surreal without sacrificing coherency and humanity. All too often fiction like this forgeos the beating heart of the story in favor of being as mindfucky as possible, and one of my favorite things about A Tale for the Time Being is how it refuses to let go of the human feelings and needs at its core. The meta-narrative is extremely well done, and manages to make as much sense as it possibly can, without losing any of its surreality or weirdness. What a masterpiece.
I hesitate to compare this to Murakami because I don't want to fall into the "Japanese authors is the same" trap, but fuck it. A Tale for the Time Being is what I wanted and did not get from Murakami: strange, metaphysical, and surreal without sacrificing coherency and humanity. All too often fiction like this forgeos the beating heart of the story in favor of being as mindfucky as possible, and one of my favorite things about A Tale for the Time Being is how it refuses to let go of the human feelings and needs at its core. The meta-narrative is extremely well done, and manages to make as much sense as it possibly can, without losing any of its surreality or weirdness. What a masterpiece.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Rape, Violence, War, Adult/minor relationship, and Trafficking
littlebluenaiad's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Sexual assault
amelianotthepilot's review
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
strange surrealist story about a woman in Canada reading a Japanese girl’s diary she found washed up on the beach
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Dementia, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Trafficking
deannamullican's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Throughout the whole book all kinds of abuse was described, sometimes in great detail. It was horrifying and way too much for me. It ranged from suicidal thoughts, to bullying in school, to 9/11 and the 2011 tsunami.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
Minor: Animal death
franklola's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Torture, War, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting