book review
by sam\\
Ruth Ozeki's widely acclaimed novel "A Tale for the Time Being" is not for the rigid readers unwilling to look at the world in a different light. It presumes that humans are "time being" things existing in one kind of hyper way. Yes, there are Zen thoughts here, and they are most intriguing. There is two beings at widely separated times and places interlocked in serious and amusing life stories.
One is a Japanese teen, born in in Japan who spent a couple of year in Silicon Valley where her father delved into computer programs before losing his work and returning to Japan, where his daughter Nao lives a painful life as an outsider.
The other is Ruth, a writer who lives on an island in British Columbia with Oliver and a pet cat named Pesto. She finds a "Hello Kitty" lunchbox on the beach which contains Nao's diary, sort of in progress.
The book, both witty and wise, trundles back and forth between the two woman as Nao undergoes torture and bullying from Japanese classmates. But Nao (or Naoko formally) can't be put down and fights back while her distraught father attempts suicide among other mad moments.
Nao goes to visit her grear grandmother who lives in a Zen temple in the mountains. She's 104 years old but Jiko is wise and loving to Nao. Nao finds letters from an uncle who died as a Kamikaze pilot but has a pacifiicist philosophy.
Nao falls into prostitution but escapes to home and grandma. She emerges as a counterweight to Ruth in a shared kind of life.
The book skips back and forth between the two women in an often puzzling manner. But it is always absorbing, particularly if the reader can let conflicting ideas meet.
In appendixes Ozeki offers chapters on quantum mechanics and theory which helps explain some of the mystery of the novel --- how to persons can go around time and space. These only make the novel that much more interesting.
The line between fact and fiction is never explained except by quantum thought, and readers agile enough to follow theory of how the same particle can be two places at the same time will enjoy this delightful book.
Scattered throughout the book at Japanese words and sayings that also explain the duality of the work. Despite my years in Japan and struggle with the language, her explanations are enlightening and increase the joy of this imaginative novel, by a Zen womanpriest who knows the words of Dogen Zenji. She has two other books which I am trying to dig up.
