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35 maltatoday, THIS WEEK Twin narratives clash across the seas A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki Canongate, 432pp ISBN: 0670026638 ROBERT PISANI TSUNAMIS, Japanese cult movements, Western philosophy, conspiracy theories, French literature, quantum physics – is there any topic that Ozeki does not dwell upon in A Tale for the Time Being? Furthermore, how does she make this gumbo of intellectualism not seem like a huge mess? The novel shifts between two narratives. One is the biography of a Japanese teenager called Nao and the other narrative deals with an author, Ruth, living on an island in Canada, who is suffering from a severe writer's block. The only connection between these two characters is Nao's diary, which Ruth discovers. Nao is a victim of many circumstances. Although Japanese born, she spends a good number of years in the US Due to the dot.com fallout (weirdly enough, Thomas Pynchon also explored the dot.com phenomenon in his latest novel 'Bleeding Edge'). However, she is made to move back to Japan, where she is bullied. After embracing Buddhist philosophy she tries to reintegrate herself into society but fails to do so… that is, until some events occur which force her to look through the superficiality of life. Her diary does in fact stop in 2012, so that we're left uncertain about her destiny. Ruth is different. Although she does live a peaceful existence, she struggles to find a common ground between Download the MaltaToday App now the island mentality that suffuses her surroundings, and her more urban inclinations. Unlike Nao, most of these clashes are petty and she is wholly accepted in her village's society. However when she discovers Nao's diary, Ruth becomes engrossed with the characters that Nao interacts with, and she does her utmost to find out whether they survived the tsunami and earthquake which hit Japan in 2012. Slowly, as Ruth discovers more secrets about Nao's family, she begins to realise that their personal histories are cosmically entwining. A Tale for the Time Being is a scarily readable novel. Ozeki wrangles together the most difficult concepts and makes them easy to understand. If you've ever wanted to learn a simplified explanation of Schrödinger's cat, this is the place to go. Same with the Buddhist idea of 'Time' and 'Moments'. The novel does tackle many subjects and Ozeki does not deal with them superficially or mention them in order to display her intellectual prowess. Be it Marcel Proust or controversial physicist Hugh Everett, these topics are essential to the plot. As I mentioned, the novel's readability is not spoiled by the inclusion of such details. Ultimately, I see the novel as Ozeki's view of Japanese history. Like Haruki Murakami, Ozeki does focus on the values of pre-war Japan, contrasted with the country in the 21st century. For her, Japan is a nation which has lost some of its wisdom due to overuse of information technology and yet, she provides a flipside – almost mocking the ancient Japanese idea of obedience and honour. I was surprised and pleased that A Tale for the Time Being was included in this year's Man Booker shortlist, whose winner will be announced on October 15. Especially considering that this year's selection is one of the most culturally varied with books written by authors whose country of origin ranges from Africa, India, New Zealand and Ireland (obviously there's a English entry). It is also the strongest shortlist I have seen in a long time, so this novel faces some stiff competition. Speaking personally, even if it doesn't win, I see A Tale for the Time Being as an important novel which manages to both provoke and entertain. SUNDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2013