A Tale for the Time Being is a story told through time. Ruth, a writer living on a remote island in Canada, finds a Hello Kitty Lunchbox washed up on the beach. Thinking it is part of the debris from the tsunami of 2011 that hit Japan, she takes the contents of the lunchbox home to study.
This begins her journey through time as she learns about the life of Nao, a young Japanese girl whose family returns to Japan after living in America. Nao does not understand the Japanese culture because she has only experienced life in America. The Japanese culture differs drastically from her upbringing in America.
Nao is bullied by her classmates because she is not as smart and weighs more than they do due to her American diet. She is placed in a class with younger classmates because she does not have the education needed to be placed with students her own age. Nao is teased by her classmates and even physically assaulted. The teacher joins the class in having a funeral for Nao as they pretend she does not exist. This leads Nao to have suicidal thoughts.
Suicide is commonplace in Japan. So many people throw themselves in front of trains that the government makes the victim’s family pay for the cleanup. Nao’s father feels that he is a failure having to return to Japan after his failed success in America. He attempts suicide several times. It is seen as more honorable than living an unsuccessful life.
Ruth feels for this family. She wants to help them and seems to forget that the events in the diary have already happened and there is nothing she can do. As she experiences Nao’s story, it is the present to her and their lives are as important as her own. She uses their story to escape from her own life and responsibilities. Ruth feels a connection to this girl from the past and wonders what happened to her.
Ruth’s husband and her friends worry about her obsession with Nao’s story. They see how she is losing time and is not present in her own life. They want to help her but are unsure of what to do. Her husband is intrigued by Nao’s story and must remind his wife that Nao would no longer be a young girl and is not experiencing the angst from the diary. It is the girl’s past and there is nothing that Ruth can do about what has already happened.
Ruth worries that she is going crazy and wants her husband, Oliver to tell her that she is not. He cannot do this because he is concerned with her lapses of memory and thinking that she is traveling through time and interacting with Nao’s father to help Nao. He believes these are dreams she is experiencing because of reading Nao’s journal and worries about her mental health.
When Ruth finishes the journal, she does not get closure because the journal does not say what happened to Nao and if she survived and is living happily. This leaves Ruth without closure, so she pens a letter to Nao. By penning the letter, it makes her realize that not knowing makes anything possible. She can think of Nao fulfilling her dreams and having a great life. She wishes the best for Nao and can believe she is happy. This makes Ruth want to work for her own happiness.
