A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is an exceptional novel that conveys deep meaning. This objective is attained through the active use of symbols, which present profound ideas in a mesmerizing, thought-provoking manner. Such an effect corresponds with one of the primary functions of literature, which consists of inviting the reader on a long journey full of images, reflections, and contemplations.
The novel vividly portrays two women whose lives eventually intersect despite the time and space between them. Nao is a young Japanese American who is taken out of her comfortable life and placed in a new, hostile environment. She manages to establish a strong connection with Ruth, who lives on the other side of the Earth, through her diary. The latter is a writer from Canada who finds both professional and personal inspiration in the diary of Nao washed up on an island shore. The novel describes the surprising connection, which arises between the seemingly separate worlds of the two characters. Ozeki manages to convey strong messages which render this bond tangible through the profound symbolism of her writing.
A Tale for the Time Being benefits from an interesting style of narration. This format combines the perspectives of two main characters presented in different manners. Nao Yasutani is a young girl of Japanese ancestry born in the United States. Her father used to work for a software development company, but he had to quit in the fallout of a stock market crash. As a result, Nao’s family had to relocate back to Japan, where her parents were born. At the same time, the main character does consider herself Japanese. While Nao may share the same roots as the rest of her family, she retains an American spirit (Ozeki 45).
Evidently, the heroine misses California and the United States, as she is not at all accustomed to the Japanese lifestyle. This situation pushes Nao toward an identity crisis, as she becomes stuck at the intersection of two worlds. In addition, her life in Tokyo is far from pleasant, as Nao’s American spirit prevents her peers from accepting the protagonist. Consequently, she suffers from intense bullying and even sexual abuse.
The unpleasant experience launches a chain of destructive events in Nao’s life. Her father falls into a state of depression caused by continuous unemployment and attempts to commit suicide on several occasions. Simultaneously, the family’s financial situation rapidly deteriorates, which worsens their living conditions and has an adverse impact on Nao’s mental health. Following the abuse by her classmates, Nao’s deep emotional trauma prompts her to become an escort. As the protagonist’s prospects become even more daunting, she follows the example of her father and begins to consider suicide (Ozeki 141).
Nao only manages to find a distraction from grim thoughts in her great grandmother Jiko. The latter is a Buddhist nun for over one hundred years. In a way, Jiko provides Nao with purpose, as the protagonist becomes determined to write a comprehensive chronicle of her great grandmother’s life. However, by the end of the story, Nao learns about her father’s new attempted suicide, as well as the fact that Jiko is dying.
The story of the Japanese girl’s life is told through her diary, which is found ashore by Ruth, the second protagonist of the novel. Ruth is a novelist who lives on a remote island in Canada and struggles to write a memoir. Once Nao’s diary is discovered, she becomes mesmerized by the story. Ruth feels true compassion for the pain and suffering of the Yasutani family, whose story renders her deeply concerned. While Ruth and Nao are divided by space and time, the former begins to observe a certain bond between them. As a result, she noticed multiple signs which point toward Japan, whereas the diary prompts the novelist to reconsider her entire career and life.
At some point, the fascination with the diary is placed on the verge of obsession, and Ruth’s husband becomes worried. Ultimately, the Canadian protagonist seeks information about the Yasutani family, but she barely manages to find anything (Ozeki 330). Following one of her dreams, Ruth is surprised to discover previously unseen pages of the diary, which point toward a happier ending for Nao and her father.
The intricate structure of the novel’s plot serves to convey a highly powerful message. Ruth and Nao are completely different people, which, however, does not impede a strong spiritual connection between them. Ruth becomes invested in the personal tragedy of the girl who wrote the diary. In fact, her husband suggests that the unusual finding was brought to the Canadian island after the 2011 tsunami, which implies a considerable time difference between the two plot lines. As such, Ruth and the reader can only speculate about Nao’s fate after the day on which she wrote the final page of her diary.
Overall, time becomes the central theme of the novel, and its influence is directly connected to the primary meaning of the piece. While time is a strong, unbeatable force, it is also ephemeral and intangible. The narrative structure serves to emphasize its influence, as Ruth’s storyline develops in real-time, whereas Nao’s plot is presented in a diary-based retrospective. In the novel, the past and present intertwine, forming an inconceivable link.
Nao’s opening part says, “you’re my kind of time being and together we’ll make magic” (Ozeki 14). This magic, indeed, happens by the end of the novel, as Ruth is left to wonder whether her dreams affected the end of Nao’s story or she had simply missed the final pages of the diary. Ultimately, the meaning of the novel suggests that time is relative, and when two souls establish a connection, their bond can transcend the limits of all the universe’s forces. This is what happens to Ruth, who finds meaning in an old diary brought across the Pacific by the 2011 tsunami.
A Tale for the Time Being is a highly personal story that focuses on the inner feelings of people rather than the intricacies of the plot. Therefore, characters play a role of paramount importance as the medium between the reader and the deep message of the novel. Their personalities, thoughts, and actions form a narrative unity, which shows the progression of the plot through the prism of each heroine’s personality. Nao’s diary remains the only source of information for both Ruth and the reader. At certain points, Ruth and her husband Oliver engage in heated debates regarding the contents of the diary (Ozeki 248).
They often take opposing stances, thus inviting the reader to review the events from both perspectives. Simultaneously, the name of the Canadian protagonist is the same as the author’s, implying that Ruth’s character voices the thoughts of Ozeki herself. The reader never learns how Nao’s story continued after the tsunami took her diary. However, Ruth’s reflection on the reading helps the audience establish a similar connection with the girl, sharing the feeling of hope across time and space.
The immense impact of the novel is achieved through the artful use of symbolism and various thematic elements. First of all, time is an overarching concept of the story, which is represented throughout it. In fact, it is captured in the title of the novel, as well as its plot. Time is present in many forms, and the images of watches and clocks provide a tangible form for it. As Nao contemplates suicide, her diary entry reads, “the ticking of the clock is the only sound I am able to hear now” (Ozeki 271). At this dark moment, she feels its power pressuring her and wishes she could stop it. However, she immediately comes to realize that the clock “has no power over time, but words do” (Ozeki 271).
This idea is connected to another central symbol of the novel, which is Nao’s diary. In A Tale for the Time Being, the girl’s writing represents an opposing force to the unstoppable flow of time. Unbeknownst to Nao, her own words are capable of overcoming the colossal influence of the universe and reach Ruth’s soul.
The diary has captured the feelings of its owner at various moments of her life, and the story survived a tsunami. Despite the hardships of life symbolized by this natural disaster, Nao’s words and feelings did not succumb to the elements. On the contrary, they traveled across the Pacific Ocean and had a profound impact on Ruth’s life. Accordingly, Ozeki uses the diary to show that strong feelings can survive anything. Nao repeatedly calls herself a “time being,” hence the name of the novel. As she explains in one of the first entries of her diary, this notion refers to “every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be” (Ozeki 13). By the closing chapters of the story, the reader becomes convinced of the truth behind Nao’s thoughts. Nothing ever disappears without a trace, as the universe preserves the legacy of each person, or “time being.”
Ultimately, Ruth Ozeki has managed to create a powerful novel that addresses existential issues in a tangible form. Time is one of the fundamental concepts of the universe, and, in many ways, it remains inconceivable for the human mind. This notion is generally viewed as a major force that separates people and events, but Ozeki provides a different perspective. A Tale for the Time Being shows that the key to the secrets of the time does not lie in the area of four-dimensional research. On the contrary, the issue has a simple solution available to everyone. According to the main message of the story, while time is a powerful separator, it can create unity between otherwise distant people.
This effect can be achieved through words, memories, and thoughts. Nao’s feelings captured in her diary survived through time and reached Ruth on the other side of the planet. Therefore, the words and the thoughts that they capture are magical. In fact, Ozeki portrays them as the only instrument available to every individual and capable of counteracting the power of the time.
Work Cited
Ozeki, Ruth. A Tale for the Time Being. Penguin Books, 2013.