Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

209 reviews

sarasukovic's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It was a promising book, loved the writing style, Nao is a compelling character, the premise was interesting. I hated the open ending, as usual.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death

daretoread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Bullying

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, War, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Dementia, Mental illness, Suicide, Vomit, and Violence

Minor: Genocide

jackbifrost's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Bullying, Torture, War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Grief, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Sexual content, Trafficking, and Vomit

mandyrose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

tentenlibrarian's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I firmly believe Ruth Ozeki can do no wrong. Her prose is breathtaking and her characters are all so fully formed, pulling the reader into their lives in a way that I rarely experience in reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

brite_girl's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicide and War

enoemo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this broke my heart and taught me so many things and made me laugh and made me feel so deeply for the characters... truly an amazing read in a way that i find difficult to put into words. the titular theme pops up in so many unexpected and smart ways and despite the magical realism that finds its way into parts of the book the plot feels natural. nao is an utterly believable character and i feel like so many aspects about girlhood that i found so difficult to explain as a teenager come through so well in her diary. i am not entirely sure how i feel about the ending yet, but in a way i suppose the book is built to make you feel that way so... i'll reflect some more and look forward to coming back to this, i'd love to read it again in my lifetime. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual assault, Death, and Bullying

Moderate: Blood, Dementia, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, and Rape

Minor: Sexual violence, Gun violence, Hate crime, Fatphobia, and Pedophilia

maddythide's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Bullying, and Pedophilia

siriface's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Sexual assault, Suicide, Mental illness, Violence, and Death

leweylibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a good book to read during our trip to Japan! There were so many small elements about modern Japanese culture in this book that came up or I noticed in person during our trip, like the maid cafes, family marts, and vending machines. 

The narrator was the author, and she did such an amazing job with these dual narrators in the story, especially considering one was a child/teenager. 

The book was also great enough to me that I know need a physical copy so I can reread it in the future and make better notes of the parts that really hit me hard--and there's a lot of them. Nao and Ruth's characters are great, especially together even though they never technically meet (I love the ending by the way). Ozeki flawlessly weaved these stories together even though they never officially crossed paths. I also loved Nao's father and their relationship and his struggles. I know mental health isn't something that community talks about much at all, so I think it's amazing that this book does talk about it, even if it is painful to read. I love the way this book talks about time and life and what we choose to do with the two. Now I really want to read Nao's book about her grandmother! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Suicide, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Rape