Einstein's Dreams

I will be reading Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman this week. Essentially, the novel fictionalizes a young Albert Einstein during the time he was working on his patent for the theory of relativity. The book is a journal for thirty dreams Einstein recorded while he was developing his theory; all relating to time. While it may not sound like the book will relate to the themes we discussed in class (such as family issues, loneliness, etc.), every dream integrates personal or human elements in relation to time. For example, dreams recorded include everyone knowing time will be destroyed in one year and they act appropriately, or time is circular, in which a man is placed in the past, unable to change events in fear of destroying the future. The dreams deal with innate human understanding of time and our reaction to it. While each dream is dissimilar, they could relate to Holden’s inability to change his perspective of society (as in the example I described above, wherein a man is placed in the past), or running away (as in my example of time’s known destruction).

I haven’t begun reading Einstein’s Dreams, but it sounds like an interesting book. I enjoy reading mind benders, and it seems like each dream may focus on a single character while simultaneously considering the broader connection to society. I think each dream will relate well to Flowers for Algernon, The Catcher in the Rye, and Of Mice and Men if my assumption is correct.