Reviews tagging 'Grief'

El efecto del aleteo de una mariposa en Japón by Ruth Ozeki

104 reviews

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

cass_lit's review against another edition

3.25

I think I want to like Ruth Ozeki’s work more than I end up actually doing so. The idea of this had so much potential and I enjoyed having the book narrator. What’s up with modern books throwing around the r-word in order to showcase bullying though? I hate it and it makes me hate the writing. We know better and authors have to do better. I have some other critiques on the language used to talk about the mom and Benny that just overall took me out of the story. Personally, I just wish the execution of an interesting plot would’ve been done a little better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Grief, and Death of parent

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The characters are a bit too stereotypical, but I loved the way she framed mental illness and ideas about hearing voices. 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Self harm

roxyc's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Grief

Minor: Death and Death of parent

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

maijaka's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

Bittersweet facet of the ending that I can’t tell if I appreciate or not 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

pinksparklybird's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

Fabulous construction of narrative. A layered look at grief and acceptance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

rays_bookclub's review against another edition

inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent