The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki - Book Reviews

Overall Book club rating - 3.46/5

Col's Book Rating 2/5

On one level this book charts the tribulations of a troubled teen, Benny, who hears voices belonging to everyday objects; scissors, a window, a toaster etc. Just like Benny, the author spent weeks in a psychiatric ward in her youth and frequently heard her father call her name for a year after he died. But a major theme of this book is to explore the nature of reality as seen through the lens of Zen Buddhism, the author being a Zen Buddhist priest. The dharma is “the nature of reality regarded as a universal truth taught by the Buddha”. We are told “every person is trapped in their own particular bubble of delusion and it’s every person’s task in life to break free.” Benny’s doctors are quick to tell him the voices he hears are not real but because he hears them the voices are HIS reality. When considering what is and is not ‘real’, philosophical choppy waters lie ahead.

This book is hugely ambitious, in my view overly so. Fantasy novel, coming of age story, treatise on Zen Buddhism, critique of capitalism and consumerism, an exploration of the supernatural/paranormal; this book tries to be all of these things and more. The lack of a ruthless editor is a great shame as there are some lovely moments, such as a window feeling sad (things have feelings as well as voices) when a bird flies into it and is injured. The window is sad because it likes birds, remembering the time when it was sand, before it was made into glass, and the lovely feeling of birds walking through its grains. Yet these almost poetical moments are heavily outnumbered by wearisome scenes such as when a character philosophises about the slot or slit through which library books are returned. He asks “Is a slit slimmer than a slot therefore lacking less? If it lacks less does it want more?”

I would guess when writing a 600 page novel over an eight year period considering philosophical concepts it is easy to occasionally tip over into pseudo-intellectual nonsense. Pretension litters this work, such as when we are told clutter is “a socioeconomic philosophical problem, one of Marxian alienation and commodity fetishism which requires a spiritual revolution in a person’s world view.” Really? Or can the problem be solved in a few hours with a roll of bin bags?

Later we’re told Benny “could see the universe becoming, clouds of star dust, all that was and ever could be – form and emptiness and the absence of same” – and that “books are both the One and the Many, an ever-changing plurality, a bodiless flow that travels through our minds and merge and multiply”… frustratingly I found myself alienated by such hot air, bringing to mind as it did the kind of scenario outlined in a substandard episode of Doctor Who.

And on the subject of pretentiousness, I’m not even going to mention the Tibetan Sky Funeral for Taz the dead ferret.

Ian's Book Rating 4/5

Original, unusual and engaging, if a bit too long, this was a very enjoyable read. I liked the protagonist Benny Oh's comments to the narrator, and the book's responses. Some great characters, particularly The Bottle and The Aleph. The mental health thread was sensitively developed. Perhaps a mistake to give the point of view of minor characters like Cory and Aikon and I could have done without Annabelle's emails to Aikon which just repeated the story. Less would have been more in this case.

Anne's Book Rating 4/5

This is a fascinating read. Centred around Benny, a young boy with diverse personal and family issues, his past slowly unfolds, while the story progresses forward. 'What is real?' is a key question for both Benny and the reader. At many points, the answer remains uncertain.

As suggested by the title, books, and the words within them, are also a strand of the novel. Do we each have a book of our life maintaining its own existence?

Although many social, political and philosophical issues are raised, this is not a difficult book to engage with and it holds the reader's attention. However, over 800 pages is rather too long, which loses a star for me.

Angie's Book Rating 3/5

A book about the ups and downs of life and how it affects a mother and son after the man of the house is killed by an accident. Difficult life events accumulate for both of them, made worse by loneliness, bereavement, bullying, poor health and isolation and we read about how each of them cope in their own individual way. Help finally comes to the family but only when they both reach out to others for assistance admitting they can't cope anymore. A story of what can happen in life which happily ends on a positive note because of the help of friends and genuine, caring people. I did struggle with the book, trying to make sense of the storyline and the direction it was going in but I'm glad I persevered with it as the author pulls it all together eventually, giving us an inspiring life lesson right at the end.