Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

67 reviews

aurie1000's review against another edition

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

gemma123123's review against another edition

inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual violence, Addiction, and Self harm

drharms's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Addiction

erinwolf1997's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Alcohol, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, Incest, Police brutality, Self harm, and Sexual content

yosiabiy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

What a beautifully written novel! This book follows Benny, a young boy who starts hearing voices coming from random objects shortly after his father tragically and suddenly dies. As he struggles with his grief and these voices, his mother, Annabelle, struggles with her own grief as well as with their relationship and raising him. This book also felt like a love letter to books and reading. At one point, the author refers to a library as "a repository housing the bound testimony of mankind's mortal fears and immortal yearnings". I remember after reading that line I audibly laughed and had to pause reading because it truly floored me for a second. And there are so many other moments like that in this book. A heartbreaking yet hopeful novel, this book is definitely one of my favorites this year!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse

condor's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

This is a book that surprised at every turn. Incredibly well written and beautifully performed in the audio version. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Addiction, and Drug use

librarianlayla's review against another edition

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

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death of parent, Bullying, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcoholism

cmgriffin's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

This is the kind of book that takes you apart and puts you back together again. It’s great, and I’ll never re-read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide, Animal death, Drug use, and Addiction

Minor: Bullying and Body shaming

clemencepct's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Animal death