Overall Rating and Opinion of A Tale for the Time Being
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Overall Rating and Opinion of A Tale for the Time Being
"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
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So far I have found it very easy to get into; the short chapters and the dual perspectives have sucked me in and I find myself saying "just one more" as I attempt to go to sleep.
I have noticed a lot of references to technology, the environment, science and faith. I had to chuckle to myself when I read this sentence: “Ruth snapped the book shut and closed her eyes for good measure to keep herself from cheating and reading the final sentence…”
I understand this sentiment all too well.
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forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php ... 71#p217171
A world is born again that never dies.
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Thanks Fran, for that link. Everyone raised some really insightful points. I really loved this book, especially the play on words in the title and the shifting narration. I am not sure what the etiquette is on posting here. Many people seem to have not read the book yet. Should I post my thoughts on the the thread linked above to avoid spoilers?Fran wrote:Any of you reading A Tale For The Time Being might be interested in the discussion DATo, Gannon & myself had about this book back in October 2013 which led to it being suggested as a Book of the Month
forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php ... 71#p217171
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You can post your views here. I really don't understand why people post here if they haven't actually read the book - the title of the topic is surely plain enough.
It is a great book & I'm looking forward to reading your opinion.
A world is born again that never dies.
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I am a huge fan of meta-fiction, in any form, so that was what really sold the book for me. The semi/pseudo autobiographical story of Ruth, an author looking for a story was fascinating. It created an bond between author and reader (and the author as a reader) that I've seldom seen done before. The awareness of the story as a story, of stories within stories, made it a unique experience.
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I actually liked the last part of the book. On the contrary, I felt it finally tied the story together. Before that, things just went from bad to worse, to even worse, to impossibly bad, and I kept thinking, good grief, what is the point to all of this and where is it going? I liked the idea of there being a kind of link through time between Ruth and Nao that ultimately helped resolve that downward spiral. I also liked that it allowed the characters to connect in a somewhat concrete way after talking to each other (sort of) through time through the diary.jhollan2 wrote:I loved this book up until the last hundred pages or so, when it went in a totally different direction than I expected it to go. I liked the way that it made me think about time and the imagery of looking back to the past while someone there looks forward to the future. I wasn't really sure what to think about the whole introduction of quantum physics as a way to manipulate time to change the future/past. It read almost like a memoir nestled into a memoir, and then I put the book down for a moment and slipped into the Twilight Zone. It just seemed out of place to me.
I am a huge fan of meta-fiction, in any form, so that was what really sold the book for me. The semi/pseudo autobiographical story of Ruth, an author looking for a story was fascinating. It created an bond between author and reader (and the author as a reader) that I've seldom seen done before. The awareness of the story as a story, of stories within stories, made it a unique experience.
I agree that Ruth's semi-autobiographical character and role in the story added an interesting dimension to the book. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I read a little online about that, and the author chose to have a number of similarities between herself and the character. As I read the book I kept wondering what it would be like for her to be writing working from that perspective. It seems like it would be really strange.