When a book and a reader are meant for each other, both of them know it... After the tragic death of his father, thirteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house and sound variously pleasant, angry or sad. Then his mother develops a hoarding problem, and the voices grow more clamorous. So Benny seeks refuge in the silence of a large public library. There he meets a mesmerising street artist with a smug pet ferret ; a homeless philosopher-poet ; and his very own Book, who narrates enny's life and teaches him to listen to the things that truly m tter.
Blending unforgettable characters with jazz, climate change and our attachment to material possessions, this is classic Ruth Ozeki - bold, humane and heartbreaking.