Objects Jabber, Complain and Enlighten In Ruth Ozeki's 'The Book of Form and Emptiness'

“Please… be quiet!” That’s the desperate plea that becomes a constant refrain for 13-year old Benny Oh, the protagonist of Ruth Ozeki’s new novel “The Book of Form and Emptiness.” After his beloved father dies, Benny starts literally to hear “things” – from the old lettuce that sighs from the refrigerator to the stapler that yaks away unbidden. Benny comes to find solace in a library and discovers “the Book” that will narrate his story. We talk to Ozeki about the novel and the Zen philosophy that informs it.