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A review by gabdee
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
3.0
this book super lost its way - by the end we’re being indulged in 2 brand new characters’ worlds and it’s annoying / boring / unhelpful to the plot and I found myself quickly skimming to get to the actual plot again. Then on top of it we have the stupid long excerpts from a “tidy magic” book AND a “book” preaching the importance of books.
I should add I am loathed when a book blurb utterly misses what the book is actually about. The blurb made me think this was fun and fantasy adjacent. That’s not what this book is. It’s hundreds of pages of psychological breakdowns, trauma induced hoarding and schizophrenia and psychosis and just really tragic circumstances.
Nuggets are beautiful in the coming of age context but then the book stops caring at all about that piece in the last 150 pages? And brings us new characters? Cut all of that unhelpful stuff out and not only is this a better book, it’d be a more palatable length and not the 550 pages it is.
It’s an innovative idea and beautiful writing that, for me, completely lost its way which was such a bummer!! 3 stars.
I should add I am loathed when a book blurb utterly misses what the book is actually about. The blurb made me think this was fun and fantasy adjacent. That’s not what this book is. It’s hundreds of pages of psychological breakdowns, trauma induced hoarding and schizophrenia and psychosis and just really tragic circumstances.
Nuggets are beautiful in the coming of age context but then the book stops caring at all about that piece in the last 150 pages? And brings us new characters? Cut all of that unhelpful stuff out and not only is this a better book, it’d be a more palatable length and not the 550 pages it is.
It’s an innovative idea and beautiful writing that, for me, completely lost its way which was such a bummer!! 3 stars.