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savvylit'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
In addition to Ozeki's masterful and nuanced portrayal of mental illness, this novel is a touching love letter to literature and public libraries. By the book's end, Benny learns what many of us already know: that literature and libraries can offer an incomparable refuge and that everyone has a story to tell.
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Self harm, and Addiction
Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Racism, and Fatphobia
Minor: Drug abuse
spcandybars'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: Gaslighting, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug abuse and Police brutality
Minor: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, and Animal death
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
amberinbookland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Medical content, Drug abuse, Self harm, Body shaming, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence
maddness22'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
I will say the blatant Mario Kondo comparison was a bit bizarre, but it worked great with the story.
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Body shaming
bae0fpigs'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? It's complicated
3.75
Minor: Animal death, Death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
paperknotbooks'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
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.
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Bullying, and Grief
Moderate: Drug abuse, Self harm, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood
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