SKU: 48358825059

A Tale for the Time Being

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A Tale for the Time BeingA brilliant, unforgettable novel from bestselling author Ruth Ozeki shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award "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." In Tokyo, sixteen year old Nao has decided there's only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates' bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the

A brilliant, unforgettable novel from bestselling author Ruth Ozeki--shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award

"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."

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there's only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates' bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who's lived more than a century. A diary is Nao's only solace--and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine. Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox--possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao's drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.

Full of Ozeki's signature humor and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, A Tale for the Time Being is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 12/31/2013
ISBN: 9780143124870
Pages: 422
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 8.41h x 6.09w x 1.15d

Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 12/22/2013 pg. 24
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SKU: 48358825059

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4.4 ★★★★★
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A
Amazon Customer
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 3
Missed the Mark *Spoilers*
Format: Kindle
I was surprised by the author’s bio because at times it felt like this book was written by an adolescent imagining what filming a movie would be like. I really enjoyed certain parts of the book, especially the flashbacks to HS, the flirtatious note-writing and the botched Spanish terms of endearment. But the main feeling I had reading it was whiplash, in terms of all the back-and-forth between the MCs. Even at almost 30 years old, they both felt emotionally immature. **Spoilers Ahead** It was odd to me that when they finally confronted their past, it was in terms of the summer after their sophomore year of HS, rather than the big breakup when they were in college. Skipping ahead, the Paris ending felt very abrupt and out of character. I also felt that certain side characters (Troy, Darbie, Emily, etc.) were very two-dimensional and discarded easily where it would’ve been interesting to see their reactions to the MCs’ relationship. I can see where the author laid the groundwork for a good series, it definitely has potential. This book just missed the mark for me.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2026
A
Allison Heller
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 4
Fantastic Second Chance Romance
Format: Kindle
The only reason this book wasn’t a 5* was because Amazon doesn’t allow 4.5* and I felt like parts of the rekindling of their romance at the very end were slightly rushed. Aside from that, this book was INCREDIBLE. I fell in love with them as a couple from the beginning. Gemma’s back and forth emotional parkour was a little rough at spots with how quickly she changed from wanting nothing to do with Caitlin to wanting to take her home. BUT I loved the epilogue and the full circle moments of them together and their future. Can’t wait to read another book by this author!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2026
J
Verified Purchase
Jacob Caldwell
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Must buy
Format: Paperback
Support any lgbtq writer
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Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2026
V
Verified Purchase
Virginia Wolfley
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
these are her viewpoint on a large mix of poems ... The Final Work
Format: Hardcover
helen vendler has done a magisteral job of presenting her poem selections
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Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2026
A
Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Treasure
Format: Hardcover
Insightful commentaries from eminent professor whose work I have followed for many years. RIP. Glad to have this final volume.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2026

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