Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Book of Form and Emptiness

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

30 reviews

katieconklin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

2.5

This book is an interesting concept and does a great job expressing how grief looks different in all of us. However, I basically had to force myself to read it because of how slow paced it is, and the fact that I didn't like any of the characters. The entire point of the book was character development, yet almost all of the character development was brushed over in the last 2 pages of the book in a sort of montage way. It's thought provoking and sends a good message, but is overall just too long and dry for my taste.

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madeleinebay's review

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4.0

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lottiegasp's review against another edition

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I found it boring and too slow-paced after the first few chapters. I did not find myself caring enough for the characters or the outcome to continue

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marisamidori's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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librarianlayla's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

If you're looking for a book that has a lot of emotional range, but not overly littered with joy or hope - then this is for you.

Whilst beautifully written, raw and real - there wasn't a lot of light within this book. It holds a lot of pain, confusion and loss.

This book is designed to make you feel and to think on a broader spectrum. Less about enjoyment and more about emotional expansion within the realm of sorrow.

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danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

I kept going back and forth on my rating for this one between a 4 and a 5. And to be honest, if I was rating only on the quality of the writing, both prose and structure, it probably deserves a 4. Still a very good book, but there were parts that definitely didn't work or felt narratively clumsy, but truthfully, forest for the trees I found it deeply emotional, moving, and what did work was breathtaking and deeply deeply affecting for me. So this is sort of a “you know what, f**ck it, despite its flaws I loved it” 5 stars. A teenager and his mother both battle mental illness in the aftermath of the sudden death of their father/husband. The teenager, Benny, hears voices. And inanimate objects speak to him. And one of those is an omniscient voice called "The Book". And the narrative toggles back and forth between Benny's perspective and the perspective of the eponymous anthropomorphic book. And this device was used brilliantly to drive home the book's larger themes about the meaning that we give objects in our lives, especially when dealing with grief.

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