Einstein's Dreams

A modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures...

A modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.

Now translated into thirty languages, Einstein’s Dreams has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the world. In poetic vignettes, it explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.

阿兰・莱特曼，美国著名小说家、散文家、物理学家与教育家。1948年生于美国孟菲斯，普林斯顿大学物理学学士，加州理工学院理论物理学博士。曾在美国《纽约时报》、《纽约客》、《哈泼》、《纽约书评》、《发现》等报刊发表诗作与书评。《爱因斯坦的梦》是他创作的第一部小说。现为麻省理工学院物理学与人文学教授。目前，已出版小说包括《爱因斯坦的梦》、《好小子贝尼托》、《诊断》与《校友会》。