The Book of Form and Emptiness

‘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] 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

‘Stunning story of grief, creativity and resilience…pushing the boundaries of what a novel can do.’

Cheryl Ackle, Australian

‘Philosophically serious and formally playful…Both deeply affecting and uplifting.’

Guardian

‘There has never been a more timely novel...a beautiful, funny, sad, haunting, and extremely moving narrative...Ozeki’s commitment to having all her novels be co-productions created by multiple figures reaches its most dazzling manifestation in a book and a protagonist, mutually engendered.’

Los Angeles Review of Books

‘The most endearing aspect of Ozeki’s novel is its unabashed celebration of words, writing, and reading...Ozeki’s playfulness and zaniness, her compassion and boundless curiosity, prevent the novel from ever feeling stiff or pretentious. Clever without being arch, metafictional without being arcane, dark without being nihilistic, The Book of Form and Emptiness is an exuberant delight.’

Boston Globe

‘If what you need right now is to sink into a big, warm, literary bath, this is the book for you. It’s not that Ozeki’s latest novel isn’t challenging, it’s just that it manages to be so while also being pure pleasure, especially if you’re the kind of person who once had mostly books for friends...It’s a big book in more ways than one, complex and ambitious and wide-ranging, but honestly also just so charming I found it hard to walk away from, even when I was done.’

Emily Temple, Lit Hub

‘Spectacular...this novel is filled with hope, compassion and more than a little wonder...Ozeki’s books consistently nourish the soul.’

Shelf Awareness

‘Ozeki’s illuminating postmodern latest...explores themes of mourning, madness, and the powers of the imagination...Ozeki playfully and successfully breaks the fourth wall...and she cultivates a striking blend of young adult fiction tropes with complex references to Walter Benjamin, Zen Buddhism, and Marxist philosophy. This is the rare work that will entertain teenagers, literary fiction readers, and academics alike.’

Publishers Weekly

‘What an odd and tender and lovely novel this is...Ruth Ozeki is a Zen Buddhist priest in addition to being an accomplished author, and this rambling, shaggy narrative has a number of Zen ideas to play with...In Ozeki’s world, books are urgent and powerful regardless of genre.’

Vox