Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - A Tale for the Time Being

This would be such a good book club book to discuss because honestly I’m too dumb on my own to process the depth of it all. You can tell there was a lot of thought put into the writing with plenty of layers, symbolism, themes—to the point where after listening to the audiobook (which was recorded with the author’s voice — and she did a fantastic job), I need to buy a physical copy to go back and highlight or underline things to fully grasp it. It had an ambitious main theme tying back to the fundamentals of Zen Buddhism, which were sprinkled throughout the novel but not in an over the top obvious way, which is why I felt it so challenging. It is essentially a book divided into three perspectives: Nao, a funny yet suicidal 16 year old American-Japanese girl, Ruth self-inserted as herself, a middle-aged Japanese-American struggling writer feeling stagnant in a small rural Pacific Northwest town after living in NYC in her previous life, and (through his letters) Haruki #1, Nao’s great uncle who was a former graduate student turned co-opted Kamikaze fighter during WWII. One interesting motif I did notice was the (very Japanese) utilization of double meaning behind words, and the concept of a double life: with Nao’s name, the most obvious being the ironic tie between her name and the English word “now.” Followed with Nao’s explanation of a “time-being” and the phrase “for the time being.” With the Buddhist notion of “non-self” tied in with the acts of selfless compassion that the characters perform juxtaposed with the prominent “selfish” suicidality of Nao and her father, both desiring to be “not have a self” anymore. With Ruth’s and Nao’s desire to go back to their previous lives in different places and times. With Nao’s parents putting on a show or “fake life” that refuses to acknowledge her father’s mental health issues to her. With Nao’s own double life and alienation from her parents, outside of the home that they are unaware of, nor can they even begin to fully understand. With Hiroki’s letters of which he has to keep 2 versions: a fake, politically acceptable version and the true version written to his mother. With Hiroki #1 and Hiroki #2 living with essentially opposite life experiences: one wanting to commit suicide and the other not. With the quantum magical realism explained at the end. Truely a cool and sensible story telling technique to convey Buddhist principles. While ultimately things may appear to be different, they are (as old Jiko says) the same, they are one. Nit picking some things: I didn’t really enjoy the information/magical realism dump at the end

which I think was attempted to be ameliorated by Ruth’s husband mansplaining facts at her throughout the duration of the Ruth plot line so it wouldn’t seem so out of place when it did come, which somewhat worked but I wish there was more of a similar sprinkling of the magic and/or quantum theory earlier on, or at least more than once, so it didn’t feel so overwhelming and we could digest it more.

While maybe not a crowd pleasing book with its exceptionally dark Nao and Hiroki storyline, and sometimes stagnant-feeling Ruth plot line—which I think is intentional and I personally did not mind—I found this book hopeful and thought provoking at least pending a deep dive later on, which makes its goal as a piece of literature more than worth the suffering it caused me.

Content Warnings

karmapen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

jackbifrost's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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