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A review by katiegilley
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
5.0
“She sat back on her heels and nodded. The thought experiment she proposed was certainly odd, but her point was simple. Everything in the universe was constantly changing, and nothing stays the same, and we must understand how quickly time flows by if we are to wake up and truly live our lives.
That’s what it means to be a time being, old Jiko told me, and then she snapped her crooked fingers again.
And just like that, you die.”
There were so many quotes I could have shared from A Tale For the Time Being but this one captured my essential takeway from the novel. This will easily be one of my favorite books of the year – think Karate Kid meets Proust. The story is told by Ruth and Nao. Ruth finds Nao’s diary washed up on the shore of her island in British Columbia after the tsunami in Japan in 2011. Nao’s diary is devoted to her grandmother, a 104 year old Buddhist nun, but we learn about Nao’s own difficult situation while reading along with Ruth.
Ruth is a writer from NYC living with her husband on a relatively remote island filled with eccentric neighbors in British Columbia. Ruth becomes obsessed with Nao’s diary while attempting to write her own memoirs. I loved cozying up in Ruth’s home with the kettle on, winter storms raging outside, and Nao’s diary spread out before us.
This book tackled so many topics: mental health, bullying, climate change, Alzheimer’s, economic collapses, and finding happiness in everyday life. I was hooked after reading the first chapter and couldn’t wait to spend a little time with Nao and Ruth each evening before I drifted off to sleep. I already want to read this one again!
That’s what it means to be a time being, old Jiko told me, and then she snapped her crooked fingers again.
And just like that, you die.”
There were so many quotes I could have shared from A Tale For the Time Being but this one captured my essential takeway from the novel. This will easily be one of my favorite books of the year – think Karate Kid meets Proust. The story is told by Ruth and Nao. Ruth finds Nao’s diary washed up on the shore of her island in British Columbia after the tsunami in Japan in 2011. Nao’s diary is devoted to her grandmother, a 104 year old Buddhist nun, but we learn about Nao’s own difficult situation while reading along with Ruth.
Ruth is a writer from NYC living with her husband on a relatively remote island filled with eccentric neighbors in British Columbia. Ruth becomes obsessed with Nao’s diary while attempting to write her own memoirs. I loved cozying up in Ruth’s home with the kettle on, winter storms raging outside, and Nao’s diary spread out before us.
This book tackled so many topics: mental health, bullying, climate change, Alzheimer’s, economic collapses, and finding happiness in everyday life. I was hooked after reading the first chapter and couldn’t wait to spend a little time with Nao and Ruth each evening before I drifted off to sleep. I already want to read this one again!