Reviews

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

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casperino125's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

dreaminthepages's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 out of 5 stars. This felt like a strange read and still not sure what to make of it all. The author did a great job of making you become invested into Nao and her families lives and really enjoyed that it spanned the lives of 3 generations of the same family.

It was clever towards the end (the whole paradox thing) because you were reading about Ruth who was reading about Nao who was writing/reading about Jiko and her great uncle Haruki #1 which was crazy!

However, about halfway through I did feel like I was mainly rushing to finish this book so could get it over and done with and move onto my next read.

It was a very emotional tale and really did not like how Nao and her family were treated.

oceanofwords's review against another edition

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4.25

Very great book tbh, plot-wise and the character voice (Nao). I can see the child-like voice yet it's not childish and cartoonish; it stems from the unfortunate events that happened with her. I don't really care about the other narrator (Ruth) in contrast, because she only serves as the means to deliver Nao's story but I still can appreciate her character. It can be a bit dragging at times but overall a solid and remarkable story.