Author
Ruth Ozeki
Birth Date
March 12, 1956
(70 Years)
Associated Country
United States
Ruth Ozeki is an American-Canadian novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest known for her imaginative, philosophical fiction that blends spirituality, science, and environmental themes. Born in the United States to a Japanese mother and American father, she studied English and Asian studies before working in film and television production, where she directed and produced documentary and independent films.
Ozeki gained critical acclaim with novels such as My Year of Meats (1998) and All Over Creation (2003), which explore cultural identity, agriculture, and global consumerism. She achieved international recognition with A Tale for the Time Being (2013), a novel that intertwines the lives of a Japanese teenager and a novelist in Canada, examining time, memory, and interconnectedness. The book was shortlisted for major literary awards including the Booker Prize.
In addition to her fiction, Ozeki is a Zen Buddhist priest and often incorporates themes of mindfulness, impermanence, and ecological awareness into her work. Her writing is celebrated for its philosophical depth, narrative inventiveness, and exploration of the relationship between humans and the natural world.
Ozeki gained critical acclaim with novels such as My Year of Meats (1998) and All Over Creation (2003), which explore cultural identity, agriculture, and global consumerism. She achieved international recognition with A Tale for the Time Being (2013), a novel that intertwines the lives of a Japanese teenager and a novelist in Canada, examining time, memory, and interconnectedness. The book was shortlisted for major literary awards including the Booker Prize.
In addition to her fiction, Ozeki is a Zen Buddhist priest and often incorporates themes of mindfulness, impermanence, and ecological awareness into her work. Her writing is celebrated for its philosophical depth, narrative inventiveness, and exploration of the relationship between humans and the natural world.
Books
The Typing Lady 2026
In this spirited and emotionally resonant collection, award-winning novelist Ruth Ozeki turns her singular gaze to the short story, exploring childhood ambition, youthful desire, midlife reinvention,...
One year after the death of his beloved musician father, thirteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house—a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece...
The Face 2016
What did your face look like before your parents were born? In The Face: A Time Code, bestselling author and Zen Buddhist priest Ruth Ozeki recounts, in moment-to-moment detail, a profound encounter...
In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her...
All Over Creation 2004
Yumi Fuller hasn’t set foot in her hometown of Liberty Falls, Idaho—heart of the potato-farming industry—since she ran away at age fifteen. Twenty-five years later, the prodigal daughter returns to...
My Year of Meats 1999
Ruth Ozeki’s mesmerizing debut novel has captivated readers and reviewers worldwide. When documentarian Jane Takagi-Little finally lands a job producing a Japanese television show that just happens to...