The Book of Form and Emptiness

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Epigraph-Part 1, Interlude 3

Part 1, Chapters 7-15

Part 2, Interlude 5-Chapter 27

Part 2, Chapters 28-37

Part 2, Chapters 38-45

Part 3, Chapters 46-54

Part 3, Chapters 55-66

Part 3, Chapters 67-75

Part 4, Interlude 17-Chapter 89

Part 5, Chapters 90-93

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

What roles do the current events of 2016—the presidential election and racial and political protests—play in the characters' lives? How does Annabelle’s job monitoring the news affect her mental health?

Read Borges’s short story “The Aleph” and discuss how it relates to the characters and themes of The Book of Form and Emptiness. What is the symbolism of Alice’s artist name being “the Aleph”?

The Book of Form and Emptiness is structurally complex, including different points of view, narrative styles, and direct address between the characters and text. What argument is Ruth Ozeki making about art, creation, and literature by employing such a complex narrative structure?