A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

"A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be."

Here meet A Tale for the Time Being, aka one of my new favorite, heck I'll even go so far as to say life-changing, books that I'll be shoving in everyone's faces for the foreseeable future.  I finished reading it just as the late arriving spring of Northern Michigan begins to revitalize the earth and just like the change of season this book has helped to rejuvenate my own body, mind and soul. I haven't read Ozeki's previous works, but I've learned the gap between this novel and her first two was quite large and that it's been long awaited. With good reason too. A Tale for the Time Being is an unforgettable story.

A novelist's discovery of a Hello Kitty lunch box sets the story into motion when it appears on the Pacific shore of the remote Canadian island that Ruth calls home. The contents of which include the diary of troubled Japanese teenager, Nao, looking to end her life.

Within pages Ozeki reveals a haunting premise; a message in a bottle story line come to life - with kind, intelligent characters, fascinating history and thought provoking subjects that are easy digested and remembered, I was hooked. Nao's diary provided Ruth and the reader with a melancholy intimacy; being a teenager myself I've had difficulty relating to numerous characters who represent my age but her humorous perspective is surrounded by a heartbreaking narrative that makes other youthful heroines I've encountered pale in comparison.  Needless to say I quickly became emotionally vested in both she and Ruth's lives.

The progression of this story was tedious and methodical at first, the build up reminded me of what it might be like climbing switchback pathways - this reading cadence was not however tiresome, but calming and introspective. Ozeki explores, thoroughly I might add, a variety of themes in this book. The novel bridges the gap between fiction and fact so seamlessly; from Zen Buddhism, to physics, the French and Japanese languages, cultural history, tsunamis, war, and time itself. The informative nature of her writing style is what I think lead to an overwhelming sense of realism as well as what captured the fog that is the concept of time; past, future and the ever constant now. LOVED. 5/5 stars

In My Mailbox #3

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren in 2008.

I've been on a classics buying binge these past two weeks, so that's the focus of this In My Mailbox. 

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkein: So this purchase might have been a little over-kill seeing that there are already three copies of this in the house, but I finally broke down and ordered the pocket 75th anniversary edition because it's too dang cute not to have in my possession.

The Epic of Gilgamesh by Anonymous: I've been reading up on ancient civilizations in this college textbook that I thrifted a few years back and part of the poem was featured and then it was mentioned again in a Crash Course video so when I saw this nice copy at Goodwill it came home with me. 

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I've had this on my to-reads list for a while and I finally spotted a used copy of it and added to my collection, hopefully I'll great around to reading it soon.

The Journals of Lewis and Clark: I can not express my excitement over this find! My dad found it on the top shelf in goodwill - which he knows I overlook sometimes and I'm so happy he saw it - this will most definitely be my next non-fiction year. 

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

One of my best friends read The Magicians last month and she loved it.  So when I stumbled across a scarily-probably-never-opened-copy at Goodwill I bought it. I was leery of the concept; having heard comments like "Harry Potter for adults" the novel's earnest praise was already leading me down the path of comparing it to books near to my heart and I feared the possibility of them being cheapened.  I decided to give it a try anyway.

Quentin Coldwater is a moody brainiac slumping along with his friends as they finish their last year of high school, begin applying to colleges and embark on life as full-fledged adults. But Quentin isn't interested in any of it; he pines for the adventures and magic of the world behind a childhood book series called Fillory and Further. If only it were real he'd be truly happy.  An invitation to attend Brakebills, a magical school, gives him that chance.

Maybe it was the intentional gray backdrop of the novel's beginning but  I drug my feet reading the first 200 pages. Looking back I realize it was somewhat essential to the plot, but it was almost depressing for the sake of being depressing.  I am extremely glad I pushed through the thick fog that surrounded Quentin and his friends. The second half of the novel was far more interesting, and the writing was overall far better than it's previous chapters.

References to the beloved worlds of C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, and other cherished stories abound making for clever breaks in the intense plot, but they also felt oddly creepy like the author is secretly watching behind your shoulder; waiting to make sure you catch every reference. Be your own story for goodness sake! I love to think about the magical worlds I've previously, and still am, enchanted with but I had trouble getting completely lost in Fillory because of it's similarities to classic tales already told. That being said it is difficult to be completely original, and what The Magicians lacks in pure creativity is made up for with its hearkening for what most of its readers are already searching for in a story.

The Magicians covers the adult end of the "Harry Potter for adults" summation quite well. Quentin is a realistic, and flawed -almost unlikable - character, as are his friends and the activities they take part in.   Solutions to drown their sorrows include the typical usage of drugs, alcohol and hooking up that are prevalent in depictions of college life. We are complicated and depressed lets be stupid. I get it. I wasn't interested in that.  I was far more intrigued by the Fillory books themselves; the lore and creatures are what got me excited!

I think the fact that other reviews have given this book such high praise and authors have plugged if further to an easily taken audience the novel isn't as jaw-dropping as made out to seem. While I believe the wool might have been pulled over the rest of the world's eyes, and that fantasy readers have been convinced, rather than deciding for themselves, that they like this novel I still am interested in reading the next installment. I just hope The Magician King is comparable to the high urban fantasy that was uncovered in the end of this novel and that the trilogy realizes its potential to stand on its own. 3/5 stars

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

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A stark contrast to the often romanticized India, The White Tiger is an oddly compelling narrative that examines the layers of corruption in the "real India" starring an equally flawed protagonist. Entrepreneur and one time murdered Balram Halwai divulges how he came to leave the heart of India, or The Darkness as the author calls it, to become a driver for a wealthy family and eventually escape his servitude-driven life.

After being immersed in Balram's story for a time I'd anticipated growing fond of his character, however crooked his thoughts and actions were, but I faltered through the book without feeling compassion for a single character. I chuckled a few times at it's repetitive dark humor and while I enjoyed the poignancy of Adiga's criticisms at times I wasn't as impressed with the social commentary as I'd originally hoped to be. Having heard my mom recount her experiences in India, as well as a close friend's trip, I was already aware of the immense social gap and seedy underbelly of India's culture and government. Picking up this book I assumed the author's perspective would increase my understanding of this phenomenon but, sadly, it wasn't the case.

Not without bumps and slow moments in the plot The White Tiger was an interesting enough glimpse into modern day India. And after feeling like my entertainment scale could tip either way I ultimately decided what I did enjoy of this story outweighed my disappointment for what it lacked. 3/5 stars

In My Mailbox #2

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren in 2008.

I went thrifting today and scored a few goodies - a sweater and a hello kitty calendar were among the non-book items but I think the books still win the best finds of the day title. 

The Magicians by Lev Grossman: I've been hearing a lot about this and since one of my best friends read and loved it I'm really excited to read it and can't believe it was even at Goodwill in the first place, since it's so recent. 

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: This is another one of those books I mainly bought to add it to my library, I know it's supposed to be one of those "you have to read it" novels so I grabbed it... hopefully I'll get to it soon. 

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

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“It is fate that I am here,' George persisted, 'but you can call it Italy if it makes you less unhappy.” A forewarning to anyone reading this review, I'm writing this while still on a reading high. The following will most likely turn into a compilation of all my favorite quotes and incoherent fan-girling at any moment because A Room with a View quite possibly just knocked out my current top favorite book, which has held that title for FIVE YEARS! A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you know I wouldn't do this to you unless it was a REALLY good book. So could you at least scooch over a tiny bit and get cozy with the idea of a 1st place tie from now on? You two can be buddies!

“This solitude oppressed her; she was accustomed to have her thoughts confirmed by others or, at all events, contradicted; it was too dreadful not to know whether she was thinking right or wrong.” I've seen the Merchant Ivory film twice before reading the book. And Howard's End. And A Passage to India. But I don't think it lessened my reading experience, although I do I try to abide by the "read it first" rule and you can too by visiting www.readit1st.com to be officially internet-approved reader of books before watching their movie versions. Even still, I think reading his books now makes it more enchanting, I can fully appreciate original stories and get excited about watching the movies all over again!

“But this time I'm not to blame; I want you to believe that. I simply slipped into those violets. No, I want to be really truthful. I am a little to blame. The sky, you know, was gold, and the ground all blue, and for a moment he looked like some one in a book.” Last spring I read my first of his novels, The Longest Journey, which wasn't made into a major motion picture, and thought it was amazing. On some level, I recognize that it's depth reaches much higher in prose and opinion than A Room with a View, but on another it's an entirely different story and I liked this one more... for the story is so rich yet shared through a simple elegance that makes my heart melt. Forster executes one of the best love stories I've ever laid my eyes on in such few pages and in my world less is always more.

“Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice.” It's the magic of travel, the wonder that is young love, philosophy, social classes, the characters. Boy, if you just scooped up the characters out of this book and put them anywhere else they'd steal the show. I love George. I love Freddie. I love Mr. Beebe. I can't get angry at any of them, not even Cecil. Each character is perfect. I can't get any more descriptive than that.

“It isn't possible to love and part. You will wish that it was. You can transmute love, ignore it, muddle it, but you can never pull it out of you. I know by experience that the poets are right: love is eternal.” This state of perpetual giddy hasn't left me since I finished the book at 12:30 AM. I can't pretend to be composed and write anymore. I have to go watch the movie and soak up this feeling as long as it wants to rest in my chest. 5/5 stars.