November 5, 2009
Recent Reading: Einstein's Dreams
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. It's a rite of passage for all freshmen on campus to read the same book and participate in discussions. This year, somebody at Agnes Scott College had the fun idea to create alumna book clubs around the country so that we, too, could participate in this annual ritual.
So in anticipation of spending an evening with some fellow Scotties, I read this book. Unfortunately, the day after the scheduled book discussion, Keith was scheduled for a surgical procedure, so I didn't attend the book club. It sounds like I missed a lively discussion, so much so that the ladies involved want to meet once a quarter to discuss a book. I'm in for that.
But back to Einstein. I read this book a month ago and have thought about what it is that left me not feeling the love for this book. Every chapter is only two or three pages long, and the book is a fast read. So what's the problem? Here it is: I wanted more.
For years, Keith and I have joked at various times about doing like Einstein and taking a nap to solve a problem. Therefore, the idea of this fictional look at what Einstein actually may have dreamt about while formulating his theory of relativity was fascinating to me. Each chapter is a discrete dream, with a couple of "interlude" chapters that give a snapshot of Einstein in waking moments. Each chapter is almost like a different world where time operates differently. In one world, there is a center of time where time actually stands still. In another dream, everyone knows the exact moment of the end of the world (and then gather together holding hands like Whos on Christmas morning while the world ends). In yet another world, time moves backwards.
It truly is a fascinating idea for a book. But I wanted more detail about each of the worlds, about how the people lived and felt. But maybe Lightman's strategy was brilliant. Give me just enough detail to make my own brain work on filling in those missing pieces.
Rita Diane Devlin
All rights reserved.