"A Tale for the Time Being" Ruth Ozeki

There was a consensus among the group that this was a complex book, and the discussion was lively.  Some were frustrated and turned off by the adolescent language while others thought it captured the age well.  Many were impatient with the book in the beginning and then became absorbed.  There was discussion about how Ozeki created such a multifaceted book and about how much Ruth reflected her own character.  It seems likely that Ozeki began the book with an idea and then let the characters write their story.  It is likely that the characters Ruth and Oliver presented facets of the author's personality and that of her husband.  There was questioning about whether one can change the past as Ruth impacted the lives of Nao and her father.  Certainly we all have different perceptions of events and that fact impacts our understanding of the past.  There were questions about the disappearance and then the reappearance of the words in Nao's diary.  There was much discussion about quantum theory and how matter exists as both wave and particle and how Schroedinger's cat was both dead and alive simultaneously.  Perhaps multiple realities can exist at the same time, and one's attention might have the power to alter reality.  As Kiko said "up down, same thing".  Many agreed that their favorite character was Kiko and that events at her temple were refreshing after the heaviness of Nao's life.  Another topic of conversation involved disgust at the bullying that goes on, especially through social media, among adolescents.