Tale for the Time Being

A Tale for the Time Being is mostly set in the 21st century in Japan and Canada. The dominance of the setting changes with the location.

Who would have thought that Zen Buddhism could co-exist with unrelated themes such as hard-core teenage bullying, suicidality, quantum physics, 9/11, Japanese fetish cafes, the tsunami, the way it feels to be 104 years old, climate change / environmentalism and Kamikaze fighters in the 2nd world war? `A tale for the time being' by Ruth Ozeki brings all these themes together--and more - in a seamless, intricate, well-crafted way.

The story starts when Ruth, the novelist, finds Nao's diary ashore and starts reading it. Nao has an endearing voice, and her story sucks you in and doesn't let you go, even though the pacing is slow.