Well there were 4 of us at book group, and those of us who had read the book
liked it a lot! Even Peter, who sadly could not be with us, liked it a
lot.
Written by Ruth Ozeki, a Zen Buddhist Priest who lives in partly in
British Columbia and partly in New York, it is about Ruth, a Japanese American
writer who lives in British Columbia and would rather be in New York. She
discovers a "Hello Kitty" lunch box on the beach which contains the diary of
Nao, a 16 year old Japanese girl. Through it we learn of Nao's relationship with
her father, her school mates and her grandmother and life in Japan, particularly
the life of a family where the father is deemed a failure. We also learn of life
on a British Columbian island, which is closed and rather
limited.
Japanese culture does not accept failure. Suicide is common.
There is cruelty towards people who do not conform. However, there is also
Buddhism and the contemplative life of the wise and ancient grandmother. Nao,
growing up gradually learns that there is a noble side to her father as there
was to her great uncle, so the book has a redemptive end which worked
well.
I loved it. I learned about Japanese society from the book and from
the discussion. I think the book cleverly links numerous themes which include
the Pacific gyre, the tsunami, Buddhism, suicide, prostitution, Kamikaze pilots,
quantum physics and lost cats, and although I found the crueller aspects hard to
read, there was a purpose to them. There was also some magical realism, which
never goes amiss!
I gave it 9 and failed to record the other excellent
scores!
RJP 30 July 2015
