Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Book of Form and Emptiness

This book started slow for me, but over 500 pages I fell in love with every part of it. The characters felt particular, but relatable. Their struggles felt near impossible to overcome but never hopeless. For anyone who loves books (the stories and the Objects), this one is screaming your name. Answer it.

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farrahsoa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.25

Really enjoyed this book. I preferred ‘A Tale for the Time Being’ but Ozeki’s writing is just so strong and engaging.

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jonmayb's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

My opinions on we this book are conflicting. While it took some time for her voice to settle in, I really enjoyed Nao’s perspective of this book, even though it was sometimes difficult to get a feel for who she was and what her values were.
For the most part, I disliked Ruth’s point-of-view. While I enjoyed the depth, and the layer of mystery that her perspective added to Nao’s story, I don’t think it was necessary for it to have been so fleshed-put. While the versions of them in the book are fictional, having to read through Ruth and Oliver’s strained conversations proved awkward. For the most part, it was boring, and it often felt uncomfortable to read.
Additionally, I didn’t like the shift towards magical realism that the book took so close to the end, and the manner in which it practically made Ruth the savior of Nao’s story.
I was ultimately disappointed by all the questions the book leave unanswered as well. However, despite all of these qualms I had with it, I did, for the most part, genuinely enjoy reading this book.

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gentle_garbage_baby's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

4.75

One of the best books I've read in a long while. Beautifully written. The characters are three-dimensional and all have their good points and flaws - they are fully realised in a way that I think a lot of authors can't do justice. The only thing stopping me from giving it 5 starts is that the end felt somewhat rushed compared to the rest of the book, but it was not a bad ending by any means.

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