A Tale for the Time Being
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- Create Date：2021-08-29 09:55:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ruth Ozeki
- ISBN：0143124870
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Hi！ My name is Nao， and I am a time being。 Do you know what a time being is？ Well， if you give me a moment， I will tell you。
On a remote island in the Pacific Northwest， a Hello Kitty lunchbox washes up on the beach。 Tucked inside is the diary of a sixteen-year-old Japanese girl named Nao Yasutani。 Ruth--a writer who finds the lunchbox--suspects that it is debris from Japan's 2011 tsunami。 Once she beings to read the diary， Ruth quickly finds herself drawn into the mystery of Nao's fate。 Meanwhile in Tokyo， Nao， uprooted from her home in the U。S。， bullied at school， and watching her parents spiral deeper into disaster， has decided to end her life。 But first， she wants to recount the story of her great-grandmother， a 104-year-old Zen Buddhist nun， in the pages of her secret diary。。。
On a remote island in the Pacific Northwest， a Hello Kitty lunchbox washes up on the beach。 Tucked inside is the diary of a sixteen-year-old Japanese girl named Nao Yasutani。 Ruth--a writer who finds the lunchbox--suspects that it is debris from Japan's 2011 tsunami。 Once she beings to read the diary， Ruth quickly finds herself drawn into the mystery of Nao's fate。 Meanwhile in Tokyo， Nao， uprooted from her home in the U。S。， bullied at school， and watching her parents spiral deeper into disaster， has decided to end her life。 But first， she wants to recount the story of her great-grandmother， a 104-year-old Zen Buddhist nun， in the pages of her secret diary。。。
Reviews
Kelly
，
4。5
Nick
，
Absolutely fantastic book。 Really great mystery told through two narrators。 Half of the book believably felt like it was written by a teenager and the other half keeps you hooked as you unravel the mystery with the protagonist。 One of the best novels I have read。
Ray
，
I particularly enjoyed at lot of the book as someone who studies Japanese and is interested in the culture。 I thought it would be a fun easy book and so wasn't expecting it to get into heavier topics like suicide， but I definitely found that aspect kept me more invested and wanting to find out what happens to these characters。 I liked hearing about how Nao deals with her struggles and the parts about Buddhism were interesting too。 The supernatural parts reminded me of Murakami but I'm not sure h I particularly enjoyed at lot of the book as someone who studies Japanese and is interested in the culture。 I thought it would be a fun easy book and so wasn't expecting it to get into heavier topics like suicide， but I definitely found that aspect kept me more invested and wanting to find out what happens to these characters。 I liked hearing about how Nao deals with her struggles and the parts about Buddhism were interesting too。 The supernatural parts reminded me of Murakami but I'm not sure how to feel about the attempts to explain it with quantum physics。 An interesting idea but it kind of felt like it tried to scientifically explain something that still doesn't really make sense。 Maybe I just don't understand quantum physics enough。 I like the idea of the way time is a theme in the book even though it can feel a bit corny at times， as well as how the author inserts herself in the narrative as a main character。 But overall it was a very enjoyable story。 。。。more
Claudia_Elisabeth
，
4，5*
Amélie
，
Look I don’t understand quantum physics at the best of times， but being tipsy on a bus home probably didn’t help me understand this deeply weird novel at all。 Incredibly compelling read though。
Candace C。 HIll
，
Not for the faint-heartedRuth Ozeki creates a novel with possibly herself and her husband， Oliver， as a couple who， as discoverers and readers of Nao’s diary， alternate between her story and their own。 Be forewarned。 Nao’s story is very， very dark， and even I continued to ask myself if it was worth it， especially when getting into the story and caring about these characters took work。 When Ozeki turned the story to quantum mechanics theories through the lens of Zen spirituality and metaphysical Not for the faint-heartedRuth Ozeki creates a novel with possibly herself and her husband， Oliver， as a couple who， as discoverers and readers of Nao’s diary， alternate between her story and their own。 Be forewarned。 Nao’s story is very， very dark， and even I continued to ask myself if it was worth it， especially when getting into the story and caring about these characters took work。 When Ozeki turned the story to quantum mechanics theories through the lens of Zen spirituality and metaphysical phenomena， it became more engaging！ 。。。more
palno_lunie
，
Speechless
Robert Meyer
，
American turned Canadian Ruth delivers this diary within a book account on life， quantum physics， and Japanese culture。Others have successfully incorporated a different time story into a narrative。 A。S。 Byatt's Possession did this very very well。 But， this novel has more layers than Possession， at least in regard to time and quantum effects of others' lives （or deaths）。 The Japanese character Nao introduces us to her forlorn father， his World War II kamikaze uncle， her 104-year old Buddhist nun American turned Canadian Ruth delivers this diary within a book account on life， quantum physics， and Japanese culture。Others have successfully incorporated a different time story into a narrative。 A。S。 Byatt's Possession did this very very well。 But， this novel has more layers than Possession， at least in regard to time and quantum effects of others' lives （or deaths）。 The Japanese character Nao introduces us to her forlorn father， his World War II kamikaze uncle， her 104-year old Buddhist nun great grandmother and the Tsunami。 In hard-for-me-to-explain scientific concepts， this author weaves their lives onto the modern American-Canadian character。 Nao or her greatgrandmother attempt to also establish the quantum concepts into legitimate apparitions and communications between souls who live or lived decades and continents apart。 These are fun concepts。 Most are well implemented in this novel。 This is really a 4。5 star novel。 Good read。 。。。more
Emily
，
I began this audiobook in 2020 and completed half of it before I needed to return it to the library。 Picked it up again this month and found the second half enthralling。 I'll be thinking about this book for some time to come。 I began this audiobook in 2020 and completed half of it before I needed to return it to the library。 Picked it up again this month and found the second half enthralling。 I'll be thinking about this book for some time to come。 。。。more
Yolande
，
A very special book to me。 Slow starter to the point that my interest wasn’t really engaged at all， but then I fairly rapidly became involved with these delightful people， all of whom I began to care about。 I enjoyed the Buddhist background also。
Saleem Khashan
，
Well written and way over rated
Kristina Pasko
，
Absolutely amazing。 It felt like attending a cocktail party with really heady， academic conversation that I can't really keep up with -- but I can't resist the hostess or the delicious food and drink！ It reminded me of Visit from the Goon Squad。 Ozeki is brilliant。 The dual-narrative questions who is part of whose story， and how they intersect and affect each other， emphasizing the relationship between the reader and a text。 Absolutely amazing。 It felt like attending a cocktail party with really heady， academic conversation that I can't really keep up with -- but I can't resist the hostess or the delicious food and drink！ It reminded me of Visit from the Goon Squad。 Ozeki is brilliant。 The dual-narrative questions who is part of whose story， and how they intersect and affect each other， emphasizing the relationship between the reader and a text。 。。。more
Angela
，
I really enjoyed this book！ I loved the format and felt connected to Nao’s chapters and diary entries。 Some of the physics parts at the end lost me a bit in terms of plausibility （actually this is the same concept that had my brain exploding in a Jodi Picoult book last year）， but overall this was a unique and ultimately redemptive story that I would definitely recommend！ （Tw for suicidal ideation and sexual assault）
Jelena
，
Domišljata i neobično napisana knjiga。 Poučna i bolna， ali pomalo naivna i puna elemenata fantastike koji mi se nisu dopali。
Donna Frasor
，
2。5 stars。 I’m certainly in the minority here， and I did love some parts of this book while trying to speed read through other parts。 There are 2 parallel stories of 2 women， separated by both time and distance。 Nao reveals herself and her troubled life in a diary that is washed ashore and discovered by Ruth， a Japanese American novelist on some obscure island in British Columbia。 I enjoyed the Nao story and completed the book because I wanted to see what became of her。 Ruth’s story failed to ho 2。5 stars。 I’m certainly in the minority here， and I did love some parts of this book while trying to speed read through other parts。 There are 2 parallel stories of 2 women， separated by both time and distance。 Nao reveals herself and her troubled life in a diary that is washed ashore and discovered by Ruth， a Japanese American novelist on some obscure island in British Columbia。 I enjoyed the Nao story and completed the book because I wanted to see what became of her。 Ruth’s story failed to hold my interest， and when she introduced quantum physics， I was ready to quit。 Themes ranged from suicide， depression， bullying， and Zen ideas。 A lengthy， complex book composed of an auto-biography， fantasy， fiction， and history。 。。。more
Майя Ставитская
，
Here is a student boy living in Tokyo in 1943， he is only nineteen， he is fluent in French， reads English and German， loves his mother and two sisters， hates the war。 And he is destined to become a kamikaze pilot。 Well， because there is still nowhere to go: you will die anyway in this idiotic war， but if you voluntarily choose the lot of the "heavenly soldier"， you will be posthumously promoted by two ranks and will pay a pension to your relatives， which will allow them not to starve to death。 A Here is a student boy living in Tokyo in 1943， he is only nineteen， he is fluent in French， reads English and German， loves his mother and two sisters， hates the war。 And he is destined to become a kamikaze pilot。 Well， because there is still nowhere to go: you will die anyway in this idiotic war， but if you voluntarily choose the lot of the "heavenly soldier"， you will be posthumously promoted by two ranks and will pay a pension to your relatives， which will allow them not to starve to death。 And how is army life？ It's bad， guys， so bad that compared to the everyday life of yesterday's boy from a good family， ijime over his great-niece may seem like child's play。 How does it feel to endure bullying every day; to know that soon the world that you are will explode， leaving behind a handful of ashes; and all that will remain for you is a box with a piece of paper on which it is written "remains"。 And mom will open the box， shake out this piece， read it， and then she will laugh and laugh and laugh。 Because only a writer， a person who knows a lot about words， and she is a writer， can appreciate the unbearable bitterness of a joke - the word has completely replaced a person。 Где все мы будем счастливы когда-нибудьЯ в поезде， попутчицы подобрались славные， нам хорошо вместе， болтаем， смеёмся。 До времени， когда самое приятное общество становится утомительным; кстати вспоминаю， что на книжку залита аудиоверсия романа "Моя рыба будет жить" в исполнении Игоря Князева， а он самая большая любовь среди людей， читающих книги。 Включаю， слышу голос， обмираю и плавлюсь， говорю: Меня не беспокоить， у меня свидание и。。。 Полчаса спустя понимаю， что наслушалась。Глупая， претенциозная японская девчонка， которая не то работает шлюшкой-официанткой， не то одержима манией суицида， да ещё то и дело приплетает везде свою просветленную прабабку монахиню ста четырёх лет。 Зажрались они в своей экономически чудесной Японии。 А эта канадка Рут с её учёным муженьком， с котом Шрёдингера， флотсоном и джетсоном， рукописью， найденной в бутылке。 Нет， пойду-ка я с девочками поболтаю。И книга отложена почти на неделю， а снова взяться за неё заставляет лишь переразвитое чувство долга。 Какое-то время прямо-таки кажусь себе мученицей за литературу。 Пока Нао не начинает рассказывать про переезд В Японию и про идзимэ。 Это как удар под дых。 Да как же， - думаешь？ Как такое возможно？ То есть， в том， что всякое бывает， ты не сомневаешься， как и в том， что объектом травли можно стать в самых разных обстоятельствах， а любой сопутствующий фактор: отличие в росте， возрасте， комплекции， слабое владение языком， незнание оптимальной в данном сообществе линии поведения， отсутствие связей， невписанность в стаю из за недостатка финансовой возможности покупать одёжду и гаджеты - ах， да мало ли， а у девочки в комплексе。 Но так мучительно и жестоко， нет， думаешь， так не может быть。 И понимаешь - может。Одного эффекта эмоциональной волеченности было бы довольно， чтобы сделать книгу яркой и запоминающийся， но это лишь начало。 Дальше развернется масштабная картина， где будет место материкам мусора， дрейфующим в мировом океане， плейстоцену и миоцену， катастрофе 9/11， доткомовскому пузырю （гуглишь）， Альцхаймеру， теории суицида， цунами и аварии на Фукусиме （вспоминаешь， дивишься， как недавно и давно это было）， прустову "Потеряному времени"， пилотам камикадзе， крохотному буддистскому храму （хотя обряды， которые отправляет прабабушка Дзико подозрительно напоминают синтоистские）， проблеме экзогенных и эндогенных лесопосадок в Канаде， чересчур комфортному для пользователей интерфейсу компьютерной программы， японским баням и серным ваннам， оригами， индустрии развлечений， структуре образования， квантовой физике， городским отшельникам хикикомори。。。И если вы подумали， что невозможно объединить все перечисленное в рамках единого повествования без того， чтобы получилась куча-мала， вы глубоко ошибаетесь。 Роман Рут Озеки точек， чёток， сюжетно и логически безупречен， удивительно прост для восприятия без ущерба для сложнейшего смысла。 Вот японская девочка Наоко， она терпит ежедневные издевательства в школе， живёт с родителями в квартире размером с гардеробную прежнего американского дома， у неё нет ни единого друга в целом свете; мама прежде погружается в собственные переживания， после с головой уходит в работу; папа раз за разом пытается покончить с собой。 Вот американская писательница Рут， женщина сильно на возрасте， живущая с нездоровым и финансово неуспешным мужем на маленьком канадском острове， она боится впасть в маразм， как это случилось в свое время с её матерью， ей панически страшно утратить возможность писать и она как раз сейчас в затяжном творческом кризисе。 Скажете， всё получше， чем у Нао？ Соглашусь。 Однако чистым незамутненным счастьем это не назовёшь， правда？ Вот мальчик студент， живущий в Токио 1943 года， ему всего девятнадцать， он свободно владеет французским， читает на английском и немецком， любит маму и двух сестер， ненавидит войну。 И ему судьба стать пилотом-камикадзе。 Ну。 потому что деваться все равно некуда: так и так погибнешь на этой идиотской войне， но если добровольно выберешь жребий "небесного солдата"， тебя посмертно повысят в звании на два чина и станут платить родным пенсию， что позволит им не умереть с голоду。 А как армейская жизнь？ Плохо， ребята， так плохо， что по сравнению с буднями вчерашнего мальчика из хорошей семьи， идзимэ над его внучатой племянницей могут показаться детскими забавами。 Каково это， терпеть всякий день издевательства; знать， что скоро мир， который есть ты， взорвется， не оставив за собой горстки пепла; а все， что останется по тебе родным - шкатулка с листком бумаги， на котором написано "останки"。 И мама откроет шкатулку， вытряхнет этот клочок， прочтет， а после будет смеяться и смеяться， и смеяться。 Потому что только писатель， человек， знающий толк в словах， а она писатель， может оценить невыносимую горечь шутки - слово полностью заменило человека。Об этой книге можно говорить много， но не вижу смысла - никакие слова не заменят счастья читать или слушать ее。 Я только одно скажу напоследок。 Множественные миры， описанные Хью Эвереттом существуют， мы все путешественники между погранично близкими мирами， отличия между которыми столь микронны， что заметить их может лишь очень тренированный взгляд。 Мы все то и дело соскальзываем из одного в другой и я не раз в этом убеждалась。 И все мы， в той или иной степени， запутанные частицы друг друга， и существует мир， где все мы будем счастливы。 Когда нибудь。 Бог даст。 。。。more
Paige
，
For Nao's sections， I would give it five stars。 Does a great job at describing the thought process of a young mentally ill teen。 Feels very whimsical and caused a lot of reflection。 For Ruth's sections， I give two point five stars。 I was not intrigued and ended up just skipping the rest of Ruth's story， once I did so， I enjoyed it much more。 For Nao's sections， I would give it five stars。 Does a great job at describing the thought process of a young mentally ill teen。 Feels very whimsical and caused a lot of reflection。 For Ruth's sections， I give two point five stars。 I was not intrigued and ended up just skipping the rest of Ruth's story， once I did so， I enjoyed it much more。 。。。more
Denise
，
FAVORITE EXCERPTSVancouver Island reminded me of Eagle River。 Putting chainsaw in back of truck to leave the house during a bad storm。 emotional imagery of the cold fish in her chest when Nao is scaredI liked Ruth's impatience with her husband :） love the journal！ so craftyAre you curled up with your back turned coldly toward your snoring wife， or are you eagerly waiting for your beautiful lover to finish his bath so you can make passionate love to him？ Ruth snapped the book shut and closed her FAVORITE EXCERPTSVancouver Island reminded me of Eagle River。 Putting chainsaw in back of truck to leave the house during a bad storm。 emotional imagery of the cold fish in her chest when Nao is scaredI liked Ruth's impatience with her husband :） love the journal！ so craftyAre you curled up with your back turned coldly toward your snoring wife， or are you eagerly waiting for your beautiful lover to finish his bath so you can make passionate love to him？ Ruth snapped the book shut and closed her eyes for good measure to keep herself from cheating and reading the final sentence， but the question lingered， floating like a retinal burn in the darkness of her mind: What happens in the end？Of course she remembered that。 She just hadn't recalled the Latin name， and she hated that he had。 She hated that now he felt he needed to speak slowly and carefully and explain everything as if she were an imbecile or had Alzheimer's。 He used to use this tone of voice on her mother。 She hated that he had a theory and that he sounded so smug。 both sharing the experience of reading the journal together， even fighting and debating about it， pacing themselves even with only reading an entry a day。 I lie here and long for the hot tears I used to cry， but my heart is frozen。 I am frozen， inside and out。 I have ceased to feel。 Even the Marquis's blows have no effect and fail to move me to anger。 They are like torpedoes， missing their mark。 At one point in my life， I learned how to think。 I used to know how to feel。 In war， these are lessons best forgotten。 journal ending， disappearing and Ruth's dream influencing Nao's life 。。。more
Juliette Crane
，
gorgeous story and storytelling。
Beyond Dionne
，
Honestly one of my new favorites。 Ruth’s （the author） story telling is so wonderful and this was such an interesting book。 I thoroughly enjoyed both Nao and Ruth （in the book’s） chapters and felt like they both were pertinent to keep the story moving。 The contrast between Nao’s 1st person and Ruth’s 3rd person was such a nice touch to this book。 Time has always been so elusive to me and I’ve asked the same questions as the characters in this book time and time again。 I loved to hear what the cha Honestly one of my new favorites。 Ruth’s （the author） story telling is so wonderful and this was such an interesting book。 I thoroughly enjoyed both Nao and Ruth （in the book’s） chapters and felt like they both were pertinent to keep the story moving。 The contrast between Nao’s 1st person and Ruth’s 3rd person was such a nice touch to this book。 Time has always been so elusive to me and I’ve asked the same questions as the characters in this book time and time again。 I loved to hear what the characters’ thoughts were， and the quotes were awesome （especially the quantum part at the end there）At no point did I know where this was going， and it was very hard to put down despite the font being pretty small / it being a long book。 。。。more
Jouch
，
Nao's parts were exquisite， Ruth's parts were indescribably boring。 This book should have been just Nao's diary。 Unfortunately， I had to DNF。 Nao's parts were exquisite， Ruth's parts were indescribably boring。 This book should have been just Nao's diary。 Unfortunately， I had to DNF。 。。。more
Elyssa
，
An intense but philosophical read with heart。
Maria Chiara Maestri
，
Un romanzo unico， particolarmente， ricco di spunti di riflessione， soprattutto sul rapporto tra lettori e scrittori。 La prosa si alterna nello stile seguendo la variazione di narratore， creandoun gioco molto interessante e ben riuscito。
Steph
，
Ozeki is an amazing and thoughtful storyteller。。。engaging， thoughtful， and heart-wrenching all the way through。 it was truly ethereal。。 I dont have the words！！！！
Maria
，
A story within a story。 It brings you to world of Buddhism， quantum physics， and modern day （life after 9/11）。 It is a bit difficult to read because it touches on issues from a young teenager’s perspective such as bullying， depression， and suicide。 It took a bit to get into it。 It even took awhile to like the characters。 Give it time for sure which makes the title quite appropriate。 In the end， it comes together beautifully。
Ilse Ortiz
，
que libro tan increíble！！！ no tengo palabras，quisiera aprender más acerca de física cuántica pero 1。 no se si pueda entenderlo 2。 la posibilidad de muchos mundos con infinitas posibilidades me sobrepasa y para serles sincera me da un poquito de miedo quisiera creer qué tal vez en otro mundo ya aprendí cómo dejar salir al pez que no deja de revolotear en mi estómago sigo procesando
Kate
，
I’m being generous with my rating because 1 it was well written and 2 it was a clever subject。 To be honest， I’ve never tried harder to like a book。 It was recommended to me by a bookstore owner and I’d been on a hot streak of loving every book I’ve read this past year， but that came to a grinding halt with this book。 I actually read 2 other books while reading this one and I attempted to read it for 3 months。 When I couldn’t stay awake reading it， I paid for it on audible to complete it。 I can’ I’m being generous with my rating because 1 it was well written and 2 it was a clever subject。 To be honest， I’ve never tried harder to like a book。 It was recommended to me by a bookstore owner and I’d been on a hot streak of loving every book I’ve read this past year， but that came to a grinding halt with this book。 I actually read 2 other books while reading this one and I attempted to read it for 3 months。 When I couldn’t stay awake reading it， I paid for it on audible to complete it。 I can’t put my finger on what it was I didn’t like except to say I didn’t really care for the characters。 Nao grew on me but that took half the book to get there， and Ruth never resonated with me。 I can’t recommend this book， but I definitely gave it my all and am satisfied I completed it。 。。。more
Shannon
，
Another book club read！ I liked the story as a whole of this one & liked the concepts of mental health & the growth of Nao & her father。 There were a handful of parts that broke my heart。 But I found Ruth to be a fairly unlikable character （& even more so， her husband。） The 'Back to the Future，' vibe seemed kind of neat， but I did NOT get the concept of alternate universes at the end。 Another book club read！ I liked the story as a whole of this one & liked the concepts of mental health & the growth of Nao & her father。 There were a handful of parts that broke my heart。 But I found Ruth to be a fairly unlikable character （& even more so， her husband。） The 'Back to the Future，' vibe seemed kind of neat， but I did NOT get the concept of alternate universes at the end。 。。。more
Melissa
，
3。5？ This is a toughy。 This book was a bit of a slog in the beginning for me。 I think because it was part epistolary with not much plot。 But， it became more intriguing as it went on。
Natalie
，