OK so it’s not an indie book, but I
remembered another that I read this summer and neglected to write up
immediately. A Tale for the Time Being
is a gem.
The novel has many qualities of a
dream. The story moves across time and oceans and there are moments when you’re
not sure what’s real, and many where you’re not sure which voice is the author
and which is the character who has many qualities of the author—as they’re both
writers named Ruth who live in the Pacific Northwest. Which makes it sound like
a bad literary novel when in actuality it’s a fabulous story with
voices—especially that of the girl Nao—which are vivid and strong and utterly
intriguing.
The world of the book explores much
of Zen Buddhism, physics, and other areas of philosophical thought that you can
delve into or ignore as little or much as you like. They don’t interrupt the
flow of the story (except perhaps a little at the end, but that’s a quibble)
and they give it a timeless quality that makes an interesting juxtaposition to
the urgent day-to-day actions and anxieties of Ruth and Nao.
I won’t say any more except that
Michael and I both loved this book as something refreshing and unique. And we
both fell in love with Nao’s grandmother, the 104-year-old Zen Buddhist nun
named Jiko.
Go meet her.
