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caileydw's review against another edition
5.0
The best book I’ve ever read. I have been in the fetal position sobbing for about 20 minutes trying to cope with what I just read. I am fully convinced that I am Ruth Ozeki’s Naoko and she put this book in my life to change the course of my future and she stuck the fucking landing. I am not okay
purplepierogi's review against another edition
4.0
I loved it, then felt it lagged, but now I’m sad it’s over. I agree that Nao’s voice was v interesting and Ruth’s could have been either fleshed out more or cut down, and I didn’t love the ending. but overall what I liked abt Nao’s story carried the rest and made it worthwhile
melodys_library's review against another edition
3.0
This book requires time and patience. There is much cultural description and character development as well as topics of Zen Buddhism, philosophy and quantum mechanics, appendices and a bibliography. It’s not a book that you will breeze through in one or two sittings. I wish I had read this with a partner or in a class because some of the themes and concepts are complex, and I would have liked to discuss them. Regardless, I was invested in the characters the whole way through.
adclark2's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
woefulwarwidow's review against another edition
3.75
does naoko's dad not realize that his new invention can also be used for bad purposes? like idk a software that can completely erase any trace of someone or something from the internet has some pretty sinister implications.
giannaoleary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kecad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lrwebster16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Shortlisted for the Man Booker, this is a moving tale of a discovered diary.
Ruth, a writer, discovers a diary whilst walking on the beach. Hidden between the French covers of Proust is the diary of Nao, a Japanese teenager, writing to an unknown reader, telling her story and her plan to commit suicide. We move back and forth between Ruth and her husband reading the diary and discussing it, trying to delve into the true history of the family it discusses, and Nao herself, telling her story.
I must say, I found the diary sections much more interesting than Ruth's story. I could picture her life, her family (especially her wonderful great-grandmother) and wanted to know still more. The story seemed to slow down for me each time the diary pages were closed. I did enjoy Ruth researching Nao and her father, and the novelty of characters in a book talking about characters in the diary within the book. Clever.
It's quite sad and has a 'grey' feel to it, you won't finish and feel uplifted, but it does take you on a journey around the world and gives some insights into modern life in Japan that I enjoyed.
Ruth, a writer, discovers a diary whilst walking on the beach. Hidden between the French covers of Proust is the diary of Nao, a Japanese teenager, writing to an unknown reader, telling her story and her plan to commit suicide. We move back and forth between Ruth and her husband reading the diary and discussing it, trying to delve into the true history of the family it discusses, and Nao herself, telling her story.
I must say, I found the diary sections much more interesting than Ruth's story. I could picture her life, her family (especially her wonderful great-grandmother) and wanted to know still more. The story seemed to slow down for me each time the diary pages were closed. I did enjoy Ruth researching Nao and her father, and the novelty of characters in a book talking about characters in the diary within the book. Clever.
It's quite sad and has a 'grey' feel to it, you won't finish and feel uplifted, but it does take you on a journey around the world and gives some insights into modern life in Japan that I enjoyed.
stinkymorg's review against another edition
3.0
I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one. Overall I liked this book and the message behind it I just didn’t really love reading Ruth’s sections. I wish they weren’t every other chapter because I was starting to get bored by the end.