(Pantheon, $25)
Most physics professors wouldn’t deign to write a novel about an omniscient deity, said David Duhr in the Dallas Morning News. Then there’s Alan Lightman. A theoretical physicist at MIT and, yes, an atheist, Lightman has built this slim book around what appears to be his ideal version of a Creator. Things get interesting when “Mr. g” begins tinkering with his favorite universe, Aalam-104729, and discovers that intelligent life has developed there while he was otherwise occupied. Fans of Lightman’s popular previous novel, 1993’s Einstein’s Dreams, will recognize the playful imagination behind this book, said Joseph Peschel in The Boston Globe. Its most thought-provoking scenes involve Mr. g and Belhor, a demonic intelligence who springs up on Aalam-104729 to question each of Mr. g’s moves. Atheists and religionists may take issue, but if you’re open-minded enough to consider the possibility that science and faith can coexist, you’ll enjoy “this clever and witty creation.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spiesSpeed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
-
Also of interest...in picture books for grown-upsfeature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
-
Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
-
The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
-
Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
-
Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
-
Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
-
You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
-
Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”