A Book and a Work of Art

Author Jonathan Safran Foer has taken book design to a new level. For his latest work "Tree of Codes," Foer adapted his favorite book by cutting out words and pages to create a new story. Words peek through windows of the cutout pages, making the written work a piece of structural art.




Foer explained what led him to this unique idea in an interview with The New York Times. "I was more interested in subtracting than adding, and also in creating a book with a three-dimensional life. On the brink of the end of paper, I was attracted to the idea of a book that can’t forget it has a body," he said. The author also compared his cutting of the original novel to carving a stone. His favorite book offered endless possibilities for a new story, but he was also dependent on the word choices of another author.

Though "Tree of Codes" adapted another writer's work, it certainly has something new to offer readers everywhere.