Before reading this book, I could get a glimpse of what this might be about from looking at its title. I knew there’s Zen and philosophical stuff in it. And I knew from Googling that Ozeki herself is a Zen Monk. This is why I wanted to read The Book of Form and Emptiness.
This book tells the story of how a twelve-year old boy Benny, and his mother, Annabelle, coping with grief following the death of his father, Kenji, in a tragic accident. Benny posed withdrawals, and started to hear voices from things around him. This puts him in a Pediatric Psychiatry Ward for weeks. Annabelle, on the other hand, becomes a hoarder. She collects stuff which no longer functions or stuff she thought might be useful in the future. Later we’ll find out that this further complicates matters including the mother-son relationship as well as their shared grief.
“What makes a person want so much? What gives things the power to enchant, and is there any limit to the desire for more?” (The Book of Form and Emptiness, page 112)
The story is told from two points of view, Benny and The Book. From Benny perspective, we’ll see how he hears voices, how he perceives them. From The Book, we see how the world revolves around Benny: Annabelle’s side of story, people whose stories interconnects with his, and how people react to Benny’s “madness”. In the later chapters we’ll also find another point of view which helps things unravel.
Although some readers might find the pacing is slow, I found it just fine. I think this what makes the book more compelling as Ruth Ozeki took her time adding the details to the story. I love just how the way it is. I didn’t mind following its flow and devouring every word. I didn’t mind taking the time myself. I even didn’t expect any resolve by the end of every chapter, as reading the book alone is already a pleasure.
I was so mesmerized by Ozeki’s prose. Oh how beautiful is. Every word is crafted carefully without her overdoing it. I could imagine myself talking to her in person. She seems like the kind of person that will listen attentively. She doesn’t mind taking hours to just listen. She doesn’t rush matters. She is in-the-moment person. And, she also seems the kind of person who knows the answers to almost every question.
Furthermore, I like how Ozeki adds nowadays issues to the story. From Capitalism, climate change, to political stuff, it makes the book more interesting. She cleverly tackles every issue without sounding patronizing. That being said, this book is not only about grief. It is about being human, being a mother, being a child, about social and economic issues happening around the world, about mental health, and about being true to ourselves, about questioning what it is that real and what’s not.
“You think he’s this crazy old hobo, but he’s not. He’s a poet. And a philosopher. And a teacher. And it is not him that’s crazy, Benny Oh. It’s the fucking world we live in. It is Capitalism that’s crazy. It’s neoliberalism, and materialism, and our fucked up consumer culture that’s crazy. It’s the fucking meritocracy that tells you that feeling sad is wrong and it’s your fault if you’re broken, but hey, capitalism can fix you! Just take these miracle pills and go shopping and buy yourself some new shit! It’s the doctors and shrinks and corporate medicine and Big Pharma, making billions of dollars telling us were crazy and then peddling us their so-called cures. That’s fucking crazy.…” (The Book of Form and Emptiness, page 365)
On the side note, The Book of Form and Emptiness reminds me of Paulo Coelho’s books. Especially the Zen and philosophical parts which resonate with what Coelho suggests in some of his books (so far as I know) about Sufism. I know in principle these two, Zen and Sufism, have things in common.
Lastly, by the end of the story it is still not very clear to me whether the voices Benny hears are real or made-up. But again, “what is real what’s not?” as the Bottleman said.
5/5 ★
