Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

37 reviews

hduc's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Police brutality, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Violence, Animal death, Drug use, Addiction, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Alcohol

stabilesero's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

I have a soft spot for books that contain characters with mental illness, and Ozeki worked magic with Benny's character. Very few authors are able to portray the harrowing details of living with mental illness, and she absolutely hit the mark. 
Benny and his mother's story is one of grief, struggle within society, expectations one puts on oneself and society's expectations; as well as all the things including growing up, community and belonging. 
I loved this book so much and I really didn't expect to. It had been sitting on my tbr shelf for so long because I feared it's size but it was worth it. It's definitely not going to be for everyone, but between the crows, jazz music, B-Man and all the other intricate details of this book; this was my book to a T.
I will absolutely be picking up more by Ozeki.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Cursing, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Bullying

itsbumley's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, and Self harm

Minor: Child abuse and Sexual violence

cymbopogon's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.75

I'm still not sure whether I liked this book or not.

It was much darker and heavy with psychological issues than I was expecting.

I did not particularly enjoy having insights from the Book + interruptions from Benny + Tidy Magic (Kondo method but by a zen nun) in addition to the book itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Forced institutionalization

ulviyyask's review

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content and Alcoholism

hail_archangel's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug abuse, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Bullying, Rape, and Blood

knupselmaus's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

Minor: Rape

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

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

lottiegasp's review

I found it boring and too slow-paced after the first few chapters. I did not find myself caring enough for the characters or the outcome to continue 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness and Fatphobia

Minor: Racial slurs