Reviews with content warning for Schizophrenia/Psychosis - The Book of Form & Emptiness

Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

The Book of Form & Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

98 reviews

heidi_meredith's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

I liked the way this challenged perceptions of mental illness, yet I also wondered if there were elements of the "Just pull your socks up" attitude, which can be unhelpful, although it worked for the storyline and character development.

I loved the writing style and cast of characters, especially the mother-son relationship and its bittersweetness, with the changes of adolescence and their shared grief. For me, it spoke deeply about our relationships with the objects around us and the value we impute to them. I enjoyed seeing the parallel journey of mother and son in this, with the mother often imputing personality or intent to objects in a way that her son was also experiencing through his mental illness. This ties in with conversations the son has with his friends regarding the nature of mental illness and where the boundaries for 'normal' are set.

I found this book hopeful and accepting of those on the fringes of society. It seems to seek connection and beauty in lives otherwise adversely affected by trauma, grief and illness.

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natgzmun's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

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danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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 kept going back and forth on my rating for this one between a 4 and a 5. And to be honest, if I was rating only on the quality of the writing, both prose and structure, it probably deserves a 4. Still a very good book, but there were parts that definitely didn't work or felt narratively clumsy, but truthfully, forest for the trees I found it deeply emotional, moving, and what did work was breathtaking and deeply deeply affecting for me. So this is sort of a “you know what, f**ck it, despite its flaws I loved it” 5 stars. A teenager and his mother both battle mental illness in the aftermath of the sudden death of their father/husband. The teenager, Benny, hears voices. And inanimate objects speak to him. And one of those is an omniscient voice called "The Book". And the narrative toggles back and forth between Benny's perspective and the perspective of the eponymous anthropomorphic book. And this device was used brilliantly to drive home the book's larger themes about the meaning that we give objects in our lives, especially when dealing with grief.

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rei_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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mindy_mo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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

4.25

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cupidcove's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

3.25

I found this book a bit too John Green-y at times with the portrayal of one manic pixie dream girl character (Aleph) and her quirky cast of friends, but I ultimately found the narrative perspective and struture of the text and how it raises questions about the way we, as a society, frame questions about mental health interesting. I enjoyed the read, but wish I would have read it in high school.

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