This book just took my breath away with its sheer beauty. It's a book of philosophical questions that will make you question so much of reality. It's a story about love, and grief, family and friendship. It deals with mental ill health in a way that made me think, it's not that people are sick individually so much as that the world is sick and those that question conventional society are labelled as mentally ill. It's a story about books and how they can change the world.

More than anything it's a story about a mother and son finding their way back to one another after trauma and grief unravelled them.

Truly stunningly beautiful.

Thirteen-year-old Benny Oh's dad dies in a horrible, shocking way and after that he begins to hear voices. The voices are those of the objects in the house and have different emotional resonance. Annabelle, his mother is grieving and hoarding and really finding it hard to help Benny. Benny branches out into the world (most especially the library), and meets a diverse group of outsiders who help him find his own voice. I struggled with this book at times, with its sprawling structure and the characterisation of Annabelle. I so loved Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being and this was not as satisfying as that earlier novel, although it explores some of the same themes.

"We are the stories we tell ourselves. We make ourselves up. We make each other up too."

"One book, when read by different readers, becomes a different book, becomes an ever changing array of books that flow through human consciousness like a wave."

Those are, not exact but close enough, captions from the end of the story that describe readers experience with books so perfectly. You may have read this book, read the same words as I did, but our experiences are not the same. They couldn't possibly be. Readers are collaborators with the books. The writers gives us words, but they have no power over how we will take them.

Ruth Ozeki's The Book of Form and Emptiness takes readers on a captivating journey through the intricate layers of loss, growing up, and the sanctuary found within the pages of a library. At its core, the novel introduces us to fourteen-year-old Benny Oh, whose world is turned upside down after the tragic death of his musician father.

The brilliance of Ozeki's storytelling lies in the inventive exploration of Benny's coping mechanism—the ability to hear voices emanating from the objects in his house. This unique phenomenon becomes the lens through which the novel examines the emotional impact on Benny and his family. The exploration of loss and the challenges of adolescence are skillfully intertwined, creating a narrative that is both poignant and thought-provoking.

What stands out is Ozeki's compassion for imperfect characters, a compassion that shapes the resolution of the story. Alternating chapters between Annabelle's story, Benny's reactions, and occasional Marie Kondo-style chapters provide a unique reading experience. Yes, it's a challenging read, but one that's profoundly rewarding once you get into the rhythm of the narrative.

The narrative's keen observations on consumer culture and capitalism add another layer of depth. The novel stands as a powerful affirmation of the community's importance and the transformative power of reading. I resonated with the theme of finding solace within the pages of a book, and Ozeki delivers this with humor, kindness, wisdom, urgency, and an irresistible charm.

In essence, The Book of Form and Emptiness is a triumph. It's a compassionate, inventive exploration of loss, growing up, and the power of the written word. Ozeki's ability to seamlessly blend the magical with the mundane makes this novel a standout addition to the coming-of-age genre. Highly recommended!

I ate this up! I can’t believe it’s been sat on my NetGalley shelf for so long.

I loved The Book. I loved Annabelle and I loved the complexities that came with Benny and his presentation throughout.

The writing was incredible. Capturing each of those characters voices and them being so distinct is a work of art and it was perfectly done.

I loved the relationships it explored and how unusual it felt, but how compelling it was to read. I highlighted so many passages of text as I was reading, it was just great.

So original and just brilliant!

4.5 stars

It rarely happens that I can't get through a book, especially one that's received such critical acclaim as The Book of Form and Emptiness but unfortunately I had to call it a day and admit that this book was making me unhappy and I could only release myself from the sense of obligation by calling it quits.

I would never suggest that it's not well-written. It just wasn't for me. When objects start speaking to a young boy as if they were living beings, my credulity is stretched too far and the book became an albatross around my literary neck. I have now cast it free and admitted defeat.

I won't give it a bad rating - because it's not a bad book. It's just not a book for me.

With thanks to netgalley and the author

Sadly I didn't download this title in time.

So can't really give a review

I really enjoyed this book. It was so different to anything I’ve read before.

The characters were strong and Annabelle held a special place in my heart. Her struggle with the death of her husband while trying to be there for Benny was really moving. It highlighted the complicated relationship between mother and son and perfectly showed Annabelle’s guilt and love for Benny.

I found Ruth Ozeki tackled the tricky subject of depression and grief with real sensitivity and compassion. The subject of mental health in general, including Annabelle’s hoarding and Benny’s voices, was done without any judgement and made such complicated subjects really relatable.

I loved how Book was a character in its own right, talking about Benny’s life but also its own experience as a book. It was so cleverly done. The changes of perspective, from Benny, Annabelle and Book, allowed the reader a greater understanding of the characters.

It was so heartbreaking in places, but it was also witty and heartwarming in others. It was full of compassion and hope, even in the darkest moments.

I loved how important the library was to the story. It perfectly showed how solace can be found in books, both in reading and writing.

It was a multilayered story and I think each reader will get something different out of it. For me, it was a captivating story, imaginative and warm and really left a lasting impression.

I unexpectedly loved this inventive and imaginative book. It completely captivated and left me thinking about so much while reading and for a long time after. Definitely worth a reread to see what bits I may have missed.

Full review to come.

It took me far too long to actually read this book, and once I did I had wished that I had picked it up sooner!!

Such a multilayered book, full of love and sadness. At times there were aspects that I felt were a bit over my head and that I wasn’t quite literary enough to get them, but overall I found this a wonderful book that just kept me coming back for more.

The size can be a little daunting, but read in small chunks over a long period of time worked well and I found that I became immersed in the story and fully committed to the wonderful characters!

I had this book on my DRC TBR (Digital Review Copy To Be Read) shelf for far too long before metaphorically cracking the spine. Shamefully, it was after author Ruth Ozeki won the Women’s Prize for Fiction with this novel that I finally dived in.

Benny Oh is a teenage boy who’s had some real challenges in his short life. His father, Kenji, dies in an accident not far from home, one of those horrible, tragi-comic circumstances which hovers through the book like the crows that become characters in their own right.

Benny’s mother, Annabel, is finding life hard without her husband. She retreats into their duplex and away from the outside world as much as possible. Benny, meanwhile, is spending more time trying to ignore the voices in his head, or maybe from the inanimate objects around him. He can’t share this with anyone as he knows they’ll think he’s crazy. After an unfortunate incident with scissors at school, he finds himself on a hospital ward for children with mental health issues. Here he meets a couple of friends, or at least, what you can call friends in a mental health illness ward.

As Benny and his mother move farther apart from each other, disconnecting in their grief, Benny wrestles with his new found superpower/infringement and meets other people in the city, reuniting with his friends from hospital who live on the fringes of society.

I should say that there are a number of difficult issues tackled in this book - not just death but drug taking, overdose, physical and sexual abuse and suicidal thoughts and actions. If a book can sound like something, it had a definite and clear tone - it was noisy and I could hear the cacophony that Benny hears as he walks through life, desperately trying to ignore the grass and the windows and his shoes who are so happy he can hear them they can’t stop talking.
Of course, it’s almost up to you as a reader to know if he can hear things ‘in real life’ or if it’s a symptom of his own grief and puberty. There are multiple narrators in the book, and one of those is actually Benny’s Book, so maybe he can hear the voices of inanimate objects.

It reminded me of The Fisher King or Brazil, cinematically - this kind of dystopian not too distant future where one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Where the most fantastical characters can be found under cardboard boxes and in library bathrooms. The amazing in the mundane. It’s also deeply sad, with a larger theme around climate change, the impact 24/7 news can have on people and how we live in such close proximity to each other while rarely getting actually close.

There’s also an interesting child/adult perspective as you’re reading Benny’s view. His Dad’s death was due largely to being stoned and asleep in the road, something that his Mum had argued with him about numerous times and he didn’t do anything about it. She’s now depressed and retreated but for Benny, his dad is a hero and his mum is an embarrassment, a waste of space. This really showcases well how the perspective changes from child to adult, and draws the line more sharply between the two living Ohs.

I recommend this for fans of words, libraries, human connection and crows. I am also pleased to know that I have another of Ozeki’s books in my tangible TBR, a novel called “A Tale for The Time Being”.

Thanks as always to Netgalley and to Canongate for my DRC, this book is available to buy in all good bookshops.

It was announced earlier this month that The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki has won this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. It tells the story of thirteen-year-old Benny, whose jazz musician father Kenji died a year ago when he was hit by a truck. Benny and his mother Annabelle both struggle to process their grief. When Benny starts hearing voices from inanimate everyday objects, he eventually ends up in a children’s psychiatric ward where he finds solace in books and the library. ‘The Book of Form and Emptiness’ is probably the most whimsical of Ozeki’s four novels to date and presents a whirlwind of ambitious ideas. As ever, I preferred the more realist aspects of the novel and I did find myself skimming parts in the second half. While there are glimpses of Ozeki’s talent for storytelling here, I don’t think this is her best work. Many thanks to Canongate for sending me a review copy via NetGalley.

A fantastic exploration of the many different facets of grief, exploring the effect that it can have on a person's mental health and the manner in which it can change the way we operate as human beings. It is emotional without being twee, and feels incredibly human. There is a metaphysical aspect to this novel that helps explore these themes. I was particularly impressed by the characters, especially our protagonist Benny, who I empathised with through this expression of grief and his place in the world. I was utterly delighted to read this one.

“Every person is trapped in their own particular bubble of delusion, and it’s every person’s task in life to break free. Books can help. We can make the past into the present, take you back in time and help you remember. We can show you things, shift your realities and widen your world, but the work of waking up is up to you.”

This is a lengthy, chunky and complex novel. Slightly philosophical, quite different from A tale for the time being. About our connections to material objects, grief, loss, books, consumerism and changes that occur at a global and individual level.

Ruth Ozeki's 'The Book of Form & Emptiness' is beautifully bonkers. There are stories within stories and a unique cast of characters, all wrapped up in a tale of love and family, grief and growing up. It's a book with many layers, and complex concepts, which would lend itself well to re-reading and discussion.

Wonderful. Themes of family, grief, love, loss and mental health. I really enjoyed the whole zen tidying themes. A mother with her own mental health struggles trying to raise her son who hears objects talk to him. Very thought provoking.

This book has such an unusual premise-Benny Oh loses his father in tragic circumstances and in learning to deal with his grief he starts to hear voices but these voices are from all the inanimate objects around him such as books. The story is told from 2 perspectives-his and the book itself. An unusual concept but a beautiful, well written story.

This is a fascinating and unusual book, which gradually draws the reader into the lives of the Oh family and makes us really care about them. Much of the story is told through the eyes of Benny, the young teenager, whose world is shattered by the death of his adored father, and through the quirky narration of The Book, which allows a depth and wider perspective - often philosophical - on Benny's thoughts. The characters in the book are all strong individuals with their own problems, but manage to come together to support or hinder Benny's progress with their own foibles and idiosyncrasies and help him through this desperate stage in his life. A really interesting and innovative novel which never failed to surprise and entertain.

I absolutely adored this book. I was surprised by so many elements as I read, as I wasn't sure what to expect at the start, but have popped this onto my shelf of firm-favourites!

Bits I liked:
- intelligent, human approach to challenging physical and mental struggles
- touching, beautifully written prose with insightful characters, in Ozeki's funny yet peaceful style
- loved the Zen link again, with info and stories, as well as the link with the Kondo cleaning fascination
- relatable, diverse characters with distinct voices
- clever use of multiple POV with a twist

Bits I liked less:
- the version I read didn't have any content warnings, which may be needed considering some of the topics
- can't think of much else, as I really felt like I loved every moment!

A wonderful novel that I know I'll return to, and it's cemented Ozeki as a favourite author of mine. It was relatable yet magical, explored a number of important topics with ease and openness, and kept me thinking about it long after the last page had been turned.

An interesting view of grief and mental health. A little surreal at times but a gentle and poignant story of a mother and son.

I was a little overwhelmed reading this book. I found it slow to get started but eventually I could see how much went into it. It has lots of themes around grief and death that are always a challenge to read. I loved A Tale For The Time Being, this is what drew me to this book, and I didn’t quite enjoy it as much. It was a decent story, well written, and full of plenty of complex characters and concepts. The story feels so realistic, the portrayal of the relationship between mother and son was so important. It’s so hard to gather my thoughts enough to write a decent review. It’s worth giving your time to, even if it will take a while to get through.