title: A Tale for the Time Being by: Ozeki, Ruth published: 2013-03-12 read: 2022-10 preview

A tale for the time being by Ruth Ozeki is a very, very beautiful Japanese book.  Seen by a young teenager, Nao, who lives in Tokyo with her unemployed father and her poorly employed mother, her life is no picnic but rather involves street fighting (Japanese style) and dealing with her depressed father.  The story is intertwined with a story about Ruth, living in Canada – yes, just like the author – who finds a plastic box washed up on the shore, containing the diary of the girl, and some of her things.

As she tries to help her father and survive in school, she begins to get contact with her grandmother, a Buddhist nun living in a very remote temple, cut off from the world.  Nao starts to visit her, staying for longer periods, and learns her grandmother’s life wisdom.  Yes, it’s really like that.  And it’s really a beautiful concoction of new Japan meets old Japan.   

Nao and Ruth connect: Ruth is of Japanese origin, living in Canada; Nao lived with her parents in Silicon Valley before her dad got fired from a tech company, and had her most influential and – she now things – most happy years there.

Well, the grandmother dies somewhere in the story, and the parents get saved by managing connecting old and new. That makes Nao’s grandmother to be the central figure in the novel; whereas Nao is, of course.

I hope you love this book as much as I did.