Saudade as the Recurring Theme in Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being and The Book of Form and Emptiness

Priya L.¹, Dr. B. Lakshmikantham²

¹Research Scholar (Registration Number: 2511128022001), Research Department of English, St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627012. ORCID ID: 0009-0009-4010-7340

²Research Supervisor & Assistant Professor, Research Department of English, St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627012. 

Abstract

Ruth Ozeki herself, being a third culture kid, portrays her third novel, A Tale for the Time Being and the fourth novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness’s from the perspective of third culture kids. Ozeki brings out the sufferings like identity crises and alienation they face in society for being a third culture kid. In The Book of Form and Emptiness, she explores the theme of grief through the characters Benny Oh and Annabelle with the sudden death of Kenji Oh and in ATale for the Time Being, through Nao’s character with the death of Jiko, a Buddhist nun and Nao’s grandmother. Ozeki, with the help of Nao and Ruth in A Tale for the Time Being and in The Book of Form and Emptiness through Benny Oh, Annabelle, Aleph/Alice and Bottleman explores nostalgia. This paper explores the theme of saudade, identity crisis and its effects in the life of the specific third culture kids of Ozeki’s novels. 

Keywords: Saudade, Identity crisis, Third culture kid, Death, Nostalgia, Alienation, Grief.