Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

40 reviews

prettycloud's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

She had me with the intriguing premise, but this book delivers a nuanced look at mental illness, a thoughtful exploration of grief (both individual and the climate change/post-Trump Weltschmerz), and a celebration of love in all its forms. If I could distill this book into a single idea, it would be the forces that divide us and the ways we can connect in spite of them. This book has a lot of pain and disconnection in it, but it gave me hope that we can all somehow make it out of *gestures vaguely* all of this.

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Content Warnings

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 she

was sexually assaulted by her stepfather

.

The police violence includes violence at a protest and one of the periods of institutionalization. The institutionalization includes the threat of separation of mother and son.

teresareads's review against another edition

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Car accident and Self harm

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Bullying, and Animal death

odyssia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Police brutality, and Self harm

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Physical abuse

erica_palmisano's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Fascinating and inventive. The audiobook was really well produced and acted (there was a good amount of voice work). I recently listened to an interview of the author on the Ezra Klein show that illuminated aspects of the story and the background for writing it, and I appreciated it even more after listening. Despite the heavy themes, the story is hopeful, on the whole, and well told. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Bullying

bright_eyed_and_bookish's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.0

This is one of those books that I wished I read slower. Ruth Ozeki’s writing is so wise and compassionate. It makes me think about the big picture, about how my story fits into the world and the role that books have. I was slightly more invested in Benny’s story than Annabelle’s and I don’t think they fit together as well as I would have expected, but they are both meaningful on their own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Bullying

Minor: Sexual harassment

gabb_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Alcoholism

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Fatphobia

nikkkimarrry's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Grief

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Self harm

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Police brutality

lilly_anne's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Fatphobia

Minor: Bullying

alayamorning's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence

teamoxfordcomma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

(maybe 4.75? undecided. but I loved it.)

Well, it's official: I have a new author crush. Ruth Ozeki was not on my radar before this masterful book, but she has more than earned a permanent place. This is one of those novels I will consult again as I write things, studying the way she crafted her sentences and characters with an effortless elegance.

What a concept for a novel! There are huge discussions throughout of family, sanity, creativity, philosophy, material possessions, literature... the narration is hugely inventive and so, SO well done. I finished this book feeling triumphant and very sentimental about my love of books and literature.

The only reason I might give this 4.75 stars is because it's a long book (almost 600 pages), and I'd be lying if I claimed that I was unable to put it down (as much as I truly did love the writing). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Fatphobia, Bullying, and Self harm