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A Tale for the Time Being

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About this listen

Winner: The Kitschies - Red Tentacle novel award 2013

"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."

Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. In a small cafe in Tokyo, 16-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyber-bullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun and great-grandmother, and the joy and heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place - and voice - through a diary she hopes will find a reader and friend who finally understands her.

Weaving across continents and decades, and exploring the relationship between reader and writer, fact and fiction, A Tale for the Time Being is an extraordinary novel about our shared humanity and the search for home.

©2013 Ruth Ozeki (P)2013 Canongate Books Ltd Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Fiction Heartfelt Feel-Good Funny

Critic reviews

"Bewitching, intelligent, and heartbreaking... Nao is an inspired narrator and her quest to tell her great grandmother's story, to connect with her past and with the larger world, is both aching and true. Ozeki is one of my favorite novelists and here she is at her absolute best." (Junot Diaz)
" A Tale for the Time Being is a timeless story. Ruth Ozeki beautifully renders not only the devastation of the collision between man and the natural world, but also the often miraculous results of it. She is a deeply intelligent and humane writer who offers her insights with a grace that beguiles. I truly love this novel." (Alice Sebold)
"Ingenious and touching, A Tale for the Time Being is also highly readable. And interesting: the contrast of cultures is especially well done." (Philip Pullman)
All stars
Most relevant
Contrary to a review I read, I found the story and characters difficult to engage with at first, I but I am so glad that I persevered. This is a complex and thoughtful story that does not exactly unfold, it felt more like life ripped apart with all the gore of the darkest sides of human nature exposed. It is a sickeningly real yet unreal tale, twisted around in time and perspective. We are reading a diary of a Japanese school girl through the eyes of a stranger who tries to anchor the story in her own world by researching the author. As the tale gets darker and nastier we get to step out of the horror of the moment as an observer in time to catch a breath before the next catastrophic reveal.

Thoughtful and haunting

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Fifth time listening, fifth time rated as five stars. Characters are incredible and narration by Ozeki herself makes all the difference.

Favourire

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What did you like most about A Tale for the Time Being?

i enjoyed every part of this book and how it developed. the use of past present and future really kept me interested and i found out a few interesting things about Japanese culture. Beautiful story and characters.

loved it

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Some interesting insights into the Japanese mindset, but overall it was a bit of a downbeat story and overly long.

A bit depressing...

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A Tale for the Time Being is beautifully written and narrated by the author.An engaging, memorable, interesting and inspiring story about two lives which seamlessly become intertwined which each other.
I recommend this book especially to anyone who has interest in history, but this is not necessary to enjoy this story.
Thank you Ruth

I enjoyed 5/5

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