A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki Ruth Ozeki is a struggling writer who lives in a small town near the coast with her husband and beloved cat. Strange treasures often wash up on the shore near her residence and so she doesn’t think twice about throwing out an old journal that washes up one day. However, her husband convinces her to read the journal before they part with it, leading Ruth to realize that the diary may be residue from the devastating tsunami that occurred in Japan, 2011. As Ruth reads more and more about a young girl named Nao, who has sought to write about her elderly Buddhist grandmother before dying by suicide, she discovers herself becoming more attached and seeks to find Nao to uncover the young girl’s fate that was not written in her diary.
This was a really good read! I really enjoyed the different perspectives and personalities of our two characters, Ruth, and Nao. I loved the setting of Ruth’s small town and the lively neighborhood that Nao lived in. The descriptions and dialogue options all seemed realistic, and I just loved how Ruth became more and more attached to Nao’s bubbly personality. While the book was slow at the start, I especially liked the contrasting settings between Ruth’s calm life and Nao’s chaotic upbringing. The novel specifically touches on the extreme bullying cases in Japan, as well as bullying in the workplace, which happens to Nao’s father. The novel touches several relationships, such as Nao and her father, as well as Ruth and her husband, each relationship containing its faults and proofs of love. I really enjoyed reading this novel and am glad that I was able to buy it instead of just checking it out at the library because I will definitely be rereading it again.