A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is a general adult book available as an audiobook through the OCDSB’s Sora account. Being the person that I am, I picked it up, and listened to it, but also purchased a copy to read and bookmark.

Now, keep in mind, when I mean adult book, I mean this book pertains to difficult topics that I think that only someone older can handle, such as suicide. If you are very sensitive to the mention of suicide, I would recommend you stop reading this review as this can get a little personal and a little sad. If you’re still here, then let’s continue.

The story is about 2 people, Nao and Ruth. Nao is a 16 year old Japanese American girl who has just moved to Japan after the dot-com bubble affected her family financially. However, life in Japan is no better, as her classmates torment and torture her and her parents spiral out of control. Left with no better option, Nao decides that she is going to commit suicide, but not before recording her great grandmother’s life as a 104-year-old Zen Buddhist, Anarchist, and Feminist (No joking, that is what the book says about her) in her secret diary.

Meanwhile, Ruth is a woman in her adult years, wasting her time on a book she’s never going to write. While walking on the beach near her house, she finds a Hello Kitty lunchbox inside a plastic bag. There, Ruth finds Nao’s diary. After reading the diary, Ruth becomes enchanted by Nao’s life, and is determined to find traces of Nao.