Novelist Ruth lives with her husband and cat on a remote Cortes Island in British Columbia. One day, she discovers a Hello Kitty lunch box along with diary entries and old artifacts by the beach, possibly from the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan. The diary reveals a 16-year-old girl named Nao and her lonely high school life. Being the subject of extreme bullying by her classmates, Nao has decided to end her life. Nao's last project is to document her great-grandmother's life, an anarchist-feminist-novelist-turned-Buddhist-nun. Through gorgeous writing that blends humor and sympathy seamlessly, Ozeki spins a tale of how two lonely souls separated by the Pacific Ocean are intertwined and their quest to find a home.

TIME BEING is like an onion; it has layers and made me cry so much. The book alternates between Nao's diary, which describes her life in high school and at home, and Ruth's reflections on the entries. TIME BEING has a slower start, and Nao's description of bullying is extremely disturbing, even though she writes in a distant and almost whimsical voice. I was initially tempted to DNF because of how depressing the topic is, but I'm so glad I stuck with it! TIME BEING picks up pace eventually, and as I learn more about Nao's family history and how the two women are connected, I couldn't put the book down at all. I particularly adore Ozeki's masterful writing in blending Buddhism and quantum physics! When do you get to read about Zen AND Schrödinger's cat in a novel?

I think Nao's POV is more intriguing, but Ruth's narrative is a suitable break between the heavy topics. TIME BEING is a beautiful book that explores life, death, and courage in a way unlike anything I've read before.