dorothy_gale's review against another edition
4.0
Not what I expected, but still interesting. A lot of food for thought on TIME. If I was in a very introspective, existential mood, I could possibly listen again.
jlwilson's review against another edition
reflective
fast-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
4.0
palomapepper's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing! I’m generally a fan of collections of short philosophical thought experiments like this. Each chapter of Einstein’s Dreams centers around time and relativity - a promising idea! Unfortunately, most of these vignettes feel… predictable.
Some felt like a re-hash of common science fiction tropes - for example:
- All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.
- If you’re a time traveler, beware of the butterfly effect.
- There are limitless multiverses in which your alternate selves have made different choices.
Others were extensions of cliched proverbs - for example:
- Don’t worry so much about living healthily / preventing aging that you forget to live a good life.
- Time always marches forth; change is the only constant.
- Those who live in the nostalgic past can never really live in the present.
They’re written poetically, but too easily boiled down to a single concept. On the bright side, some vignettes in the latter half of the book were a bit more memorable - e.g. the psychology of a world without free will; the potential infinity of thought; the unnatural sensation of mechanical time measurement.
The connecting theme of Einstein dreaming the vignettes lends the book some nice ambience, grounds it in a particular culture and time in history - but the interludes feel like filler, utterly skippable. The epilogue in particular didn’t seem to add anything to the collection, ending with “[Einstein] feels empty. He has no interest in reviewing patents or talking to Besso or thinking of physics.” These words described the way I was feeling at the end, too - empty and uninterested.
It probably doesn’t help that I read Einstein’s Dreams so soon after having read Italo Calvino’s wonderful Invisible Cities, which is surprising, imaginative, and thought-provoking in a way that Dreams isn't. I’m sure I would have loved this book if I had read it in high school, like those classmates of mine who had had it assigned.
Some felt like a re-hash of common science fiction tropes - for example:
- All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.
- If you’re a time traveler, beware of the butterfly effect.
- There are limitless multiverses in which your alternate selves have made different choices.
Others were extensions of cliched proverbs - for example:
- Don’t worry so much about living healthily / preventing aging that you forget to live a good life.
- Time always marches forth; change is the only constant.
- Those who live in the nostalgic past can never really live in the present.
They’re written poetically, but too easily boiled down to a single concept. On the bright side, some vignettes in the latter half of the book were a bit more memorable - e.g. the psychology of a world without free will; the potential infinity of thought; the unnatural sensation of mechanical time measurement.
The connecting theme of Einstein dreaming the vignettes lends the book some nice ambience, grounds it in a particular culture and time in history - but the interludes feel like filler, utterly skippable. The epilogue in particular didn’t seem to add anything to the collection, ending with “[Einstein] feels empty. He has no interest in reviewing patents or talking to Besso or thinking of physics.” These words described the way I was feeling at the end, too - empty and uninterested.
It probably doesn’t help that I read Einstein’s Dreams so soon after having read Italo Calvino’s wonderful Invisible Cities, which is surprising, imaginative, and thought-provoking in a way that Dreams isn't. I’m sure I would have loved this book if I had read it in high school, like those classmates of mine who had had it assigned.
chazzarooni's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
parriaga's review against another edition
5.0
Simply amazing. Beautifully written with a really awesome concept. THE best fusion of physics and fiction I've ever seen.
mahi_tiwari's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-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
5.0
harsitha's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
4/5
A hopeless romantic and a physicist walk into a bar and write this book.
It’s hard to explain what this was about because it is about so many things and then nothing at all. Its about time and how it affects us in different ways and more ways than we think. A poetically scientific or scientifically poetic take on time, is the best way I can describe this.
Without directly pointing it out this is basically features a fictionalized Albert Einstein as a young scientist who is plagued with weird dreams that he cannot make sense of, as he works on his theory of relativity in 1905. Each chapter explores a different dream of his and how time flows so different in each. It was… weirdly moving?!
marielaiko99's review against another edition
So far, I find this book to be thought provokingly strange. I love the word choice and the style used in the vignettes. I notice that the author seems to make an example out of making love and emphasize its relation with time, which I found intriguing.