The sensitivity of the left ventral occipito-temporal (vOT) cortex to visual word processing has triggered a considerable debate about the functional role of this region in reading. The debate rests largely on the issue whether this particular region is specifically dedicated to reading and the extraction of invariant visual word form. A lot of studies have been conducted to provide evidences supporting or against the functional specialization of this region. However, the trend is showing that the different functional properties proposed by the two kinds of view are not in conflict with each other, but instead show different sides of the same fact. Here, the authors focus on two questions: firstly, where do the two views conflict, and secondly, how do they fit with each other on a larger framework of functional organization in object vision pathway? This review evaluates findings from the two sides of the debate for a broader understanding of the functional role of the left vOT cortex.