The Book of Form and Emptiness
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Kerry Shale
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Ruth Ozeki
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By:
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Ruth Ozeki
About this listen
Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction
“No one writes like Ruth Ozeki—a triumph.”—Matt Haig, New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library
“Inventive, vivid, and propelled by a sense of wonder.”—TIME
“If you’ve lost your way with fiction over the last year or two, let The Book of Form and Emptiness light your way home.”—David Mitchell, Booker Prize-finalist author of Cloud Atlas
A boy who hears the voices of objects all around him; a mother drowning in her possessions; and a Book that might hold the secret to saving them both—the brilliantly inventive new novel from the Booker Prize-finalist Ruth Ozeki
One year after the death of his beloved musician father, thirteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house—a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce. Although Benny doesn't understand what these things are saying, he can sense their emotional tone; some are pleasant, a gentle hum or coo, but others are snide, angry and full of pain. When his mother, Annabelle, develops a hoarding problem, the voices grow more clamorous.
At first, Benny tries to ignore them, but soon the voices follow him outside the house, onto the street and at school, driving him at last to seek refuge in the silence of a large public library, where objects are well-behaved and know to speak in whispers. There, Benny discovers a strange new world. He falls in love with a mesmerizing street artist with a smug pet ferret, who uses the library as her performance space. He meets a homeless philosopher-poet, who encourages him to ask important questions and find his own voice amongst the many.
And he meets his very own Book—a talking thing—who narrates Benny’s life and teaches him to listen to the things that truly matter.
With its blend of sympathetic characters, riveting plot, and vibrant engagement with everything from jazz, to climate change, to our attachment to material possessions, The Book of Form and Emptiness is classic Ruth Ozeki—bold, wise, poignant, playful, humane and heartbreaking.
©2021 Ruth Ozeki (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“[A] Borgesian, Zen Buddhist parable of consumerism . . . [Ozeki] endows objects and animals with anima, the breath of life . . . [she] ensouls the world . . . There’s powerful magic here . . . Ozeki is unusually patient with her characters, even the rebarbative ones, and she is able to record the subtle peculiarities of other classes of beings that more overeager writers would probably miss . . . Ozeki gives us a metaphor for our very own American consumption disorder, our love-hate relationship with the stuff we produce and can’t let go of.”—New York Times Book Review
“A masterful meditation on consumer culture . . . This novel’s meditative pacing perfectly suits its open-hearted contemplation. The book’s self-awareness allows it to comically hedge and tiptoe, to digress into diatribes into the ‘false dichotomies and hegemonic hierarchies of materialist colonizers’ only to catch itself and sheepishly apologize: ‘Sorry. That turned into a rant. No reader likes a rant. As a book, we should know better.’ The Book of Form and Emptiness is concerned foremost with the outsiders in our world, the ones who hear voices, who are friendless, who fall into addiction and self-harm. It’s concerned, too, with the ultimate outsiders, the objects that we produce and discard, produce and discard. It is both profound and fun, a loving indictment of our consumer culture. As the novel asks the reader turning the pages, ‘has it ever occurred to you that books have feelings, too?’”—USA Today
“[A] tale of sorrow, danger and tentative redemption serves as the springboard for extended meditations on the interdependence of all beings, the magic of books, the disastrous ecological and spiritual effects of unchecked consumerism and more . . . one of Ozeki’s gifts as a novelist is the ability to enfold provocative intellectual material within a human story grounded in sharply observed social detail . . . The Book itself has a marvelous voice: adult, ironic, affirming at every turn the importance of books as a repository of humanity’s deepest wisdom and highest aspirations.”—Washington Post
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After almost 20 years together, Stella and Simon are starting to run into problems. An up-and-coming rock musician when they first met, Simon has been clinging to dreams of fame even as the possibility of it has grown dimmer, and now that his band might finally be on the brink again, he wants to go on the road, leaving Stella behind.
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not my cup of tea
- By Grekis on 12-23-20
By: Caroline Leavitt
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Before the Storm
- By: Diane Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Abby Craden, Kris Koscheski
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Laurel Lockwood lost her son once through neglect. She's spent the rest of her life determined to make up for her mistakes, and she has succeeded in becoming a committed, protective parent-maybe even overprotective. Still, she loosens her grip just enough to let Andy attend a local church social-a decision that terrifies her when the church is consumed by fire. But Andy survives...and remarkably, saves other children from the flames.
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Great book...HORRIBLE performance
- By Andrea on 03-10-15
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Magic Hour
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In the rugged Pacific Northwest lies the Olympic National Forest - nearly a million acres of impenetrable darkness and impossible beauty. From deep within this old growth forest, a six-year-old girl appears. Speechless and alone, she offers no clue as to her identity, no hint of her past.
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Horrible narration
- By Howard Egan on 12-27-20
By: Kristin Hannah
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Reprieve
- A Novel
- By: James Han Mattson
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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On April 27, 1997, four contestants make it to the final cell of the Quigley House, a full-contact haunted escape room in Lincoln, Nebraska, made famous for its monstrosities, booby-traps, and ghoulishly costumed actors. If the group can endure these horrors without shouting the safe word, “reprieve,” they’ll win a substantial cash prize - a startling feat accomplished only by one other group in the house’s long history. But before they can complete the challenge, a man breaks into the cell and kills one of the contestants.
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creepy escape room story
- By Barbara S on 11-18-21
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Lakewood
- A Novel
- By: Megan Giddings
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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When Lena Johnson’s beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is revealed, the Black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan. On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High paying. No out of pocket medical expenses. A free place to live. All Lena has to do is participate in a secret program - and lie to her friends and family about the research being done in Lakewood.
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Fact or Fiction
- By Penda K on 06-09-20
By: Megan Giddings
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The Puzzle Women
- By: Anna Ellory
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Berlin, 1989. Siblings Rune and Lotte are shaken awake by Mama and told to follow her quietly into the night. Last time they snuck away from Papa, with Mama bruised and broken, they were back within a week. But this time they are starting a new life, Mama says - where nobody can ever hurt them again. Ten years later, the memories of their escape are blurry; Mama is long gone, and the siblings are back at Papa’s house.
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Heartbreak to Joy
- By Jo Ann Roussey on 01-17-21
By: Anna Ellory
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A Nail Through The Heart
- A Poke Rafferty Thriller
- By: Timothy Hallinan
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Poke Rafferty was writing offbeat travel guides for the young and terminally bored when Bangkok stole his heart. Now the American expat is assembling a new family with Rose, the former go-go dancer he wants to marry, and Miaow, the tiny, streetwise urchin he wants to adopt. But trouble in the guise of good intentions comes calling just when everything is beginning to work out.
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Ever been to Bangkok?
- By Richard Delman on 12-11-11
By: Timothy Hallinan
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Growing Things and Other Stories
- By: Paul Tremblay
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden, Graham Halstead, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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A chilling collection of psychological suspense and literary horror from the multiple award-winning author of the national best seller The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts. A masterful anthology featuring 19 pieces of short fiction, Growing Things and Other Stories is an exciting glimpse into Paul Tremblay’s fantastically fertile imagination.
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Paul Tremblay is totally nuts.
- By Gary & Jay on 07-07-19
By: Paul Tremblay
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The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets
- A Novel
- By: Molly Fader
- Narrated by: Nancy Peterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
It’s been 17 years since the tragic summer the McAvoy sisters fell apart. Lindy, the wild one, left home, carved out a new life in the city, and never looked back. Delia, the sister who stayed, became a mother herself, raising her daughters and running the family shop in their small Ohio hometown on the shores of Lake Erie. But now, with their mother’s ailing health and a rebellious teenager to rein in, Delia has no choice but to welcome Lindy home.
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Great story
- By Nessa on 09-25-23
By: Molly Fader
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Lone Stars
- By: Justin Deabler
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Lone Stars follows the arc of four generations of a Texan family in a changing America. Julian Warner, a father at last, wrestles with a question his husband posed: what will you tell our son about the people you came from, now that they're gone? Finding the answers takes Julian back in time to Eisenhower's immigration border raids, an epistolary love affair during the Vietnam War, crumbling marriages, queer migrations to Cambridge and New York, up to the disorienting polarization of Obama's second term.
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Read for bookclub but fell in Love
- By Ericka Lawson on 09-11-22
By: Justin Deabler
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The End and Other Beginnings
- Stories from the Future
- By: Veronica Roth
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin, MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
No world is like the other. Within this masterful collection, each setting is more strange and wonderful than the last, brimming with new technologies and beings. And yet, for all the advances in these futuristic lands, the people still must confront deeply human problems. In these six stories, Veronica Roth reaches into the unknown and draws forth something startlingly familiar and profoundly beautiful.
By: Veronica Roth
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Inherit the Bones
- A Detective Gemma Monroe Mystery, Book 1
- By: Emily Littlejohn
- Narrated by: Harper Landry
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Secrets and lies can’t stay buried forever in Cedar Valley. In the summer, hikers and campers pack the small Colorado town’s meadows and fields. And in the winter, skiers and snowboarders take over the mountains. Season by season, year after year, time passes, and the lies, like the aspens and evergreens that surround the town, take root and spread deep. Now, someone has uncovered the lies, and it is his murder that continues a chain of events that began almost 40 years ago.
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intriguing
- By Anonymous User on 06-26-19
By: Emily Littlejohn
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Anything but Typical
- By: Nora Raleigh Baskin
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
By acclaimed writer Nora Raleigh Baskin, this is the eye-opening depiction of an autistic boy's daily and lifelong struggles to exist in a "neurotypical" world. The only place sixth grader Jason Blake can be himself is online, where he posts the short stories he writes. It's there that Jason finds Rebecca. Though the two have common ground, Jason can't face the consequences that meeting Rebecca might bring - but if he doesn't meet her, there's no chance to have a real relationship.
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Anything but Typical
- By Katelyn Ward on 03-29-16
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What I Carry
- By: Jennifer Longo
- Narrated by: Reba Buhr
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Growing up in foster care, Muir has lived in many houses. And if she's learned one thing, it is to Pack. Light. Carry only what fits in a suitcase. Toothbrush? Yes. Socks? Yes. Emotional attachment to friends? Foster families? A boyfriend? Nope! There's no room for any additional baggage. Muir has just one year left before she ages out of the system. One year before she's free. One year to avoid anything - or anyone - that could get in her way. Then she meets Francine. And Kira. And Sean. And everything changes.
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Enlightening
- By Kindle Customer on 06-09-21
By: Jennifer Longo
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So many stories begin the same way: With a prophecy. A chosen one. And the inevitable quest to slay a villain, save the kingdom, and fulfill a grand destiny. But this is not that kind of story. It does begin with a prophecy: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. And that prophecy did anoint a hero, Jian, raised since birth in luxury and splendor, and celebrated before he has won a single battle.
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Rabbits is a mysterious alternate reality game so vast it uses the entire world as its canvas. Since the game started in 1959, 10 iterations have appeared and nine winners have been declared. The identities of these winners are unknown. So is their reward, which is whispered to be NSA or CIA recruitment, vast wealth, immortality, or perhaps even the key to the secrets of the universe itself. But the deeper you get, the more dangerous the game becomes. Players have died in the past - and the body count is rising. And now the 11th round is about to begin.
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No, just No
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What listeners say about The Book of Form and Emptiness
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nannette Jalene Palmer
- 11-10-21
one opinion
The story was interesting and moved along nicely. The portrayal of women's voices was irritating.
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- C. Prunier
- 01-30-23
Wieldy, hard, loaded with cries
This book is a zen Buddhist story of Life through the cries of a mother and son after the death of Kenji, Japanese born clarinetist, husband and father, alcoholic, smoker of marihuana, and caring, funny , beloved Human. May he rest in peace and be reborn to bring us more stories!
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- C. Holland
- 11-13-21
I have to agree with some other reviewers
I love Ruth Ozeki, and I liked this book a lot, but the narrator is just not good. His voices for the characters, especially the main characters Annabelle and Benny, were embarrassing and annoying. It didn't ruin the book for me - I was able to put up with it - but it did detract from my enjoyment of it. Some of his accents were OK, some of them were really bad and/or really inconsistent, e.g. Cory the Librarian - I *think* he was going for a Jamaican accent but it was really hard to tell.
Otherwise, I love Ozeki's blending of great characters (both human and other) that you grow to really care about, a story where the stakes are very high, and the way she brings in Buddhist and (I think) Shinto ideas. Two of my fave characters, and who I thought Kerry Shale actually did well with were the poet/hobo Slavaj (I may have his name spelled wrong. It's an audiobook...haven't seen it printed) and the Aleph. Overall, if you can stand the narrator, you'll enjoy this book. Do give the sample a listen before you buy.
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- Poet
- 06-07-22
Narration Speaks for Itself
This book captivated me with its originality and well-drawn characters until the last portion when the narrator inexplicably changed her voicing of the mom and thus lost the character herself. Who goes from talking like Georgette on the Mary Tyler Moore Show to speaking like an entirely different person? This ruined the book for me.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-01-23
Great Reader
The reader does a great job. Each character was properly characterized by this talented gentleman.
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- Samuel
- 12-29-22
same as what every else is saying
Just saying it again with the hopes that maybe someone will decide to do another production of this book. Sorry Kerry Shale, but the character voices really messed this up. And the worst part is, his regular narration voice is pretty good. I don't understand why he had to go so over the top with the two main characters. And this isn't just an apparently common subjective opinion. The choices he made were objectively wrong. He makes Benny's voice way too dynamic when is often described in the text as lacking affect. He makes Annabelle's voice rough and loud (almost like Lola from Big Mouth) when she is supposed to be kind of soft spoken and fragile.
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- SarahRose
- 03-09-23
Beautiful book. Terrible narration.
Everything about this book lends itself to reading the bound copy. Do yourself a favor and READ this book. On the surface this is a story about loss (and growth) and how we navigate/cope. Dig deeper and you find the Heart and Soul of the book is about interconnectedness and impermanence....and so many other layers woven in between. Ozeki brilliantly breathes life into The Book, not just through her story, but in form.
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- Sky Dancer
- 06-30-23
A fabulous story!
What a genuine work of art. So original, heart touching and thought provoking! I loved every minute of it!!
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- sandra murphy
- 10-02-23
Pages tell the story’s.
First book I have read by Ruth Ozeki. It was interesting keeping an open mind about how our minds are what helps to shape us. Never giving thought about the thoughts of objects but thankful for the perspective. It was a different read for me.
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- Eileen Clark-Nagaoka
- 11-22-23
A kind insight into mental illness
Well-crafted story. The portrayal of mental illness is romanticized somewhat, but it’s refreshing to see it shown in a more positive light.
The actor was great with the male voices, but the cloying voice used for the mother’s character was irritating and condescending.
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