Electric City

By Selena P.

     Ruth Ozeki is known as a novelist, filmmaker, and zen buddhist priest. One of her major accomplishments was earning an american book award. Ruth's first novel she wrote was 'My year of meats'. One of her latest books she wrote is 'A tale for the time being'  In A tale for the time being, Ruth finds a way to tell a story of a novelist living in Canada and a schoolgirl living in Tokyo.

     Nao, a 16 year old girl whose only escape from feeling empty is writing a diary. Nao's family had found themselves in poverty after Nao's father lost his job. Their family moves back to Japan which Nao experiences being bullied. Nao becomes suicidal. But before she attempts suicide her last goal is to finish writing about her 104 year old grandmother, and the life she had lived.

     Ruth's writing is very different from other authors. One thing that's different about Ruth is she grew up with an American father and a Japanese mother. With the knowledge of both backgrounds Ruth is able to write about about things other authors may not write about because they don't have the experience. In 'A tale for a time being' the way Ruth describes Tokyo is very catchy. " The tables are round and cozy, with marble like tops and legs that look like carved mahogany, and the matching chairs have pink puff tapestry seats. Dark red velvet roses curl up the wallpaper, and the windows are draped in satin. The ceiling is gilded and hung with crystal chandeliers, and little naked Kewpie dolls float like clouds in the corners."  Another thing that is different about Ruth is she randomly throws in words in Japanese, I find this pretty cool because while you're reading you get the chance to learn about different phrases and terms the people in Japan use.

     In my opinion Ruth's book and way of writing is unique. I would recommend this book to someone who is willing to try to put themselves in the characters shoes and someone who is  interested in learning how people from different cultures live their lives.