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A Tale for the Time Being
- Author
- Ruth Ozeki
- Narrator
- Ruth Ozeki
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Book Group
- Publish Date
- 11 March 2013
- Run Time
- 14 hours 42 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
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What to expect
'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.'
Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery.
In a small cafe in Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyberbullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun and great-grandmother, and the joy and heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place - and voice - through a diary she hopes will find a reader and friend who finally understands her.
Weaving across continents and decades, and exploring the relationship between reader and writer, fact and fiction, A Tale for the Time Being is an extraordinary novel about our shared humanity and the search for home.
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
A beautiful piece of literature. Thought provoking, disturbing in parts & utterly enthralling.
karen_foster23@yahoo.co.uk 2026-07-31
Details
- Author
- Ruth Ozeki
- Narrator
- Ruth Ozeki
- Duration
- 14 hours 42 minutes
- Release Date
- 11 March 2013
- ISBN
- 9780857869470
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Book Group
- Genre
- Fiction: literary and general non-genre, Crime and / or mystery fiction, Historical fiction
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013'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.'Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. In a small cafe in Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyberbullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun and great-grandmother, and the joy and heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place - and voice - through a diary she hopes will find a reader and friend who finally understands her. Weaving across continents and decades, and exploring the relationship between reader and writer, fact and fiction, A Tale for the Time Being is an extraordinary novel about our shared humanity and the search for home.
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