Philip is in love with Alice. As the novel opens, he is beginning to lose her. Not to another man, as he fears, but to, literally, nothing. Alice is a physicist, and a team at the University where both she and Philip work has created a hole, a vacuum, a doorway of nothingness inside the laboratory. They call it "Lack." Alice becomes obsessed with Lack, as Philip is obsessed by Alice. The novel is at the same time an astute and wise portrait of unrequited love (albeit of a very unusual kind) a hilarious academic parody, a book of ideas and a social satire. It is utterly original, but in the school of Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, Katherine Dunn, and David Foster Wallace. Passion, humor, yearning and knowledge, blended together in a suspenseful love story that could be characterized as "American Magical Realism."
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"This and Motherless Brooklyn are my favorite of Lethem's wonderful books. The atmosphere of academia in the small college is perfectly evoked as one gets to know the main characters fully. He makes the implausible become simply the guideposts for reality as one immerses oneself in his books. "
— Lemar (5 out of 5 stars)
Exceptionally clever. . . . A book of compelling ideas, of intellectual conflict, of human frailty and desire. And it's funny.
— Dallas Morning NewsJonathan Lethem has succeeded in delivering a wonderland on the side of the looking glass,
— San Francisco Bay GuardianLethem is opening blue sky for American fiction. . . . He is rapidly evolving into his own previously uncataloged species.
— Village Voice Literary SupplementWickedly funny.
— Columbus DIspatchAn oddball tour de force.
— Entertainment Weekly" A clever conceit - but the prose is overworked and tends toward the purple side. Loved the idea of the explorations of pseudo-science and losing a lover to a black hole of possibilities/alternate reality, but it was exhausting to wade through the piles of metaphors and clever twists of phrase that the characters thought in. The lack of simple, concise language distanced me emotionally and made this book seem pretentious. "
— Holly, 2/3/2014" Proof that Jonathan Lethem can write about characters almost free of place, and free of Brooklyn. Hilariously bizarre. Both science geeks and lit nerds will find this funny. "
— Tina, 1/28/2014" This is my favorite romance story in book form of all time. Hands down. "
— Scott, 1/12/2014" Like all of Lethem's work, the premise (a scientist who falls in love--literally--with a vacuum-ic entity) is fertile. Like some Lethem, the follow-through is not all there. Engaging and quick, but in the end the strength of the story is little more than the idea. "
— Chris, 1/8/2014" Terrific title, interesting premise, really great language and description, dark and disturbed. One of the reviewers said "hilarious", but I didn't find it funny. It tells of an inexorable slide into the void in search of love and meaning, and is essentially a story of death. Maybe I just read it on the wrong day. "
— Sylvia, 1/8/2014" Very clever, but the ending gets a bit strange. "
— Adam, 11/4/2013" Michael Chow's favorite book of all time. He gave me the book, with the strange story that came along. "
— Rebekah, 10/26/2013" It's amazing that this book, given the ridiculous premise and the scope of the ideas it explores, succeeds on any level, especially considering the hit/miss ratio of Lethem's other work. But it does succeed, and it's pleasantly intimidating how it all seems to happen with ease. "
— Matt, 8/18/2013" This book was my introduction to Lethem. I kind of prefer his earlier sci-fi stuff but that's just me. "
— Rebecca, 8/15/2013" Very weird plot, and not particularly likable characters. BUT, excellent writing. It's a quick, interesting read. "
— Rachel, 8/10/2013" and incredible multidimensional love triangle. "
— dragynlady, 7/29/2013" Very clever... I'm not an academic nor a science major and I got it! Philip was most entertaining with his constant witticisms. I'm still streaming from the vagina ecologist. Refreshing. Fun. "
— Gina, 7/23/2013" A very fun, quick novel. A physicist falls in love with a black hole she's created. The narrator loves the physicist. Makes fun of academia, love, and black holes. "
— John, 7/5/2013" a nice mix of science fiction and love. "
— Naylil, 5/14/2013" A dreamy little story about a love triangle between a man, a woman, and a black hole. The entire thing feels like 2am. "
— Notechis, 3/26/2013" smart, funny, risky, successful. normally I don't like absurdly impossible plot elements, but letham pulls it off. very geeky in a way I like. about a guy in love with a scientist who is in love with her work, literally, and also about science/humanities dichotomy. psychological. "
— Joe, 2/9/2013" In this one, Letham takes it into the realm of the absurd in a way that only he can. This shouldn't be the first Letham book you read as its very out there, but its a nice complement to his other works. "
— M.h., 7/30/2012" It's a pretty strange novel but I enjoyed it. "
— Lixian, 6/29/2012" Loved this book. The most interesting relationship problem - ever. "
— Tracy, 11/22/2011" Smart, very smart. Lethem writes as he does cynical, and bizarre. "
— Neal, 8/22/2011" The characters were all a bit unbelievable which is often a good thing for a science fiction book but it didn't really work here. Her ego swallowed her and her husband alive and I really didn't care. "
— Mary, 5/24/2011" I read this for my April book group. <br/>Funny, quirky, lovely capture of the cerbral world of the university. <br/>Clever. <br/>Terribly flawed, wonderfully human characters. <br/>very meta cognitive <br/> <br/>makes me want to read more Jonathan Lethem! "
— Anne, 4/27/2011" Been a while since I read this one, but I do remember it being very funny and creative. "
— Jeremy, 4/21/2011" Oddly enough, I'm not sure what I thought of this book. It was entertaining but not enthralling, amusing but not laugh-out-loud funny. The technical parts went right over my head but the premise was definitely interesting. "
— Amy, 4/9/2011" god story. Lethem has some weird stories. lots of symbolisms. that i don't always get. but still enjoyable to read. "
— Trey, 3/2/2011" Explorations of the multiverse as canvas and metaphor for interactions between people. "
— Rob, 2/14/2011" I was very disappointed in this thin and flat novel by Jonathan Lethem, whose previous "Fortress of Solitude" was such a fantastic read. The plot is a one-line physics joke and the characters are even more lifeless. "
— Irwin, 11/22/2010" Absolutely a great little book. Theoretical physics love triangle. Philip k Dick would be proud or he would be something, hard to pin him down. "
— sean, 11/20/2010" Clever, funny, interesting to a point. Great writing, mediocre story. Not his best. "
— Jill, 10/4/2010" Weird, but entertaining. I especially enjoyed the constant babble of the blind guys. "
— Isabella, 9/21/2010" Shorter and less complex than some of his other (major?) work, this fits right in however with my previous Lethem experiences. That is to say it was a whimsical yet thoughtful, imaginative and highly entertaining read. "
— Tony, 9/7/2010" A void with intelligence is discovered in a small college physics department. Sounds like the making of a science fiction novel, but this ends up being much more of a love story, and a humorous one at that. Quite witty and quirky. "
— Jay, 9/5/2010" Very earnest intention to read an entire non-fiction book was put out of its mercy by Ian- keeping me in good sci-fi for a decade and counting. "
— Elena, 8/14/2010Jonathan Lethem is the author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Fortress of Solitude and the National Book Critics Circle Award winner Motherless Brooklyn. Lethem’s stories and essays have appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and the New York Times, among others. He lives in New York City.
David Aaron Baker is a voice and film actor. He is an award-winning narrator of dozens of audiobooks, including the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz, Paradise Dogs by Man Martin, and The Bartender’s Tale by Ivan Doig. He has earned several AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a three-time finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration.