''Einstein's Dreams'' is a 1992 novel by

Alan Lightman Alan Paige Lightman is an American physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur. He has served on the faculties of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is currently a Professor of the Practice of the Humanities a ...

that was an international

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, co ...

and has been translated into thirty languages. It was runner up for the 1994 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award. ''Einstein's Dreams'' was also the March 1998 selection for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

's "

Talk of the Nation ''Talk of the Nation'' (''TOTN'') is an American talk radio program based in Washington D.C., produced by National Public Radio ( NPR) that was broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It focused on current events and controversial i ...

" Book Club. The novel has been used in numerous colleges and universities, in many cases for university-wide adoptions in "common-book" programs. ''New York Times'' book critic Michiko Kakutani wrote about the book: "As in

Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...

's work, the fantastical elements of the stories are grounded in precise, crystalline prose. As in

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

's ficciones, carefully observed particulars open out, like doors in an advent calendar, to disclose a magical, metaphysical realm beyond." ''Einstein's Dreams'' was first adapted for the stage by David Gardiner and Ralf Remshardt and performed at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1996. An

off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

production of this stage version ran briefly at the New York Fringe Festival in 2001; it has also been performed in Beijing (2009). A musical adaptation of ''Einstein's Dreams,'' with book and lyrics by Joanne Sydney Lessner and music and lyrics by

Joshua Rosenblum Joshua Rosenblum (born May 10, 1963) is an American composer, conductor, pianist, arranger, and music journalist. He has composed extensively for the concert hall as well as for musical theatre, and currently teaches Composing for Musical Theate ...

had its international debut in Lisbon in 2005. A concert performance of the Lessner-Rosenblum adaptation took place at

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

in New York in 2009, starring

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...

and

Kate Shindle Katherine Renee Shindle (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and AIDS activist. She is currently serving as the President of the Actors' Equity Association. She was Miss America 1998 in 1998 and Miss Illinois in 1997. ...

. The performance was a benefit fundraiser for the Harpswell Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Lightman, whose mission is to advance a new generation of women leaders in

southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. The Lessner-Rosenblum musical had its

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

premiere at New York's

59E59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters is a curated rental venue located in New York City that consists of three theater spaces or stages. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is owned and operated b ...

in November, 2019, produced by the Prospect Theater Company and directed by Cara Reichel.

Plot

The novel fictionalizes

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

as a young scientist who is troubled by dreams as he works on his

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in ...

in 1905. The book consists of 30 chapters, each exploring one

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

about time that Einstein had during this period. The framework of the book consists of a prelude, three interludes, and an epilogue. Einstein's friend,

Michele Besso Michele Angelo Besso ( Riesbach, 25 May 1873 – Geneva, 15 March 1955) was a Swiss-Italian engineer best known for working closely with Albert Einstein. Biography Besso was born in Riesbach from a family of Italian Jewish (Sephardi) descen ...

, appears in these sections. Each dream involves a conception of

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

. Some scenarios may involve exaggerations of true phenomena related to relativity, and some may be entirely fantastical. The book demonstrates the relationship each human being has to time, and thus spiritually affirms Einstein's theory of relativity. The novel is sometimes cited as the source of the

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

apocryphal "universal force" letter from Einstein to his daughter, Lieserl, but the novel does not contain the letter.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Einstein's Dreams
Professor Julia Evergreen Keefer, course notes Stage adaptations:

at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

April 19–29
Einstein's Dreams
—

World Science Festival The World Science Festival is an annual science festival produced by the World Science Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in New York City. There is also an Asia-Pacific event held in Brisbane, Australia. The foun ...

Theater > Threshold of revelation
– '' The Phoenix''
Einstein's Dreams (It's about time...)Plaza X
by Helen Lai's Dance Theatr
David Liu
an
CCDCEinstein's Dreams, the musical
Prospect Theater Company,

, November–December 2019 Music adaptations:
''In This World''
by the Silverwood Trio
''Einstein's Dreams''
song cycle by folk artist Randall Williams, orchestration by Leo Najar, first performed by the Bijou Orchestra in Bay City, Michigan in February 2011 Historical novels 1992 speculative fiction novels 1992 science fiction novels 1992 novels Cultural depictions of Albert Einstein Fiction set in 1905 Novels set in the 1900s American novels adapted into plays Novels about dreams