the book of form and emptiness by ruth ozeki

Although Benny doesn't understand what these things are saying, he can sense their emotional tone some are pleasant, a gentle hum or coo, but others are snide, angry and full of pain.

The voices belong to the things in his house-a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce. Ozeki teaches creative writing at Smith College.A brilliantly inventive new novel about loss, growing up, and our relationship with things, by the Booker Prize-finalist author of A Tale for the Time BeingĪfter the tragic death of his beloved musician father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. She is the author of My Year of Meats, All Over Creation and A Tale for the Time Being, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. With its blend of sympathetic characters, riveting plot, and vibrant engagement with everything from jazz, to climate change, to our attachment to material possessions, The Book of Form and Emptiness is classic Ruth Ozeki - bold, wise, poignant, playful, humane and heartbreaking. He meets a homeless philosopher-poet, who encourages him to ask important questions and find his own voice amongst the many.Īnd he meets his very own Book - a talking thing - who narrates Benny's life and teaches him to listen to the things that truly matter. He falls in love with a mesmerizing street artist with a smug pet ferret, who uses the library as her performance space. There, Benny discovers a strange new world. When his mother, Annabelle, develops a hoarding problem, the voices grow more clamorous.Īt first, Benny tries to ignore them, but soon the voices follow him outside the house, onto the street and at school, driving him at last to seek refuge in the silence of a large public library, where objects are well-behaved and know to speak in whispers. The voices belong to the things in his house - a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce.

One year after the death of his beloved musician father, thirteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices.

The book of form and emptiness by ruth ozeki