The Book of Form and Emptiness

The Book expands upon the tensions between Made and Unmade objects. Unmade things are often looked at as a “mere resource, a lowly serf class to be colonized, exploited, and fashioned into something else” (71). Initially, books were considered above Made or Unmade objects, but over time, books have become less special to humans and now consider themselves in “spiritual crisis.”

Benny begins wearing Kenji’s headphones as often as possible to drown out the voices. He becomes increasingly anxious as the voices intensify out of an excitement at being heard. One day in school, Benny falls asleep and his teacher sends him to the nurse. The nurse assumes that Benny is spending too much time on the internet or playing video games to get a decent night’s sleep. She sends him back to the classroom. There, Benny witnesses a bird fly into the classroom’s window. The window cries out, prompting Benny to get up and pound on the glass in an attempt to communicate with the window.

Benny is sent to the principal. He explains that he felt bad for the glass but does not know how to interpret their feelings for people.