March’s Result – A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
The previous theme was rereads. A Tale for the Time Being came out a few votes ahead. You can read my original review here. It’s been almost six years since I first read the story. Since then, I spent a year living in Japan and I now live in British Columbia – the two main settings of this novel. It’s hard to remember the experience of reading this book the first time, when I didn’t have any connection to the places mentioned. Now I have a much stronger sense of place and culture while reading. Ozeki’s descriptions remains one of my favourite aspects of A Tale for the Time Being.
I still think this book is a good comp for Haruki Murakami’s lengthier novels. The writing style and type of story are similar. However, Ozeki’s style is more accessible and interesting. And would you believe that she knows how to write realistic female characters, lol. If you like Murakami, you’ll probably like this book. If you don’t like Murakami for the sense of ‘nothing happens’ or how he writes women, you might try this instead.
One thing I had completely forgotten was the amount of terrible things that happen in the story. Be prepared to read about vicious bullying, suicide ideation, physical and sexual assault, etc. Nao’s narration, at least, makes these things more bearable than another perspective might. It’s when I stopped to think about what I just read that I realized how awful it was. Overall, as when I first read A Tale for the Time Being, I think it’s a great read that will continue to hold up over the years.
May’s Selection
Wyrd & Wonder has reminded me of the joy I find in reading a good fantasy book. Too often in recent years I’ve read books because they’re new and hot, because I’m excited for new voices in contemporary, because I want to be aware of certain titles for my job. The books I’ve read for these reasons are great, but they rarely hit my favourite fantasy notes (secondary world, swords and sorcery, fantastical creatures, etc.). So the theme for this vote started out as fantasy. Now that I’ve made the list, I realize I can narrow that to ‘older fantasy titles by white women’.
- Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier (I think I may have tried reading this when I was in high school…)
- Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrless
- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
- Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Which book should I read in June? Note that I’m running this pole with the caveat that the current situation means I don’t actually know how long it will be before I can acquire the winning title. Vote on the poll below or by leaving a comment on this post. (I can’t tell who voted on Twitter, so if you’re really keen you can vote in the comments AND on Twitter ;P) Voting closes on 25 May. Voting is now closed.
I’ve heard so many good things about A Tale for the Time Being and Ruth Ozeki’s work in general – one of these days I should check it out!
Ahh I love Daughter of the Forest, it’s one of my favourites, so I’d definitely recommend that one. <3 Just to warn you, though, there is quite an explicit scene of sexual assault that is quite difficult to read. So much of the story focuses on how someone copes after an attack like that so I think it is handled well, but it's pretty heart-breaking to read.
Thanks for your vote! 🙂 And thanks for the heads up re: Daughter of the Forest as well. That’s good to know.
Well now I’ve added Daughter of the Forest and Dealing with Dragons to my TBR. I hadn’t heard about any of these book before.
I’m happy to introduce them to you! 😀 Though obviously I can’t vouch for their quality, haha, but in my mind they are ‘classics’ of the genre, so it probably can’t hurt to give them a shot.
I’ve seen Dealing with Dragons before but have not yet read it. I’m for voting it mainly to see your thoughts. This month I’ve been trying to catch up on my purchased books and then next up will be the books up for reviews in September. Participating in a readathon was really helpful with my reading goals for this month.
Thanks for your vote! Sounds like you have a good handle on your reading schedule. At the end of the month, I will just be starting on a few books I need to review in July.
I love Dealing with Dragons! And Patricia McKillip in general, though her writing is so ethereal that I have trouble remembering what happens in any particular book. I think I read Daughter of the Forest in high school, but don’t remember it. And I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of Lud-in-the-Mist, so I’m very curious about it.
Hmm, should I count this as a vote for Dealing with Dragons or for Lud-in-the-Mist? ;P I don’t think I’ve read any of McKillip’s novels, but I have read two of her short story collections so I’m interested to learn how I would feel about her longer works.
Haha! Probably you should count it as a vote for both. I usually do “vote for everything you’d be happy with” with my Girl Scouts – it works better. But I don’t think you have any bad choices here.
They are all on my TBR so I would be happy to try any of them! I will count your two votes 😛
Both of those are reasons I didn’t like Murakami so glad to know about Ozeki! And I’ll vote for Dealing with Dragons
Thanks for your vote!
Forgotten Beasts looks awesome! I hope you enjoy it 😀
Thank-you! 🙂
Dealing with Dragons is the only one of these that I’ve read and it’s delightful. Although I missed the voting, I hope you’re able to eventually pick this one up too 🙂
It will stay on my TBR, so probably one day I will get to it~