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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
aemulatio'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
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Self harm
Minor: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Violence, Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, and Animal death
dasha_musa'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
3.5
I considered DNFing this book at around 30% but I decided to push through; I don't regret continuing on and I think the last 25% of the book redeemed itself a little bit. Glacial pace to start, for sure. At times, especially closer to the beginning, this book felt like it was trying too hard; everything was obvious and spelled out with no room for interpretation and critical thinking from the reader. I would go so far as to say that sometimes it felt preachy and transparent (no problem with there being a bias or a message, but I would like to be led to reaching such conclusions myself, rather than just being told what they are -- where's the fun in that!). In terms of themes, I also think this book was trying to tackle too much for it all to gain significant hold. I see the attempts to make the characters' grief and struggles relatable, but at times it felt too methodically calculated for the sake of literature to be realistic, so it just felt frustrating to read about (looking at you, Annabelle).
As far as the ending goes, there wasn't any big "hurrah, happy ever after" moment; the resolution actually felt pretty realistic and I think that's a good thing. I have not experienced in life what these characters have experienced, so I liked having the opportunity to read their stories, but I just didn't love the process of reading this book.
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug use and Self harm
Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Fatphobia
ambero'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Fatphobia
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
qqjj'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
4.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Cannibalism, Rape, Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Self harm, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
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
franklola'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
4.25
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Fatphobia, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Self harm
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 shegreenwillow77'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
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Animal death, Violence, and Drug abuse