博客來 「沒有人能寫得像尾關露絲－這般曠世巨作。」－《午夜圖書館》作者麥特．海格驚嘆
一個聽得見周遭物品「聲音」的男孩，與他囤積成性的母親
這本握有秘密的書，或許能救他們脫離現在的困境⋯⋯
13歲的班尼在音樂家父親死後一年，開始聽見了來自周圍物品的聲音，那些來自家中的休閒鞋、廚房用具、破損的聖誕節擺飾、一片枯黃的生菜等等，各式各樣物品發出的無意義的呢喃聲響。而偏偏他的母親，在喪夫後染上了囤積物品的壞習慣，只為了填心中的遺憾與空虛。
班尼聽到的各種聲響，有些是愉悅輕鬆的，但也參雜不少帶著惡意、憤怒甚至是痛苦的低吼，隨著母親囤積的東西越來越多，班尼的世界也漸漸嘈雜，從家中一路如影隨形，到街上甚至跟到了學校中，難以忽略的打擾，讓班尼渴求真正的安寧。
他逃到了寬廣的圖書館裡，這裡的東西都懂得「守規矩」，保持「低聲細語」。班尼在這裡發現了全新的世界，他遇到了一個街頭藝術家，特立獨行的她養了一隻雪貂；班尼還在街頭認識了一位哲學家及詩人，他鼓勵班尼提出對人生的疑問。更重要的是，班尼發現了一本獨一無二的書，這本書不但帶領我們走入班尼的世界，也幫助他聽見生命中最重要的訊息。
(文／博客來外文館)
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 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, he falls in love with a mesmerising 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.
The Book of Form and Emptiness blends unforgettable characters, riveting plot and vibrant engagement with everything from jazz to climate change to our attachment to material possessions. This is classic Ruth Ozeki – bold, humane and heartbreaking.
