The Book of Form and Emptiness

Benny explains how the voices are quieter in the library as they both observe the rules of the place and feel they are looked after.

Benny is unnerved by the world after being in Pedipsy, as if “the world outside the hospital felt unreal to him now” (137). He consults a Coping Card on the bus and follows its breathing exercise to overcome the insistent voices he hears. At the library, Benny walks around, getting accustomed to the changes made by recent construction work. He goes to the ninth floor, where there is a strange, short bridge connecting the old library to the newly built portions; the bridge spans a precipitous drop to the basement of the library and the old Bindery. Across the bridge, Benny notices a series of study carrels in a private nook.

The Book interjects the history of the library’s recent expansion and the San Francisco city council’s desire to employ a famous architect. He redesigns the library as well as the Library Square outside, a modern public concourse intended to encourage people to use the library more. As a result, the Library Square becomes home to houseless people.

Benny forms a routine in visiting the library each day, checking out books, and reading them in the ninth-floor study carrel.