Reviews

A beautiful read. I didn't think I would be so absorbed, given the relatively slow pace that the book goes at, but the writing is beautiful and moving. The main characters - son and mother - are flawed, but you feel so much for them, and I found myself rooting really hard for them to find their happiness. The writing's ability to make me love the characters this way was what hooked me and kept me reading to the end.

I loved the conceit of the Book itself being the narrator, speaking not only to the reader but to the protagonist as well. A few times,

the boy would react negatively to what the Book was sharing, but the Book itself would treat him with such grace and wisdom that I felt moved.

I can find myself reading the book again, at least to flip through and find those words of wisdom that I wish I had noted down the first time.

The mother was also really fascinating. In less adept hands, her hoarding might make me feel frustrated. Instead, I just really felt for her, and consistently rooted for her. Her love and dedication to her son was, I think, what made her so endearing.

I really loved the ending too.

I was incredibly moved at how the boy finally moved to defend his mother. I never blamed him for not doing so in the beginning - that's how well the author makes you sympathise with them - but it was still rewarding to see him take that literal step forward.

The ending was not a magic wand of 'no more problems' (which I'm glad for!), but injected a lot of hope and progress that felt fair and earned.

I will say that I skimmed through some parts (like when the boy

was in that special library room going through a breakdown of sorts - I read this a while back

). But I will say that that is mostly more due to my eagerness to see what happens next.

shelflife20's review against another edition

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5.0

"...the reader is not a passive receptacle for a book's contents. You are our collaborators, our conspirators, breathing new life into us... Thus, one book, when read by different readers, becomes different books, becomes an ever-changing array of books that flows through human consciousness like a wave."

I picked up The Book of Form and Emptiness during Barnes and Noble's 2021 post-Christmas sale and have made eye contact with it on my bookshelf for the seventeen months since. It's a thick book, and the blurb promised something quirky and meta that would require brain power. I kept putting it off, saying, "Next month when I have a longer attention span," and hoping it would stop staring me down whenever I grabbed a different title, shifting it further back in the TBR.

I would say it was a shame that I waited so long, but Ozeki weaves a tale that proves books have the unique ability to make their way to us when we need them most.

While the plot took some time to gain momentum, our protagonist Benny's voice was clear and fascinating from the jump. His stream of consciousness reminded me fondly of young Oskar Schell in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, who also dealt with the emotions and energy of a boy coming of age in New York City, the sudden loss of his father, and the struggle to find meaning in the emptiness of his grief. Both books were raw and painful but ultimately hopeful in a way that will stick with me for a long time.

To close with the quote above (which I adore), I offer a genuine recommendation of The Book of Form and Emptiness. But to you, it may be a different book entirely--and that's a beautiful thing.

marziparzi's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

leticruz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.25

lauralhart's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I wanted to love this, but the writing bugged me a lot. The pacing picked up in the last 100 or so pages for me, but I didn’t find the first 400 to be gripping. A Tale for the Time Being worked so well for me that I didn’t want to put it down, and I was hoping for a similar experience here—especially since it won the Women’s Prize, and especially since I typically love (or at least am intrigued by) metafiction—but am ultimately disappointed. The cartoonish dialogue, the manic-pixie-dream-girl character, the cheesiness of the conceit, the way the plot seemed to drag... I initially rated this a 3 but am dropping another quarter of a star in retrospect. I'm sad this was such a miss for me, but I'm still interested in Ozeki's work overall and will definitely check out the rest of her backlist.

jennaw's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective 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

4.0

borborygm's review against another edition

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4.0

A book full of sadness: untimely death, mental illness, drug addiction, pharmaceutical roulette, failure to cope, etc. A book full of common tropes - the homeless alcoholic poet, the magic pixie dreamgirl, the evil neighbor's son. Despite those I found this to be a beautiful book offering wisdom about the inherent impermanence of everything.

"You are perfect, just as you are. Her old teacher had told her this once. He'd said it quietly, like it was no big deal, but she could tell he really meant it, and she was stunned. Her teacher saw her clearly and saw that she was perfect! How wonderful! All this had flashed through her mind so quickly, but he was still speaking.
And, too, you could use a little improvement....
Of course. This was equally true. Both were true, and even as she felt her elation pop like a child's balloon, she had to smile. How quickly she could be puffed up! How quickly deflated! It was funny, really. And sad, too, how completely the second truth erased the first, leaving her feeling only that she was lacking."

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