Einstein's Dreams

There is a place where time stands still. Raindrops hang motionless in air. Pendulums of clocks float mid-swing... As a traveler approaches this place from any direction, he moves more and more slowly...

Einstein's Dreams
by Alan Lightman

"The novel fictionalizes Albert Einstein as a young scientist who is troubled by dreams as he works on his theory of relativity in 1905. The book consists of 30 chapters, each exploring one dream about time that Einstein had during this period. The framework of the book consists of a prelude, three interludes, and an epilogue. Einstein's friend, Michele Besso, appears in these sections. Each dream involves a conception of time. Some scenarios may involve exaggerations of true phenomena related to relativity, and some may be entirely fantastical. The book demonstrates the relationship each human being has to time, and thus spiritually affirms Einstein's theory of relativity."

Personally, I absolutely adored this book. The 30 stories are all very short, about three pages each, and very easy to read. The stories generally start of introducing the type of 'time', and then a few short clips from a few individual's lives to illustrate it. It usually end with a broader statement which would lead to questions, different views about that specific type of time.

The stories described in the book are all simple, clear, and straight forward, such that a grade schooler would be able to read and understand (though, some materials in there is probably not suited for audiences of a younger age). What is magical about them though, is that such simple stories, can bring on so much thought. It really makes you ponder about the concepts of time, humanity, our values, our stories, our lives. It is generally the last paragraph, which sums up the story, and brings on these questions. There is truly a lot to be gained from this book, if one looked deep enough.

Also, I loved Lightman's writing style. He makes everything just so poetic, and often, the style and structure reflects the type of 'time' which the story describes.

Here's a little excerpt:

... Thus, on any day, at any hour of any day, a line of ten thousand stretches radially outward from the center of Rome, a line of pilgrims waiting to bow to the Great Clock. They stand quietly, reading prayer books, holding their children. They stand quietly, but secretly they seethe with their anger. For they must watch measured that which should not be meaasured. They must watch the precise passage of minutes and decades. They have been trapped by their own inventiveness and audacity. And they must pay with their lives.

For more, click on the title of the book, that link contains the first three chapters of the book.

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