A review by trackingmyreads
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

There was so much about this book I loved - the Buddhist philosophy woven throughout, the very imperfect characters who are doing their best despite their undesirable realities (the mom left alone after her husband with substance issues dies in an accident, the son who starts hearing voices after the traumatic loss, the friend he meets in the psych ward battling her own demons…), the philosophizing on books as sentient objects, the Marie Kondo-esque Japanese tidying expert whose own story/book are enmeshed throughout the novel, unreliable narrator/questioning of reality… at times it felt like there was a bit too much the author was trying to weave into the story and it as was both long and slow paced I felt like it could have been edited down a bit to more closely match my preferences. However, I can’t wait to read more of the authors works now that I’ve been introduced to her.