The Lightness: A Novel Hardcover – June 16, 2020

This novel took me by storm, for better or for worse. I finished it hardly moments ago at my office desk, and now I’m trying to compartmentalize my feelings and reactions, as well as my drawbacks and questions.It is not a perfect book. I will say that. Although, no story will ever be just right for anyone. It is simply not their story to tell, the author alone holds that right. But by means of publishing and producing these works, a story will at once belong to the readers, because they will experience it in a very different light. Here is mine.Olivia is a peculiar character, her struggles not unlike those of most girls her age. Her voice is unique, though she does drone on and on about insignificant things at times. I do love layered works, but this can also be easily overdone. However, I still enjoyed the core story structure and the historical/analytical/dissertation-like tidbits scattered throughout the book. I loved Laurel the most. I grew very fond of her, perhaps because she reminds me of myself. Janet and Serena, and Luke-most of all, had their own downfalls when it came to character. But Laurel felt the most visceral and vulnerable in her hardened state, even when Olivia wasn’t looking.And of course, the spiritual aspects. I do not practice Buddhism myself. However, I practice witchcraft, and therefore integrate meditation, astral projection, and many other forms of bodily escape into my practice. I read tarot cards, and I’ve felt the healing power of crystals. And maybe, just maybe, this helps in enabling me to understand the girls and their want for something more. The meticulous art of levitation (No, I have never levitated myself while meditating. But it often feels as though I am). In other words, I did enjoy the religious and spiritual aspect to this book, not only because of my own background-but also because you don’t often see it written quite like this. Sharp, witty, darkly comical, and educational. It was a new experience, to say the least.In the end, I came away from this story with questions about myself. Why I am the way I am, why I do what I do. I think some of the best books will split you open and shed a new light on the person you are, the one you’re still getting to know everyday. It was a painfully beautiful book, slow at times, but filled with sharp-tounged characters that you think you know. But maybe you don’t. And it goes without saying that that’s one of the most fascinating things of all. We might not even know others, our friends or even our family. At least, not in the way that they see themselves. But for all our natural human transformation and transcendent energy, maybe that’s how things are supposed to be. Maybe that’s where we begin.

There's always something intriguing about summer camps and this book does not disappoint. Female friendships, hormones, secrets, lurking danger and, well summer all intertwine here. An easy read that explores new friendships, teen angst, and deceit at a "Buddhist Boot Camp for Bad Girls." Well-written and a quick summer escape.

The Lightness by Emily Temple is a beautifully written book. The prose is intelligent, witty, gripping, and will challenge you to think about female relationships, how we relate to our parents, and how we carry trauma from our adolescence with us into our adult lives. This isn't a "breezy beach read," as some reviewers commented on. This is a serious novel that happens to center on a teenage narrator, though it moves between a summer spent at a Buddhist camp for young women and a 30ish narrator reflecting back on that transcendent summer.Layered on top of a suspenseful plotline with deeply fleshed out characters are meditations on Buddhism, religion, spirituality and the female experience.Frankly, I find it insulting when novels by young women are compared to teenage movies like The 90's cult hit theCraft - (check yo'self NY Times review). Women's experiences and female stories are rich and beautiful and don't need to be compartmentalized for general audience so they can view them as significant only in comparison to a book like Donna Tart's "Secret History." Yes, this novel revels in some similar mysteries, but it shines on its own. I digress.This is the best novel I have read all year and I have read many while in quarantine. It challenged me. I thought about it for weeks after reading it. I wanted to underline the beautiful prose and come back to it.Emily Temple is a new writer that will be in the public eye for many years to come. I highly recommend this book.

The plot was fantastic, the character development complex & satisfying, the ending nicely broken, & I learned a lot about westernized Bhuddist practices.

For anyone seeking a mystery of mystical puporteons this insightful book into the minds of teenage girls I was pleasantly entertained and challenged. I am still thinking about the ending and trying to make sense of it. I look forward to Ms.Temples next novel.

this novel really resonated with my interest in spiritual practices, self-awareness and relationship dynamics, with a suspenseful twist. beautiful language with a unique writing style. I look forward to the author next adventure.

This book is outstanding and witty . Enjoyed immensely

Great story!

First of all, let me start by saying that the writing style is wonderful, exactly what I’m drawn to, so top marks there. For me, though, that’s kind of where it ends. It felt like the book was trying so hard to be something, but it just fell flat. No one was particularly relatable and the promised apex just never appeared, the book was all promised build up and sudden denouement, though how that happened when nothing really happened as such is beyond me. I wanted something unforeseen to happen, I suppose, the promised magic to appear. It never really did.

Wonderful book. An interesting look at family relationships, friendships, and coming of age. Set in a non traditional summer camp setting, very entertaining

This book is so terrible. So slow and the story is so silly filled with an annoying protagonist. Do not waste your money on this.