A Tale for the Time Being
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the semi-epistolary format, wherein it alternates between the diary of a Japanese schoolgirl, and the life of the American woman reading the diary. There was a lot of interesting cultural information (to me, as an American) and very interesting settings.
At times I found the tone/language of the diary segments a little bit annoying or silly, but of course, that's precisely how they should be, in the voice of the young girl. I especailly liked the parts with the grandmother, probably because the reader (this was in audiobook format) did a great job with her voice.
And now for a couple quotes that I liked:
“Sometimes when she told stories about the past her eyes would get teary from all the memories she had, but they weren't tears. She wasn't crying. They were just the memories, leaking out.”
― Ruth Ozeki
“Information is a lot like water; it's hard to hold on to, and hard to keep from leaking away.”
― Ruth Ozeki
Tags: books