A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki

A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING

BY RUTH OZEKI

The novel, A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is a book that is intriguing and captures you to continue reading the story. The narrative begins with a girl named Nao, where she introduces herself and informs the reader a bit about her. The book goes on to tell a story of a girl, Ruth who finds a collection of artifacts washed up ashore on a beach one day. Along with the many artifacts that Ruth finds, she also finds a Hello Kitty lunch book, and within is Nao's diary. The entire journey begins there, where she reads and is lured in to Nao's story about her life, family and friends.

The writing style of the book is set out to be casual yet formal at the same time, where it is in a diary format. The novel continuously switches between protagonists for each of the different chapters, where we are able to see, read and understand the life of Nao from the past, and depicts Ruth’s life along the way. The story is an interesting and captivating narrative, that takes you on the journey of the two girls from the past and the present. Nao continues to document her life in her worn diary that she bought about her family and friends. The story of Nao is compelling where we are also able to understand the life, culture and beliefs of the different types of people living in Japan.

This book has allowed me to understand the true and different kinds of traditions of the Japanese people and their way of life. The novel is well written and easy to understand from both perspectives, where the language is not intricate and difficult. Throughout the narrative, the author continues to use Japanese terms and concepts that were foreign to me. However, the author includes the definitions of the terms below the narrative as a footnote, which makes it easier to understand. I was able to learn new key terms and phrases of Japan and learn about the true landscapes.

Overall, the novel is an engaging story and is worth the read, as it continuously engaged me, where I was absorbed to entire concept of the book.