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emmagreenwood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Cursing, Sexual assault, Grief, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Racism, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Police brutality, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use
alomie's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I really had to concentrate with this book, and it wasn't am easy read to begin with, there is actually quite a lot packed into this book, and it's not really surprising that it's over 500 pages long.
There is the main plot about Benny our main character who is struggling with mental health issues following the tragic and unexpected death of his father, Benny hears objects talk to him, and also hears voices.
There is the chapters from the perspective of a book that is Benny's story, which speaks to Benny and helps him remember things he has forgot, these parts were honestly my favourite, and I highlighted so many bits, that it's impossible to share them all.
There is the story of Annabell Benny's mother who is isolated, friendless, in a job that is being phased out, recently widowed and dealing with the mental health problems of herself and her teenage son.
Also there is the stories of the bottleman (a homeless poet) and the Aleph, a older girl who Benny meets in the hospital when he is committed for hearing voice, a troubled girl with a drug addiction who is also a talented artist.
And I've not even mentioned the part of the story about the Zen monk who writes a book about tidying (think Marie Kondo) and whole chapters of that book are in this one. This book eventually helps Annabelle, make changes.
All of this only really scratches the surface, and I really enjoyed this book but, it did take me a while to get into it, but there is some definite magic in these pages, I've given it a 4.5 because of that, and some parts dragged a bit.
Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Panic attacks/disorders
candournat's review against another edition
- 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
The Book of Form and Emptiness is beautifully written, philosophical, and absolutely full of clever metaphor.
I cannot recommend it enough, I’ve honestly never enjoyed the form and structure of a book as much as I have with this one. Using the Book ( / Benny’s voices) as a narrator and having Benny give his thoughts on the direction of the story between chapters is so clever and original.
It has truly cured my big book fear!
Graphic: Self harm, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Addiction, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Bullying, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
bethsbookshelf's review against another edition
- 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
I tabbed so many sections of this book: favourite quotes, favourite parts, characterisation, magic, grief, objects, romance, and parenthood. These are what I considered to be the main themes throughout the book, told through the eyes of the book itself.
That’s probably what I loved most about this book: it was multi-perspective between Benny and the physical book you’re holding in your hands. The book gives you insights into what it’s like to be a book, to live in a library, a bookshelf, on someone’s bedside table. It’s absolutely stunning and I’ve never read anything like it.
I love this book because it is special. It’s something I felt I lived through, thanks to the fine details throughout. I will never forget it, and I’ll definitely pick up another Ozeki since I’ve loved both books of hers I’ve read so far.
The pacing is deliberately slow, but that’s the only thing I had trouble with. I appreciate the pacing for what it is, but it really bogged me down sometimes. I couldn’t just read 10 pages here or there; I had to really carve out 30-120 minute reading sessions to enjoy what I was reading. I would have maybe fared better with the book had 100-150 pages been cut, but it’s not my story to tell, so I would never ask Ozeki to change it. But that is the reason for dropping half a star.
If you want something different, something raw and vulnerable, something magic, something sad, something that highlights what it’s like to be a mother, to be a son, to be tormented, to be called to do something - then this is the book for you.
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Grief
storykath's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
This book tackles a lot; there's commentary on mental health, addiction, the nature of stories, politics, and society as a whole. It was an effort to continually wade through them all, but the switches in POVs were effective for keeping things balanced.
There's also a lot of nuance and ambiguity in this book, and I think it was handled incredibly well. We hear the subjective thoughts and feelings of characters with mental illnesses and addictions, and we can see how easy it is for them to fall into deluded or dangerous ways of thinking. At times I was totally immersed in each character's perspective, and at other times I could approach it more objectively and see the truths that they were missing. To handle this type of writing so sensitively and faithfully is really a feat.
I don't think I would read this book again, as a lot of the philosophy was too nebulous for my tastes, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for an absurd yet bracingly real story of struggle and survival.
Definitely check content warnings before diving in.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Blood, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Medical content, and Bullying
Minor: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Violence
karenmariscalo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Car accident, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Addiction, Alcohol, Fatphobia, and Bullying
_inge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I also really loved the characters in this. They are very flawed, but therefore very human. Like them we don’t know whether they’re doing the right thing or not, and we question what’s real and what isn’t in this story. Often I’d totally understand where both Benny and his mum came from and it hurt to see them argue.
The book itself as a narrator worked so well too. I’d read stories where the book itself addresses you before (‘Wij Zijn Licht’) but I really liked the dialogue between Benny and the Book. Benny sometimes didn’t agree with what the Book was saying about his life, and these moments were some of the greatest in this novel for me. The book itself made me think too; I too prefer ‘happy’ books on my shelf, for instance, and often rate those more highly, even if their message isn’t as profound.
At times I did think the plot dragged a bit, but that was mostly because I wanted to see what would happen next. Sometimes characters went away for a bit, and I felt annoyed they didn’t do anything to work on their issues instead - but maybe making the reader feel annoyed at this was the point? I also didn’t really like the connection between the Zen cleaning aspects (and Marie Kondo references?) and how this tied into the story in the final part of this book. I don’t quite know what these cleaning methods actually did for Annabelle and whether this even helped her clean at all. But perhaps it’s more about the ideas behind this cleaning method and what the Zen book represented for her.
I hesitated picking this up because of the overall length, but I felt drawn to it and decided to give it a go. And I’m really glad I did. I still don’t know why I wanted to keep on reading as soon as I picked this up, and I can’t really form a clear opinion about this book as a whole. This’ll be a book I’ll think about for a long time to come.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Addiction, Abandonment, Ableism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Death, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Violence
feebles640's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Death of parent, Body horror, Self harm, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Addiction, and Alcoholism
prettycloud's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Violence, Blood, Grief, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Cursing, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Sexual content, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Sexual violence
Minor: Ableism, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Classism, Gun violence, Antisemitism, and Suicide attempt
This book has a lot of heavy content but it does not stay in its dark parts long and its overall tone is hopeful. It never lingers on lurid details, and the narrators tend to talk around what's happening/has happened. Both the mother and son are traumatized and both have traumatic interactions with institutions of the state, and sheunboxedjack's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Mental illness