The Book of Form and Emptiness cover art

The Book of Form and Emptiness

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends April 30, 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £7.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Book of Form and Emptiness

By: Ruth Ozeki
Narrated by: Ruth Ozeki, Kerry Shale
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£7.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends April 30, 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £22.99

Buy Now for £22.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

A brilliantly inventive new story about loss, growing up and our relationship with things, by the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of A Tale for the Time Being.

After his father dies, Benny Oh finds he can hear objects talking: teapots, marbles and sharpened pencils, babbling in anger or distress. His mother, struggling to support their household alone, starts collecting things to give her comfort. Overwhelmed by the clamour of all the stuff, Benny seeks refuge in the beautiful silence of the public library.

There, the objects speak only in whispers. There, he meets a homeless poet and a mesmerising young performance artist. There, a book reaches out to him. Not just any book: his own book. And a very important conversation begins.

The Book of Form and Emptiness is about grief, resilience, creativity and psychological difference. It is about the importance of reading and an observation of the mess consumer culture has got us into. It is an affirmation of the power of community. It is funny, kind, wise, urgent and completely irresistible. If you let it - if you listen - it could change your life.

©2021 Ruth Ozeki Lounsbury (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Magical Realism Funny

Listeners also enjoyed...

Night Terrors Volumes 1 - 3 cover art

Critic reviews

"Once again, Ozeki has created a masterpiece. Her generous heart, remarkable imagination and brilliant mind light up every page." (Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves)

"Heart-breaking and heart-healing - a book to not only keep us absorbed but also to help us think and love and live and listen. No one writes quite like Ruth Ozeki and The Book of Form and Emptiness is a triumph." (Matt Haig, author of How to Stop Time)

What listeners say about The Book of Form and Emptiness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.