Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

60 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

faina_lea's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

hollydollyiow's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.75

This was a really beautiful book, one I think I’ll recommend lots and return to a few times.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

stormeno's review

emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Self harm, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Mass/school shootings

sraddheya's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad fast-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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book even though it made me cry a lot. The author touches upon many sensitive themes but in a compassionate way that allows the reader to sympathise with, and even relate to characters who in real life might be judged harshly. I liked how there were moments each character did something the reader might find annoying or negative but within the context of the whole story, we are able to understand why they did so and how this negative act was actually done out of kindness. I am also amazed by the authors ability to weave together so many rich stories, perspectives, relationships and characters without the book feeling overwhelming and chaotic. The story explores primarily a young son and his now single mothers character development and recovery over the loss of the father/husband, and although I found it very emotional, it was heart warming, informative/reflective and I think will make me more understanding of others actions and relationships.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, and Alcohol

This book involves a lot of characters with varying mental illnesses and in tough situations, which for the main characters, is a reaction to a horrific death. However, I do think it's done in a way that the characters and their conditions are respected but may still be triggering for some readers.

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

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Mmm delectable

Lots of little twists that made the plot more interesting and the characters more dimensional
The dual narrative was also very effective with the voices being clearly seperate

‘But stories are told in hindsight. Stories are life lived backward.’

‘They had been conditioned to believe they were not enough, and were so focused on self improvement they forgot about their inherent perfection.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

This is the second Ruth Ozeki book that I've read, and while I prefer "A Tale for the Time Being," I can't deny how poignant and well-crafted "The Book of Form and Emptiness" is.  I love the way that it splits its focus between Benny and his mother Annabelle, and I like how a book narrates the majority of the plot, with Benny's own voice gradually becoming more book-like as he matures.  Having a book as a character in a book—and establishing that that book is the same one we're reading—seems like an easy way for an author to come across as obnoxiously meta or to confuse their audience.  But Ruth Ozeki incorporates such elements with skill and to a beautiful effect.

The Zen Buddhist elements in this novel are fascinating, as well, and I appreciate how we get snippets of books within a book.  The characters' struggles and their stories prompted me to reexamine my own life, and they made me feel inspired and galvanized in a way that not many books accomplish.  I wrote down at least a dozen quotes while reading, and I'm impressed by how attached I grew to Annabelle and how quickly, too.  It's not a question of her versus Benny, but at many points in the novel, I understood Benny's embarrassment but still felt firmly on Annabelle's side, wanting to tell Benny things, like, "She's trying her best!" and, "Do you have any idea how amazing your mom is, dude?"

Overall, this is a fantastic book, and I'm looking forward to reading more by Ruth Ozeki in the future.  There's something about her style and the subjects that she chooses to focus on that makes the cogs in my brain whir like a symphony.  I hope to be able to write stories that are even a fraction as powerful and engrossing as hers someday! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Blood, Car accident, 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