I had the same problem as you at first, the picture from the book is not correct. The description of the furnace text-wise is. What you need to do is make sure that the controller(and tank) are on the same level as the open space in the middle, so move them up one block and you are good to go.
so the first layer is made of the seared bricks
layer 1:
oxxxo
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
oxxxo
layer 2:
oxxxo
xooox
xoood
xooox
ocxto
where
o=empty space
x=seared brick
d=drain
c=controller
t=tank
hope this helps:)