Scan barcode
emmagreenwood'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bethsbookshelf'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
4.5
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.
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
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, 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
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, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, and Car accident
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Fatphobia, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol
_inge's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
I also really loved the characters in this. They are very flawed, but therefore very human. Like them we don’t know whether they’re doing the right thing or not, and we question what’s real and what isn’t in this story. Often I’d totally understand where both Benny and his mum came from and it hurt to see them argue.
The book itself as a narrator worked so well too. I’d read stories where the book itself addresses you before (‘Wij Zijn Licht’) but I really liked the dialogue between Benny and the Book. Benny sometimes didn’t agree with what the Book was saying about his life, and these moments were some of the greatest in this novel for me. The book itself made me think too; I too prefer ‘happy’ books on my shelf, for instance, and often rate those more highly, even if their message isn’t as profound.
At times I did think the plot dragged a bit, but that was mostly because I wanted to see what would happen next. Sometimes characters went away for a bit, and I felt annoyed they didn’t do anything to work on their issues instead - but maybe making the reader feel annoyed at this was the point? I also didn’t really like the connection between the Zen cleaning aspects (and Marie Kondo references?) and how this tied into the story in the final part of this book. I don’t quite know what these cleaning methods actually did for Annabelle and whether this even helped her clean at all. But perhaps it’s more about the ideas behind this cleaning method and what the Zen book represented for her.
I hesitated picking this up because of the overall length, but I felt drawn to it and decided to give it a go. And I’m really glad I did. I still don’t know why I wanted to keep on reading as soon as I picked this up, and I can’t really form a clear opinion about this book as a whole. This’ll be a book I’ll think about for a long time to come.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
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: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Classism
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 shehollyd19'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
4.5
The protagonist, Benny Oh, starts hearing voices after the unexpected and upsetting death of his beloved father. He realizes that the voices are the objects of the world trying to get his attention. On the whole, he finds their pleas overwhelming and he retreats into himself in search of solace. Ultimately, he finds comfort at the public library where things are literally quiet and orderly, and he meets a delightful cast of characters from the social margins who help him see his worth and sanity. Benny’s mother, Annabelle, wracked with grief, experiences her own breakdown and begins hoarding. Benny’s new “ability” clashes dramatically with Annabelle’s penchant for collecting, and the two have to figure out how to hold their little family together amidst their individual struggles.
Ruth Ozeki is incredibly inventive and this book definitely played with structure and perspective in an original way. The supporting cast of characters were all treated as full people which added immensely to my enjoyment.
My only critique of the book is that I wished for even more insight into the world Ozeki built around objects. The Book (a character in itself!) explains to Benny that there is a bit of a rift between Made and Unmade items, and occasionally goes on rants about how various objects (specifically books) view humanity. I really enjoyed those parts and they came with less and less frequency as the book progressed which was a bit of a bummer.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
teresareads'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
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Self harm and Car accident
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, and Alcohol
odyssia'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Rape, Self harm, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Physical abuse and Mass/school shootings