Emily Vance Brown

by Ruth Ozeki

4/5

As the last book I read in 2025, The Book of Form and Emptiness perfectly tied up my year in literature. I’ve been interested in exploring magical realism more, and while I’m not sure this novel would technically fall under this description, it was certainly magical, and a few times more realistic than I was emotionally prepared for.

The book’s narrator is the book itself, that is to say, Book, as a sentient character. I loved the ambiguity between magic, psychic powers, and psychosis, and I especially loved the fact that distinguishing between the three is irrelevant to the characters and story.

Ozeki handles grief and mental illness in a delicate, empathetic way. Even when I was frustrated with Annabelle for her hoarding tendencies and scatterbrained behavior, or with Benny for his angry outbursts, I never judged these characters for their actions or questioned where their feelings came from. By the end of the story, I’d grown to treasure them all for their uniqueness, including their flaws. 
I’m rating Form and Emptiness 4 stars instead of 5 because it did feel a bit too long for the story it was telling and dragged in some parts. Generally, though, it was worth it, and I would recommend it to anyone.