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

The Book of Form and Emptiness is a deep dive into the ills of consumerism, overwhelming grief, literature as refuge, and misunderstood mental illness. The two protagonists of Benny and his mother Annabelle are beautifully and unflinchingly portrayed. As Ozeki unveils their individual grief, it gradually morphs into distinct mental illnesses for each of them. Annabelle's hoarding happens so gradually and logically (to her) that readers come to see it for what it is: an entirely natural & unsurprising reaction to her loneliness. Similarly, Ozeki presents Benny's symptoms through the lens of magical realism. This allows readers to empathize with Benny's burden - rather than pity or judge. Also, two of the book's secondary characters are houseless individuals. Readers get to know both of them as Benny does - which is to come to understand the circumstances and pain that led to their ostracization from society at large.

In addition to Ozeki's masterful and nuanced portrayal of mental illness, this novel is a touching love letter to literature and public libraries. By the book's end, Benny learns what many of us already know: that literature and libraries can offer an incomparable refuge and that everyone has a story to tell.

Content Warnings

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective 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

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candournat's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

This book is honestly unreal!! I can’t even begin to explain how clever Ruth Ozeki is.

The Book of Form and Emptiness is beautifully written, philosophical, and absolutely full of clever metaphor.

I cannot recommend it enough, I’ve honestly never enjoyed the form and structure of a book as much as I have with this one. Using the Book ( / Benny’s voices) as a narrator and having Benny give his thoughts on the direction of the story between chapters is so clever and original.

It has truly cured my big book fear!

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deedireads's review

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

The Book of Form and Emptiness has what I love in literary fiction: a lot of heart and a touch of (possible) magic. I thought this was imaginative and moving and achingly human.

For you if: You like emotional but also playful litfic that isn’t too cerebral.

FULL REVIEW:

“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.”

As of this writing, The Book of Form and Emptiness is currently shortlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction. I’ve heard such great things about Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, but it’s still on my TBR, so this was my first book of hers. I can totally see why people love her writing. This book is filled with so much heart.

The story is about a preteen boy named Benny and his mom, Annabelle. It starts just after Benny’s father’s sudden and tragic death. Seeking joy, hope for future plans, and control, Annabelle tends toward hoarding. Meanwhile, Benny begins to hear inanimate objects speaking to him, including “his book,” which also narrates the book we are literally reading. As each of them attempt to navigate their grief and mental health struggles, we readers cheer for them, cry for them, and come to love them deeply.

I liked this book a lot, although I did find the pace a bit slow and Annabelle a bit frustrating, which kept me from 100% loving it. Still, the premise and construction is so imaginative and playful, and the story itself is deeply heartfelt and emotional. I also lovedddd the secondary characters and the voice of the book.

All in all, a solid Women’s Prize nominee that I’m sure will resonate with so many!

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atomicbritt's review against another edition

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One of my favorite books is "A Tale for the Time Being" so I thought I'd also enjoy one of Ozeki's other books.
I appreciate the use of the book itself as a character, but couldn't deal with the slow meandering of the writing.
A lot of people seem to love this book, so maybe I'm missing out on something, but I just don't have the patience.

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bethsbookshelf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I think the theme of the novels I’m reading this year is: masterpieces. That’s what this is. It was absolutely stunning, mesmerising, heart-breaking, heart-healing, unique and all around lovely. It exposed so many harsh truths about American culture, grief, motherhood, boyhood, mental illness and love. And it did so in a way that felt like the author was poking holes in each theme, one tiny pinprick at a time, until what she had was fractures of light in a dark canvas, giving the reader hope by the end of the book, though not a complete and tied-up happy ending (because that wouldn’t be realistic).

I tabbed so many sections of this book: favourite quotes, favourite parts, characterisation, magic, grief, objects, romance, and parenthood. These are what I considered to be the main themes throughout the book, told through the eyes of the book itself.

That’s probably what I loved most about this book: it was multi-perspective between Benny and the physical book you’re holding in your hands. The book gives you insights into what it’s like to be a book, to live in a library, a bookshelf, on someone’s bedside table. It’s absolutely stunning and I’ve never read anything like it.

I love this book because it is special. It’s something I felt I lived through, thanks to the fine details throughout. I will never forget it, and I’ll definitely pick up another Ozeki since I’ve loved both books of hers I’ve read so far.

The pacing is deliberately slow, but that’s the only thing I had trouble with. I appreciate the pacing for what it is, but it really bogged me down sometimes. I couldn’t just read 10 pages here or there; I had to really carve out 30-120 minute reading sessions to enjoy what I was reading. I would have maybe fared better with the book had 100-150 pages been cut, but it’s not my story to tell, so I would never ask Ozeki to change it. But that is the reason for dropping half a star.

If you want something different, something raw and vulnerable, something magic, something sad, something that highlights what it’s like to be a mother, to be a son, to be tormented, to be called to do something - then this is the book for you.

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katewhite77's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

Sablime, I haven’t got enough words to say how much I loved this book it is a beautiful novel exquisitely written looking at mental illness and grief through many sympathetic lenses. One of which being Zen philosophy and it certainly made me want to learn more about this topic.

I loved every single one of the large cast of characters but I was especially routing for Anabelle the mother who I just adored.

I have heard said that this book needs an edit. Please no just give yourself to 536 pages of masterful and emersive story telling.

Audio book also beautifully performed.

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