Nao's father suffers from depression and her school days appear extraordinarily cruel to western eyes, yet she's retained a sense of fun alongside the understandable melancholy. As we read her diary with the fictional Ruth, the teenager's youthful exuberance dances off the page but she's also been acquainted with pain. Indeed, it's not just the title that ensures no one's marginalised Nao is instantly likeable. The Time Being of the title is anyone who's a being in time, therefore all of us. It's mainstream, covers so many subjects that it's panoramically eclectic (in a good way) and as charming for those of us who love 'literary' as it is for those of us who just like a good read. A Tale for the Time Being is no niche This Flawless Place Between. Ruth isn't just a writer, she's also a Zen Buddhist priest but please don’t let that put you off.

The 2013 Man Booker judges were looking for originality when they compiled the short list, therefore it's not surprising that Canadian/American author Ruth Ozeki's novel was a shoo in.

Through her writing Nao becomes real and the tales of her varied life, struggles at school and fascinating relatives compels Ruth to search for her, or at least to discover her fate. As Ruth opens it and begins reading the diary safely protected inside, she learns about Nao, a teenager in Japan. Ruth finds a 'Hello Kitty' bag washed up on the shore of Whaletown, the small Canadian island that she and her husband Oliver call home.

Ruth author a tale for the time being