eminerale

“A book you love” 📚 @fredhincanada

I have to answer this question with A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki ❤️

It’s the story of Nao, a Japanese teenager who writes about her life in her journal, and Ruth, a Canadian woman who finds this journal washed up in a Hello Kitty lunchbox on a beach in British Colombia. Ruth becomes deeply invested in Nao’s story, and across time and space they become increasingly connected - but why is Nao’s diary on the beach?

It’s the most beautiful book I have ever read. It has such emotional depth and resonance, it deals with things like identity, belonging, bullying, family, belief, sacrifice, the nature of reality and more.

When I picked the book up, I read the first four sentences and I instantly knew I was going to love Nao:

‘Hi! My name is Nao, and I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you.’

I’ve been reading novels since primary school, and Nao is the best fictional friend I’ve ever made. Ozeki did an amazing job creating her and her unique voice. The story becomes more and more compelling and moving, and I was in tears for probably the entire last 1/3 of the book.

It’s always the first novel I recommend to anybody, and it was shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize. If you are a reader, it is, most definitely, worth your time. Here’s the blurb:

Within the pages of this book lies the diary of a girl called Nao. Riding the waves of a tsunami, it is making its way across the ocean. It will change the life of the person who finds it.

It might just change yours, too.