Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

88 reviews

spcandybars's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

5.0

I have to say that I absolutely love, no, completely adore this book. So much feels so relatable - the depiction of the mother’s ADHD, the presence of the Marie Kondo + Japanese minimalism tidying boom, the odd complications of aging into adulthood within a rapidly changing society - but then there are the the moments that aren’t relatable, that don’t make you feel nostalgic about your life. There’s pain and struggles with mental health that may seem far away but are so close anyway.  I heavily appreciated the tie between Benny’s auditory hallucinations, the likely ghost of the Kenji, and the incorporation of the Japanese/Shinto beliefs surrounding the spirit of all things. I also love “the book” and how it encompasses many a book lover’s inner ramblings about their favorite item while also representing something much more abstract. I could dig into so many pieces of this book but in this moment I’m just so happy to have added it to a never ending collection of stories (which I think would make the book happy as well). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug abuse and Police brutality

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

deenmachine's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.75

The beginning and ending were really engaging but the middle really dragged and I almost set it down. Way too long, especially for a book about stuff and material accumulation. The last plot twist 

with the riots

felt unnecessary. 

But when it's good, it's really good. All the characters are complex; just when you think they are on a neat redemption arc, they mess it up and keep you guessing. I love how she writes herself into her books. Some really beautiful musings on grief, coping and memory!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Sexual assault

candournat's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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 book is honestly unreal!! I can’t even begin to explain how clever Ruth Ozeki is. 

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! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

aemulatio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Self harm and Sexual content

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy

amberinbookland's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Gun violence

bae0fpigs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

teainthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Violence

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Drug abuse

bethsbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

I think the theme of the novels I’m reading this year is: masterpieces. That’s what this is. It was absolutely stunning, mesmerising, heart-breaking, heart-healing, unique and all around lovely. It exposed so many harsh truths about American culture, grief, motherhood, boyhood, mental illness and love. And it did so in a way that felt like the author was poking holes in each theme, one tiny pinprick at a time, until what she had was fractures of light in a dark canvas, giving the reader hope by the end of the book, though not a complete and tied-up happy ending (because that wouldn’t be realistic). 

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

paperknotbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

I apologize to my socks whenever I start to roll them, thanks to Marie Kondo. Thanks for the reminder that I’ve always talked to inanimate objects. 

This is a book with an ending full of hope, despite the content. It may be a touch long, but worth the ride. I audiobook’d this, and had no problems with it. I know a lot of people find the audiobook a bit grating because Benny is over-the-top whinny and his mother sounds like an airhead. I enjoyed the listen, but it won’t be for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse, Self harm, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood

storykath's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-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

3.75

Whew, finally made it! I read this book in fits and starts over the last two weeks, and a lot of the time it felt unending, but in the end it was a worthwhile story that will probably stay on my mind for a while.

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, and Pregnancy