Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

12 reviews

kbhenrickson's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found this book very frustrating. I loved some of it - the reflections on life, the parts with Nao’s great-grandmother, the initial pairing of the two stories, Nao’s diary and Ruth’s life in British Columbia when she finds the diary on the beach. I found Nao’s parts particularly compelling - some of Ruth’s parts felt like they were there mostly as a vehicle for inserting historical and scientific information.

On the other hand, there is a lot of
terrible abuse - horrific bullying and violence that is treated as normal, suicide and suicide attempts
that was hard to read. And then, though most of the book is a realistic story with a bit of spirituality, there is
an insertion of sci-fi / fantasy at the end that feels like it’s just there as a way to conclude the story but doesn’t really fit. I wish the author had kept the story realistic with a touch of otherworldly the whole way through.
The audiobook is narrated by the author, who does a great job. At the end, she points out that there are footnotes in the printed text that were not included in the audiobook as well as some illustrations, though I don’t think I’ll seek those out at this point.



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lambclown's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0


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indydc's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content warning: This book discusses suicide and other sensitive topics at length. Readers take care. 

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erinwolf1997's review against another edition

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dark 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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miciahsreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

characters - 1
worldbuilding - .75
plot - .75
enjoyment - .75
writing - 1

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imnotarke's review against another edition

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

4.0

i adored nao's story. it was so compelling and tug at my heart strings hearing from the perspective of a teenage girl. the magical realism was well-developed and fascinating to follow. i found ruth's story lacked that same attachment as nao's, but she was an essential element so i understand her placement - i just wish her story was as exciting to read as we have her for almost half of the novel. 

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nidhimoney's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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lanid's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad
  • 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


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lilacwhisker's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Loved this book so much!! It being told from the perspective of the reader and writer of the diary was so fun and interesting to read. I also really liked the appendices and cliff notes added. Nao was an amazing character and I loved reading about her while also learning about Buddhism. I thought the way that Ruth and Nao’s characters contrasted made for an exciting story and I also liked how they shared similarities in their lives and it felt like their two separate stories blended more and more the further I got into the book. 

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kaneebli's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0


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