This may sound confusing, but even in audiobook form, the story remains clear and engaging. With each day, Ruth becomes more entranced with Nao’s story – and sought to solve the ending of the story on her own. As we unravel Nao’s story, we also become pulled into the story of her father, her great uncle, and her great grandmother. Ruth discovers Nao’s diary some years later, as part of a collection of artifacts which drifted to her remote island home. The story introduces us to Nao, who’s writing in a diary detailing the last days of her life – ranging from being bullied at school to her dad’s suicide attempt. What I enjoyed most about A Tale For The Time Being was its sense of connection and fate.
A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you. I would love to go and reread this book in its physical form, but the audio version is definitely special and highly recommended. The narration between the two characters were distinct, yet it also managed to weave in a sense of inescapable destiny between them. While I missed out on seeing the appendices and footnotes with the audio version, the experience was extremely rewarding as Nao’s chapters were made for audio. As she’s ethnically Japanese, this meant that the occasional Japanese phrases in the novel were beautifully conveyed with feeling. It might sound odd, but I am at times dubious of the author’s ability to narrate their own tale (some just don’t have the vocals for it, truth be told), but Ruth did a beautiful job with each of the different voices. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by the book’s own author, Ruth Ozeki. Crazy is the price you pay for having an imagination. Utterly unique, intelligent, and moving – this book has climbed onto my Top of 2015 list, possibly Top of All Time – for it’s a tale I’ll remember for not just the time being, but for years beyond this. I have been hearing about the novel over the past year, and was intrigued by its premise: alternating between the life of a teenage Japanese girl and an American woman, separated by both space and time. A Tale For The Time Being is an audiobook I picked up on a complete whim.
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