Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

14 reviews

alyal's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I ❤️ Ruth Ozeki! If you liked this book, you should read her other book A Tale for the Time Being. That's what got me into her books. 

I've been wanting to read her other books for years and I finally had access to this one and I'm happy but I want to read her other ones too!

This book is about a boy and his mother grieving the death of their loved one (his father, her husband). They both find different outlets for their grief and find ways to continue to grow even as they grieve.

It's very profound but isn't pretentious or obnoxious, which is Ruth's specialty. She always manages to tackle really depressing subjects in a hopeful way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming and Bullying

Minor: Self harm, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, and Toxic friendship

withlivjones's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

Every time I thought it couldn’t get any worse for this poor boy and his mum, surprise! It got worse! 

This book is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, about grief, mental illness, and the power of reaching out for help. Both Benny and Annabelle are imperfect and often make poor decisions, but they are still so sympathetic and well-written. They are such a realistic portrayal of a mother who is just trying her best and a teenage boy who is still figuring everything out about himself. I liked the meta, omniscient narration by the Book as well, it felt very similar to The Book Thief in the sense that the narrator knows exactly what is going to happen but is powerless to stop it. 

Overall, don’t be intimidated by this book’s size! The start is a little slow but I was surprised by how much I didn’t want to put the book down. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Self harm, and Violence

ka_cam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.25

Weaving an omnicient Book narrator with a youthful young man who hears voices of objects and unseen entities (including the Book) as him and his mom grieves the loss of his father and finds his way through early adolescence. Some of the characters felt a bit flat/different from a teen boy narrator, but otherwise a solid read. The self proclaimed ‘big question’ is “what is real?” But themes of family, friendship, mental health, anti-capitalism, suffering, zen, substance use/abuse, and family/care.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

orlagal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

thursdd4y's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

2.5

The ending was lovely, but this book felt 200 pages too long and I really started to hate picking it up. Personally a lot of it could’ve been cut and made everything a lot more powerful and engaging, because at times it felt tedious.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Very respectful of people with different minds. Very kind. Very well reseaeched into the intersections of people's lives and how their mental illnesses or impairities can / may be affected by outside factors. Very very, very real, living, loving book. 🥰 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Car accident

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic

warning_about_sophie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

Incredible and deeply moving. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Fatphobia and Racism

alicelalicon's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

willows's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No

3.75

 That was absolutely bonkers and had very memorable characters. Literally wack, it's been weeks and I still think about it. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Police brutality

savvylit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-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

The Book of Form and Emptiness is a deep dive into the ills of consumerism, overwhelming grief, literature as refuge, and misunderstood mental illness. The two protagonists of Benny and his mother Annabelle are beautifully and unflinchingly portrayed. As Ozeki unveils their individual grief, it gradually morphs into distinct mental illnesses for each of them. Annabelle's hoarding happens so gradually and logically (to her) that readers come to see it for what it is: an entirely natural & unsurprising reaction to her loneliness. Similarly, Ozeki presents Benny's symptoms through the lens of magical realism. This allows readers to empathize with Benny's burden - rather than pity or judge. Also, two of the book's secondary characters are houseless individuals. Readers get to know both of them as Benny does - which is to come to understand the circumstances and pain that led to their ostracization from society at large.

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Racism, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse