The grieving process for the characters takes different forms as means of coping, with Benny hearing voices and Annabelle developing compulsive hoarding. The book tackles grief, mental illness, and climate change whilst speaking on achieving enlightenment, the power of art, and our connection with inanimate things. Through Benny and Annabelle, the story delves into our attachment to material possession in the way we give them meaning. Moreover, the eponymous book becomes a narrator in the novel acting as a voice of reason and wisdom to the protagonist. Ozeki incorporates Zen principles in the narrative to address the consequences of consumerism and the exploitation of the natural world.
Following the death of his father, Benny starts hearing voices from objects around the house which progresses to things outdoors. Whereas the mother proceeds to add clutter in the house in response to the passing of her husband. The novel showcases the interconnectivity that exists in the natural world which comes full circle in terms of our symbiotic dependency. Benny is used as a vessel of the universe to express the ecological effects of our unbridled exploitation of earth resources. As such, Annabelle’s hoarding acts as our constant hunger to consume and letting impermanent objects give us purpose in life.
With the help of the Book, the omniscient narrator, Benny understands the voices and also finds his own as a commentary on modern issues. Another critic of the social order is The Aleph who is involved with the counter-culture art world that protests consumer culture and capitalism. TIME reviewed, “…Ozeki, a practicing Buddhist priest, infuses her story with Zen philosophy, using themes of mindfulness and our connection to the living world to highlight pressing modern concerns like climate change, capitalism and the function of art.”
