I'm very torn about this book - on the one hand it is supremely clever and satisfying to the word-lovers brain. It's surprising ending and overarching themes are truly gems. However, I think to some extent that whilst the ideas carried through from German into the English translation, the writing skill was lost. It was very clunky and difficult to follow. I wasn't gripped because the writing style itself was not enjoyable to read. On the plus side though, the actual physical book itself feels amazing. It's a beautiful texture and the embossed title is very satisfying. The title on mine was printed upside down so it does have to live horizontally on my shelf so as not to confuse anyone! Overall, I think I would recommend this book to only the hardiest of book and language lovers purely for its story. You need some perseverance and a desire to see the overall outcome in order to gain the pleasure from this book.