The Book of Form and Emptiness By Ruth Ozeki
The Book of Form and Emptiness By Ruth Ozeki After Kenji Oh dies in the alleyway below his apartment, his wife Annabelle and their son Benny have to navigate the grief of his loss. Each finds comfort in two very different and self-destructive ways. Annabelle finds solace in hoarding objects, imbuing them with personalities and memories. Benny starts to hear the voices of objects, particularly that of a book narrating his life, telling his history both before his birth and through his coming to terms with his father's death. Benny and Annabelle have a hard time communicating with each other; Annabelle has a smothering personality and Benny finds her to be an embarrassment and does anything to avoid contact with her. As their behaviors increase in chaos, Benny starts taking to the streets in search of The Aleph, a homeless girl he meets in a youth mental health facility, and the Bottle Man, a homeless philosopher who encourages Benny to find his own voice to drown out the others he...