Court reviewed The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Unsatisfying
3 stars
Content warning Spoilers for the ending
- Too long, a good number of pages could be cut to its benefit. It takes a while for things to get going. The sections on the Marie Kondo equivalent didn't add anything.
- While the descriptions of mental illness feel believable and interesting, at the end things are wrapped up in an unsatisfying and inauthentic way. Annabelle did not really have an "aha" moment, I don't think she even got real therapy, and Benny didn't have a breakthrough with medication or treatment. I don't feel that either are truly on a path towards healing.
- Some distasteful language around Benny's new friends, many of who are experiencing homelessness. These secondary characters felt like cliches as well.
I enjoyed the premise and I felt like Benny's and Annabelle's struggles were well documented, though could have been a little tighter. Ultimately I'm not sure what this book was trying to tell me.
