vasha's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
I have been reading a few pages of this often at bedtimes to relax. It's perfect -- not only is the physical book right for bedtime, being small and with large type for dim light (a very attractive little book it is too, congratulations to the designers and publishers), but it's structured as a series of quiet, self-contained fables, each one just right for provoking reveries.
"Einstein's Dreams" is subtitled "A Novel," but it certainly pushes the definition of "novel" to the breaking point. Its narrative, in so far as it has one at all, is that Albert Einstein is working on his paper about relativity in 1905 while living in Bern, Switzerland. There are a few interludes in which he appears, usually talking, or not talking, about his work to his friend Besso. But mostly the book is a series of descriptions of fantastic alternate versions of Bern (a bit like "Invisible Cities"), supposedly dreams Einstein is having of nights. In each world, time works differently. What if the past kept changing, and people's memories with it? What if cause could not be distinguished from effect? What if there were tiny discontinuities in time? It soon becomes clear that each fable is an exploration, in literalized form, of ways that people psychologically experience or think about time. The fable describes how people might react to an extreme and literal versions of such-and-such time experience (different people differently), leaving the reader to ponder the real-world implications.
The actual weirdnesses of relativistic time don't figure into this very much, although there is one which makes use of the idea that if you travelled at near-light-speed to another solar system, everyone you left behind would be dead if you returned. What if time-dissonance was the case between neighboring towns, not stars? When you left, either your old friends would age much faster than you, or vice versa. Knowing this, people seldom leave town, and if they do, they don't go back. The social effect of the insularity of each town is described. In the real world, when you live away from someone for a while, the two of you generally "grow apart." But we don't fear that effect very much (at least in American society we don't).
A young man who might be Einstein figures in most of these vignettes. I only started noticing that toward the end of the book. In those late stories, it's hinted that he's full of doubts and regrets. (Incidentally, since it's all from his point of view, it's very unfair to his wife.) You will not get very much insight into the real Einstein here; he is mostly just a figure to hold these reflections together.
All in all, a beautiful little work of fiction.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
cal_the_queer's review
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual content
More...