Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

24 reviews

futuretreeman's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I was in my favorite bookstore when we found each other. It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall used-book bookstore. But the hole goes surprisingly far back and the precariously leaning bookshelves touch the ceiling. It's a magical place that never fails to house several books I'm interested in. It was the first place I visited when I moved to college and the last place I visited when I dropped out.

Just like the book-within-the-book "Tidy Magic", 'The Book of Form and Emptiness', flew off the shelf to me. I was in the middle of several projects about homes and objects, the way objects feel and the way they make us feel and the memories they help us make. I even wrote poems about forks and spoons and napkins.

I was also beginning some self-discovery at the time. My dad died too when I was a little kid and after years of ignoring how it hurt, I finally started to recognize how it really made me feel and who I had turned into.

By the time I finished the book, I had gone through other changes too. I learned what a terrific friend I had been in college, unreliable, apathetic, and exactly the kind of person I had always feared becoming. I went through back-and-forth stages of putting the blame all on me, all on my friends, and realizing we all had roles to play.

I've felt much like Benny. I even feel like Annabelle as I write this review.

The certainly hasn't changed my life, and it will take far more than words on a page to heal my hurt and the hurt I've caused others. But this book has had a marvelous impact on me. I sometimes find myself wondering if a hot pan burns because it is angry at you for hurting it by putting it in the oven. But my family hasn't read this book and they'd think I was crazy if I said it out loud.

If you've read the book, you understand.

And if you find a book that makes you feel this way, listen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Death, and Self harm

Moderate: Drug abuse, Body horror, Car accident, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Blood, Bullying, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty

rainbowarpaint's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

Moderate: Bullying

livcashmere's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Bullying, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

katieconklin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

This book is an interesting concept and does a great job expressing how grief looks different in all of us. However, I basically had to force myself to read it because of how slow paced it is, and the fact that I didn't like any of the characters. The entire point of the book was character development, yet almost all of the character development was brushed over in the last 2 pages of the book in a sort of montage way. It's thought provoking and sends a good message, but is overall just too long and dry for my taste.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Addiction, Police brutality, Alcoholism, and Violence

warning_about_sophie's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

Incredible and deeply moving. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Self harm, and Abandonment

Minor: Racism and Fatphobia

madeleinebay's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

Moderate: Drug use, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Drug abuse

Minor: Police brutality

izabruce's review

emotional funny 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

4.75

Fantastic book, funny and emotional all at once. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Self harm, Medical trauma, and Fatphobia

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, and Self harm

aurie1000's review

emotional reflective 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

4.25

I might have rated this higher if it had been shorter and if I had read rather than listened to as I feel Annabell would have had a different less jarring voice. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Addiction

librarianlayla's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

If you're looking for a book that has a lot of emotional range, but not overly littered with joy or hope - then this is for you.

Whilst beautifully written, raw and real - there wasn't a lot of light within this book. It holds a lot of pain, confusion and loss.

This book is designed to make you feel and to think on a broader spectrum. Less about enjoyment and more about emotional expansion within the realm of sorrow.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, Addiction, Car accident, Drug use, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Hate crime

cupidcove's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Self harm, and Drug abuse

Minor: Animal death and Homophobia