Mr g: A Novel About the Creation

by Alan Lightman

The internationally bestselling author of Einstein's Dreams presents a celebration of the highs and lows of existence, on the grandest possible the story of Creation, as told by God. Once before time existed, Mr g woke up from a nap and decided to create the universe. In the shimmering Void, where he lives with his Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, he creates time, space, and matter. Soon follow stars, planets, animate matter, consciousness,and intelligent beings with moral dilemmas. But the creation of space and time has unintended consequences, including the arrival of Belhor, a clever and devious rival. Belhor delights in needling Mr g, demanding explanations for the inexplicable, offering his own opinions on the fledgling universes, and maintaining the necessity of evil. As Mr g’s favorite universe grows, he discovers how an act of creation can change everything in the world—including the creator himself.

Genres: Fiction, Philosophy, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Religion, Novels, Audiobook

225 pages, Kindle Edition

About the author

Alan Lightman is an American writer, physicist, and social entrepreneur. Born in 1948, he was educated at Princeton and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a PhD in theoretical physics. He has received five honorary doctoral degrees. Lightman has served on the faculties of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was the first person at MIT to receive dual faculty appointments in science and in the humanities. He is currently professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT. His scientific research in astrophysics has concerned
black holes, relativity theory, radiative processes, and the dynamics of systems of stars. His essays and articles have appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, Harper’s, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, Salon, and many other publications. His essays are often chosen by the New York Times as among the best essays of the year. He is the author of 6 novels, several collections of essays, a memoir, and a book-length narrative poem, as well as several books on science. His novel Einstein’s Dreams was an international bestseller and has been the basis for dozens of independent theatrical and musical adaptations around the world. His novel The Diagnosis was a finalist for the National Book Award. His most recent books are The Accidental Universe, which was chosen by Brain Pickings as one of the 10 best books of 2014, his memoir Screening Room, which was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the best books of the year for 2016,
and Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine (2018), an extended meditation on science and religion – which was the basis for an essay
on PBS Newshour. Lightman is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also the founder of the Harpswell Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to advance a new generation of women leaders in Southeast Asia.” He has received the gold medal for humanitarian service from the government of Cambodia.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing little book. It's a novel about how the universe was created and includes both playfulness and philosophy. It's the kind of a novel I think a physicist would enjoy, or at least they would understand the references to quantum mechanics and measuring time according to hydrogen atoms.

Mr. G is never referred to as a god, but simply as an immortal being who was bored with the void. One day he woke up and decided to create a universe. He invents time, space and matter, and then leaves the universe alone to ponder it. Of course, the universe continues to evolve and adapt even without Mr. G's intervention, using energy to create life and evolve into first inanimate and then animate beings. Soon, the animate beings developed consciousness and intelligence and began to question the meaning of life.

"How mistaken I had been. To believe that I could purposefully decide whether to create animate matter or not. As was now apparent to me, animate matter was an inevitable consequence of a universe with matter and energy and a few initial parameters of the proper sort. If I wanted, I could destroy life. But I was only a spectator in its creation. I was surprised. I was moved. I was concerned. What was this thing that had been set into motion?"

Mr. G thought his universe was beautiful, but he was unprepared for the pain and suffering that the beings experienced in their short lives. After some debate, he accepts that there can be no beauty without ugliness, no happiness without pain, etc. And when the universe finally dies, Mr. G contemplates his creation and decides that he would do it all over again.

[Jessica J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel about the Creation, but it's written by a theoretical physicist so don't expect the creator to be anything like the guy in Genesis. Much of the first half of the book deals with Mr g creating the laws of physics and witnessing the results as those laws play out in the universe. To say that it's not plot-heavy would be overstating it. This is a very intellectual, musing sort of book and it's going to bore a lot of people who aren't interested in reading about how gasses created stars and planets. Nevertheless, there are some theological aspects of this book that, as a devout agnostic, I found interesting:

1. Mr g, the Creator, has an aunt and an uncle. This would suggest that he also has parent, further suggesting that something created God.

2. Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva give Mr g advice as he's creating millions of universes and refining the one that will become our own, suggesting that God is fallible.

3. Mr g has a rival named Belhor who challenges him intellectually about the laws that govern our universe. "You are not entitled to exist," aunt Penelope tells Belhor. "My nephew did not make you." Again, there must be something creating besides God.

4. Mr g creates the laws that govern matter inside the universe (we knows them as Newton's laws), and these laws go on to create things such as stars and planets. Penelope compliments Mr g on the beauty of these creations, his response is "I did nothing but make a few organizational principles."

As intelligent life begins to evolve (yes, evolve - again, this is not the creation from Sunday school), Mr g and Belhor debate the necessity of free will in the universe. Belhor points out that Mr g can not possibly have the time or resources to control the vast number of life forms that develop. This leads to a moral conundrum for God: when people do bad things to each other, should he intervene? And how can he determine when intervention is necessary? Mr g feels guilt for the distress felt by his intelligent life, but Belhor points out that intelligence begets suffering. This suffering spreads from the universe into the Void as Mr g and Aunt Penelope feel guilt and pity for those who suffer.

Ultimately, this is a thought-provoking parable about the relationship of science and religion that remains easy to digest for those of us lacking advanced degrees in either astrophysics or theology.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd previously read Lightman's Einstein's Dreams, an elegant little set of thought experiments-cum-vignettes about life in universes with physical constants other than those of our own. It's an intelligent, whimsical, thought-provoking little book.

Mr g attempts to repeat the formula, and fails.

This is a walk through Genesis using the most modern scientific explanations of the origins of the universe. Where it merely describes the origins of galaxies or cells, there's a certain elegance involved. Lightman has a gift for making scientific explanations poetic.

But the framing story, featuring a rather bumbling God, tries so hard at whimsy that it becomes unbearably twee. There's the aunt and uncle of God who are there to do a stereotypical Yiddish couple impression, complete with venial misunderstandings, boastings that make no sense in the context, and complaints about snoring. (Why these are his aunt and uncle and no other relatives appear, I cannot explain.) The devil has two sidekicks whose roles appear solely to be annoying. (If there is a deep symbolism here, it's too symbolic for me to puzzle out.) Most of the interactions between the characters are mostly either repetitive or pointless. I still cannot figure out the point of the devil's appearance at an opera house, other than to point out that he likes to ruin things because they aren't for him. What lesson we're supposed to take from this, I don't know.

There are a lot of big ideas that could be grappled with here--the nature of the soul, the meaning of creation, free will in a universe with physical constraints. But most interesting points are not fully developed, and those points that are developed are hammered home so exhaustively that their exploration is mere repetition rather than unfolding of complex concepts. The science is interesting--the theology is not.

Merely choosing large, grand subjects does not guarantee profundity. In this case, Lightman manages to simultaneously reveal the glories of the universe and still makes them trite.

[Adwoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Alan Lightman's latest novel, the reader is once again played for a sucker. A turn of phrase I use completely without rancor - I wouldn't have it any other way.

Einstein's Dreams introduced a voracious scientific mind whose gentle observations on the possibilities of the world are set forth with a disingenuous so delicate that it almost hurts. The narrator of Mr. G, an unnamed tinkering creator who lives in a void with his aunt and uncle, follows in a similarly rich and satisfying vein. There's a sweet spot at the intersection of inexact art and cold hard science that represents an almost limitless wonder - and everything Lightman writes seems to nestle into that space, silent and unflashy, waiting to be found.

At a time when one seemingly has to be ironic to matter, Lightman's main characters are all as dreamily wise as Milo in The Phantom Tollbooth and as earnest as saint-Exupery's The Little Prince. When books can touch you in this way, there's a sense that you've tapped into something vast and elemental and true, just for a moment. He sums the sensation up with enigmatic beauty (of course) in this passage, about two strangers exchanging a greeting on a busy city street on an unremarkable galaxy's smallest, quietest world:

[A]s these two strangers moved past, they greeted each other, just a simple greeting. A remark about the sun in the sky. One of them said something else to the other, they exchanged smiles, and then the moment was gone. What an extraordinary event! No one noticed but me. What an extraordinary event! Two men who had never seen each other before and would not likely see each other again. But their sincerity and sweetness, their sharing an instant in a fleeting life. It was almost as if a secret had passed between them. Was this some kind of love? I wanted to follow them, to touch them, to tell them of my happiness. I wanted to whisper to them: "This is it, this is it."

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are times when a handful of stars seems an imprecise way to judge a work. In many ways it's almost easier to cheat and say simply whether or not one likes something than to determine how much one enjoyed it. This is evidenced in the fact that I have now changed my rating twice since finishing the book last night.

After the last page of Mr g I knew I had enjoyed it but was conflicted. In many ways I felt trapped in the Void that is the setting for the story. The science aspect was fun and seemed accurate (at least according to what my limited understanding of physics could tell), but it wasn't these things that gave me pause. Instead it was those deep, existential questions that kept pulling at me. The way the book deals with the concept of meaning, happiness, death, choice, free will, etc. all seemed like conversations that needed to be explored further, but the book fitfully toys with these harder concepts, then drops them without the attention they deserve. It seems that an all-knowing main character (and his equally brilliant antagonist) ought to be able to do better.

My own preferences aside, the responses to these questions closely mirror those we most often hear from casual observers, from those who are unwilling to delve deeply into the big questions which we are all faced with. I have no doubt that this is intentional. For me, it just left me wanting more. All in all though, it was a fun read and one which is worth one's time, just be sure not to go into it expecting something deep and philosophical since this book is meant to be more whimsical than profound.

[Dimitris Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Περιγραφή της δημιουργίας του σύμπαντος από την αρχή του μέχρι το τέλος του σε στυλ αφήγησης ιστορίας.
Αρκετά βαρετό, χωρίς ιδιαίτερη πλοκή που να κεντρίζει το ενδιαφέρον. Από τις 320 σελίδες,πάνω από 100 σελίδες είναι κενές! Ίσως ο συγγραφέας με αυτόν τον τρόπο θα ήθελε να τονίσει την έννοια του κενού, εκεί όπου "στεγάζονταν" οι ήρωες της ιστορίας

[jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

alan lightman's mr g is an imaginative and vivacious work of fiction. lightman, mit professor and theoretical physicist, has authored over a dozen books (including five previous novels). his most well-known work is 1993's einstein's dreams, a fantastic book exploring varying conceptions of time. mr g, lightman's first novel in nearly five years, features no less weighty a subject than the origins of the universe.

the book's title character has existed for eons in the void, with little company save for his aunt and uncle. upon his decision to create a universe (or many of them), mr g embarks upon setting about rules that this proposed universe shall follow. after time and space come inanimate matter, only to be followed by the resulting animate matter that evolves therefrom. as self-determined trial and error create an ever-expanding universe, mr g begins to struggle with questions of morality as he witnesses the suffering that eventually befalls his mortal creations. mr g encounters belhor, his shrewd and crafty counterpart, who continually challenges his motivations and sympathies.

what's more, there was still plenty of room for the mysterious. because even if a very intelligent creature within this universe could trace each event to a previous event, and trace that event to a previous event, and so on, back and back, the creature could not penetrate earlier than the first event. the creature could never know where that first event came from because it came from outside the universe, just as the creature could never experience the void. the origin of the first event would always remain unknowable, and the creature would be left wondering, and that wondering would leave a mystery. so my universe would have logic and rationality and organizational principles, but it would also have spirituality and mystery.

while lightman is himself an atheist, mr g considers a universe created by a sentient and puissant being, albeit one content to let matter evolve however it might. mr g is more of a laissez faire creator, as opposed to one commanding worship and obedience. lightman incorporates a fair amount of science and philosophy into the novel and even veers into the theological realm. the work is clearly not meant to persuade or proselytize, but instead offers thoughtful musings and piquant observations on the enigma of life and its origins. while perhaps not as consummate an effort as einstein's dreams, mr g is, nonetheless, an ambitious and ruminative novel about the genesis of the universe. with moments of charm, wonder, and occasional humor, lightman's sixth novel will gratify anyone open to the billion years-old mystery of the cosmos.

nowhere is the joy of existence so apparent as in music. from one star system to the next, intelligent life-forms have created a multitude of sounds that express their exhilaration at being alive. there are waltzes and scherzos, apalas and calgias, symphonies, madrigals, fanbeis, sonatas and fugues, bhajans and dhrupads, tnagrs and falladias. the music dances and glides and swoops. not that all of it is melodic or soft. but even the dissonant and the jarring contain a rapture, an ecstasy, an embrace of existence.

[Wendelle]

A playful and whimsical version of the story of creation that presents the Creator as a craftsman, who's stumped by the suffering of his universe's inhabitants, and torn about non-intervention

[Ron Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A theoretical physicist at MIT, Lightman is an atheist who’s fascinated by the heavens and the profound philosophical questions that attract both theologians and scientists. If we’re to have any meaningful dialogue between people of faith and people without it, that dialogue will surely have to be based on the sort of mutual respect and appreciation that scientists like E.O. Wilson and Lightman demonstrate.

In this quirky little novel, he attempts to dramatize how Creation may have unfolded. It’s a scientific vision laced with the mirthful aura of divinity. In the beginning, Lightman’s God is an earnest being floating in the Void with His doddering Uncle and crabby Aunt. Waking up from a nap, He decides to “take a chance” and create something. It’s essentially a deist’s version of how everything came to be: God sets down a few fundamental laws — time, space, quantum physics — and then watches, delighted, as an infinite number of universes bloom with matter and light. He follows a godly version of Star Trek’s Prime Directive: Don’t interfere. Again and again, Lightman emphasizes that thesis by having God maintain, “I was a mere spectator.” Once the laws are established, everything else happens over an infinite number of random experiments, “quite by accident”: galaxies, stars, planets, oceans, trees, conscious beings. “Animate matter was an inevitable consequence of a universe with matter and energy and a few initial parameters of the proper sort.”

What elevates the novel beyond these lovely descriptions of how matter evolved, though, is the entrance of a mesmerizing stranger named Belhor, who’s accompanied by two acrobatic creatures. Polite and insidiously clever, Belhor is a philosophical sparring partner — something like Satan in the Book of Job. Going to and fro, he engages God in a series of unnerving debates about the purpose of creation, His responsibility for evil, and the limits of omniscience. As if to avoid any of the messy theological questions on our own little blue orb, Lightman visits civilizations in other galaxies. If he’s dogmatic about the nature of the physical universe, he’s evocative and playful about these philosophical questions, moving freely from Miltonic seriousness to harlequin absurdity. An atmosphere of melancholy eventually settles over this strange novel, as it must, I suppose, when God learns about sadness from his creation. But it remains aglow with wonder.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...

[สฤณี อาชวานันทกุล · Rating 4 out of 5]

เจ๋งดี แต่น่าเสียดายที่เจ๋งไม่เท่า Einstein's Dream - นิยายของ Alan Lightman ที่ชอบที่สุด

อธิบายบิ๊กแบง กำเนิดพื้นที่ เวลา จักรวาล เนบิวลา เทหวัตถุ ไปจนถึงสสารต่างๆ และสิ่งมีชีวิต ในรูปของนิยาย ผ่านการถ่ายทอดของ "ผู้สร้าง" ชื่อย่อ "g." (God? goodness?) เที่ยงตรงตามหลักวิทยาศาสตร์เป๊ะสมกับที่ผู้เขียนเป็นนักฟิสิกส์ เจือด้วยอารมณ์ขันและจินตนาการถึง "ห้วงแห่งความว่างเปล่า" (the Void) ที่อยู่นอกเหนือจักรวาล เกินขอบเขตความสามารถของสิ่งมีชีวิตทีจะเข้าใจ

ไลท์แมนให้สัมภาษณ์หลายครั้งว่าเขาเป็นพวกไม่เชื่อว่ามีพระเจ้า (atheist) แต่เขาแตกต่างจากพวก atheist คนอื่น (ที่ดังที่สุดเห็นจะเป็น Richard Dawkins ซึ่งเราไม่ชอบเอามากๆ)ตรงที่เขียนทุกเรื่องอย่างเข้าอกเข้าใจและยอมรับในความรู้สึกถึง "อุตมภาพ" (transcendence) หรือความสูงส่งทางจิตวิญญาณซึ่งคนจำนวนมากในโลกนี้ยึดเป็นแก่นสารหรือรากฐานแห่งความหมายของชีวิต (รวมทั้งนักวิทยาศาสตร์จำนวนมากที่พิศวงกับธรรมชาติ)ทำให้หนังสือเล่มนี้เป็นวิทยาศาสตร์ผสมปรัชญา ผนวกข้อคิดที่น่าสนใจและไม่ปฏิเสธศาสนา ซึ่งเรื่องหลังสุดนี้ Mr. g มองว่า เป็นความพยายามของสิ่งมีชีวิตที่จะเข้าใจความลึกลับนอกจักรวาล พยายามเข้าใจสารัตถะของสิ่งที่ไม่มีวันตาย อยู่เหนือกาลเวลาดังเช่นตัวเขาเอง

สิ่งที่หนังสือทำได้ดีที่สุดคือ อธิบาย "หลักการพื้นฐาน" (organizational principles) ของจักรวาล สิ่งที่ทำได้ไม่ค่อยดีนักคือการอธิบายภูมิหลังและแรงจูงใจของ Mr. g รวมถึงตัวละครอื่นๆ อย่างป้าและลุงของเขา (อยู่ใน Void ด้วยกัน แต่ไร้อำนาจของผู้สร้าง) และ Belhor ซึ่งดูเผินๆ เหมือนจะเป็นตัวแทนซาตาน แต่เอาเข้าจริงก็ไม่ใช่เสียทีเดียว อ่านไปก็รู้สึกว่าผู้เขียนอาจจะอยากให้คนอ่านเดาและตีความเอาเองว่าตัวละครที่อยู่นอกจักรวาลเหล่านี้เป็นใครและอยากได้อะไร แต่พล็อตเรื่องในส่วนนี้ไม่โดดเด่นเท่าที่ควร

โดยรวมก็สนุกดี ภาษาสละสลวยสวยงามตามมาตรฐาน Lightman แต่ไม่ประทับใจเท่ากับ Einstein's Dreams

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mr. g -God- creates the universe, then watches it. He sees life emerge on various planets, likes it, is bothered by suffering, and keeps watching. Occasionally he talks to a few other immortal beings about it. He walks around a lot doing nothing. He’s just keeps watching universe until it dies. It's an interesting concept, but what is the point of writing a book about the creation and death of the universe from God’s perspective if God merely observes and talks about science and mentions moral or religious issues but never fully addresses them? If you’re not going all out from God’s perspective, why not just write about the science and leave religion out?

I knew that it wasn’t going to be a sweet religious story, but don’t think science and religion are mutually exclusive and I thought it would be thought provoking. I enjoy Lightman’s other work and I enjoy how he can make dense scientific discussion captivating. But the story would have been better executed, and more interesting, if it was written by a scientist who believes in God and could add more depth to the story. As many times as Lightman mentions music, and he mentions it repeatedly, the story is lacking undeniable beauty and mystery of the cosmos.

Mr. g watches his creation develop religions because they recognize that there is something bigger than their planet/universe/scientific facts and they want to connect to it and be a part of it. The people want to know God, and God is there, but there is never a connection. Overall I found the book sad and depressing.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very funny/odd little book.

Put in your shaker:
1 part mythology
1 part cosmology
1 part philosophy
1 part science (other)

Add some pink sparkly ice cubes into the void, shake vigorously while creating the song of your new universe, and pour carefully into your favorite glass.

The thing I loved most was the conversations between Mr g and Bahomet. They reminded me so much of the TV show Lost, and conversations between Jacob and The Man in Black. I could also picture Locke hanging out in this book.

If you know anything about me, you might think that this book would be an automatic 5-stars. Ah, not quite. See, the problem is that I'm not too keen on mythology. And this book is attempting to be a modern mythological tale with basis in science. Something about that combination just didn't jive with me.

But this might totally be your thing! It's well-written and it's abundantly clever.

[Ericka Clou · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a strange little book. I’ve never read anything quite like it. It starts like Douglas Adams book, then it’s full of delightful physics, and then it goes somewhere unexpectedly nihilistic. Possibly Lightman himself would disagree with that final assessment but that’s how I experienced it.

[Tati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot! I loved it! But didn't love it. It just didn't quite do it for me. Too much philosophy and not as much physics as I was expecting (hoping for?). Definitely gotta give it a reread though because it's a LOT. This time with a pen to take notes. Now some brief thought because it's finals week.
- LOVED the discussion of free will, perhaps my favorite definition/ explanation of it yet. Probably most in line with my own personal view of free will.
- Major theme is everything is relative. Time, love, space, consequences, even beauty. Personally, I agree but I also started thinking about Plato's theory of forms. Is the perfect form of "beauty" or the pure essence of an object only that in relation to other things? Are the infinite unchangeable ideas also relative? I don't know. In another life I'll be a philosophy major and answer you then.
- Also not a huge fan of ethics for some reason. Just don't be a dick. There are no absolutes and there's gonna be good and bad in the world but at the end of the day there is no perfect answer. Just gotta accept that and be alright with it.
- Nothing matters. Wait no, everything matters. Hmm. It's both. Yes consequences exist, but only in relative terms. Again, super in line with my own personal philosophy. Not in a nihilistic, cynical kind of way, but in the way since nothing matters, why not assign meaning to the things we care about. But also, do whatever the hell you want. Buy an amtrack ticket just because! Go to the beach during finals week! Steal a carafe! But also, assign meaning to things. And then care about those things. Nothing matters, but don't be an asshole. And call your mom.

Side note: Lightman for sure read Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy

[Perrilyn Pringle · Rating 4 out of 5]

God lives in a void, seemingly as a teenager, with his aunt Penelope and uncle Deva. Its a really funny thought thinking how with a mix of quantum physics and philosophy he gets bored one day and starts creating universes because the idea just popped into his head. He makes a ruckus in his aunt and uncles house doing it, making loud bangs and distressing his aunt who simply asks for him to use this power to create a chair for her to sit in while he does this. 😄 naming the universe was so funny to me and a great thought in philosophy.

[Yatin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An “outsider”’s perspective. Very easy read till the very end, at which point several deep philosophical questions are asked. Along the way, we get an education in the development of the Cosmos, interspersed with humor.

[Joshua Glasgow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last year, I listened to Alan Lightman’s most popular book, EINSTEIN’S DREAMS, in audiobook format. That book is about the famed scientist having a series of dreams about worlds in which time works differently than it does in our world—a version of Earth in which time flows backward, perhaps, or in which its speed varies depending on the person, or where events occur non-chronologically. I was skeptical throughout at the mechanics of these different worlds; although they were “dreams”, I still felt they should be workable in the real world and I had too many questions about each of them. How do people in the world where time flows backwards have memories of “past” events which have not happened yet, for instance? Though I felt a little at odds with the book because of this skepticism, ultimately I was more moved by Lightman’s writing, which was quite poetic. The ideas, imagery, and the word choice he employed were all gorgeous. That made me interested in reading more from the author, and I was intrigued by this one, MR G, which Goodreads describes as “the story of Creation as told by God” and claims the book has “echoes of Calvino, Rushdie, and Saramago, combining science, theology, and moral philosophy . . . [in] a stunningly imaginative work that celebrates the tragic and joyous nature of existence on the grandest possible scale.”

Well. That all sounds excellent. I added it to my WTRs, but I actually wanted to read it sooner than later. So I did.

I think it’s important to note at the outset that Mr. G (who actually goes unnamed throughout this novella) isn’t really God, in the Judeo-Christian sense. He does get a capital ‘H’ on His pronouns and does create a universe and laws to operate it which He determines are good, but it’s not clear this is our universe. In fact, He created billions of universes but just focuses on one in the course of this book, which he names Aalam-104729. Earth is never explicitly mentioned, and though there are sentient creatures on one or more planets in the universe which the book describes as “persons”, I don’t believe any of them are human. There are definitely references to Biblical concepts—when creating laws for his universe, Mr. G says that they were “good”, evoking language from Genesis, before waffling and saying that they were “satisfactory, at least”.

With that out of the way, I had mixed feelings about this book as I did with EINSTEIN’S DREAMS. I love the overall concept, and I appreciate the philosophical questions raised throughout, though I saw a number of reviews here arguing that the philosophy is handled with kid gloves and I kind of agree with that take. A lot of the philosophizing takes the form of arguments between Mr. G and a chaos agent named Belhor who appears in The Void where Mr. G resides, but though Mr. G is supposed to be, y’know, omnipresent and omniprescient, I couldn’t help feeling at times that he admitted the “logic” of some of Belhor’s arguments when they could have been refuted. That is, I think Lightman fell into that classic trap of writing a super-smart character, only to have it reveal that the author himself is not as super-smart as the character is supposed to be. I did love Belhor, though; in my head, I imagined him speaking in the same voice as The Scarab from the television show ‘Fionna & Cake’. His Cheshire cat-like sidekick Baphomet was also a hoot.

There were not nearly as many gorgeous passages of prose as in EINSTEIN’S DREAMS, but they are there, especially as sentient creatures appear in Aalam-104729 and the narrative describes the peculiarities of their worlds and cultures, which feels right in line with the previous book. One of my favorite moments here comes when Mr. G marvels at the beauty caused by a planet’s rotation:

The progression of days and nights on the planets naturally led to regular changes in temperatures, variations in the densities of atmospheres, wind movements like cyclones and hurricanes and seaborne typhoons. But there were other, mor subtle artistic effects. The slow shift of the light through each day caused shadows to drift, shorten and lengthen, producing constantly changing silhouettes. The summits of mountains, which might be pink in the morning, turned violet and amaranth in late afternoon. At certain times of the day, a landscape might appear craggy and hard, and at other times the same landscape could seem delicate and soft, like evanescent veils in the Void. These phenomena could not be quantified, like temperatures and densities. Instead, they heightened one’s sensations. They seeped into one’s insides. Like music, they created a feeling that was not there before. They absorbed and reshaped the world of the imagination. With changes in light, shapes constantly changed. Air sparkled and glowed, then subsided to near invisibility. On the planets with volatile liquids, great clouds of water or ammonia evaporated into the sky, and these produced further variations in light.

Other scenes I quite enjoyed include one where Mr. G considers a society where females have a nerve in their hands severed after birth to make them totally dependent on the males. He thinks about the way this society has come to find this not only normal, but desirable, where mothers watch with smiling eyes as their newborn daughters’ functioning hands are made useless. He considers creating a parallel society where the roles are reversed, then putting the two together to see how they react, though he suspects it would not change their minds as this has become so tied to their identities. There’s another world in which the people have learned to take their selves out of their physical bodies, so that the planet seems desolate with just rows and rows of metal spheres, though inside there is a great deal of thought and communication occurring. Some regret this change to their mode of existence; they question whether the world outside of their spheres exists at all. I also really loved a moment where Mr. G and Belhor observe a woman on one planet, after which Belhor comments on the “squalid little alleyways filled with garbage” and asks if Mr. G noticed “the dirty pools of water in the alley” in front of the woman’s house. Mr. G responds that he did, but thinks to himself: “A thin film of pollen had floated down and covered their surfaces. The puddles of water split the sunlight in glimmered in colors. Like diamonds sprinkled about.” The contrast between their two perspectives is delightful.

Another excellent moment comes after the death of that woman they were observing. The narrative describes her atoms, after cremation, becoming diffuse and spreading out through the atmosphere:

In sixty days’ time, they could be found in every handful of air on the planet. In one hundred days, some of her atoms, the vaporous water, had condensed into liquid and returned to the surface as rain, to be drunk and ingested by animals and plants. Some of her atoms were absorbed by light-utilizing organisms and transformed into tissues and tubules and leaves. Some were breathed in by oxygen creatures, incorporated into organ and bone. Pregnant women ate animals and plants made of her atoms. A year later, babies contained some of her atoms. Not that her atoms had identification labels. But they were certainly her atoms, there is no doubt about that. I knew which ones. I could count them. Here, and here, and here. Several years after her death, millions of children contained some of her atoms. And their children would contain some of her atoms as well. Their minds contained part of her mind.

This secular spirituality is breathtaking. Still, though there were some moments of great beauty in this book, I maintain that they were fewer than in EINSTEIN’S DREAMS. Like that book, though, I had problems with the mechanics of the story. It begins with Mr. G supposedly living in The Void and “creating” time. Once He decided to create time, then suddenly things came into view. “Events that had once merged together in one amorphous clot began to take shape. Each event could now be enveloped by a slipcover of time, separating it from all other events.” But this concept, of a being “outside” or “beyond” time, is absurd on its face. Mr. G could not have thoughts, such as the thought which purportedly led him to bring time into existence, if time did not already exist. He allegedly had conversations with his aunt Penelope and uncle Deva before time was brought into being. Those interactions would be meaningless without time to structure them. At best, the trio was not conscious of time, but to say that it did not exist before is nonsensical. Likewise, though Mr. G claims to be in a truly empty Void, even emptier than space is within one of the universes he creates, he describes moving within the Void. He talks about his aunt Penelope taking scraps of the Void into her pockets. He uses phrases like “a billowing veil of the Void” and alleges there are “minute alterations in the vacuum” after time is created. No! What you’re telling me is that this I not a Void. Later, there’s an entire castle allegedly made of nothing. The concept is insane. Are we supposed to take Mr. G as an unreliable narrator? Because if he wants me to buy that he’s living in a Void but that that Void can be measured, I’m sorry, I’m don’t think you know what a Void is.

Also, as I mentioned above, some of the arguments between Mr. G and Belhor struck me as… less than compelling. For instance, early on Belhor asks Mr. G if an idea and its opposite can both be true simultaneously. Mr. G denies they can “in a rational system of thought”. It seems too obvious to me that it depends on the context of the topic. Belhor even comes out and says this closer to the end of the book. Take stealing, for instance. One might hold that stealing is wrong, but in certain contexts, stealing might be virtuous—think Robin Hood, stealing from the oppressor to aid the oppressed. Or take, well, anything solid object you wish: to the touch, it’s hard and smooth. But zoom in to the microscopic level and it’s jagged and shifting. The context defines the object, be it a physical object or an abstract concept, and I can’t believe Mr. G cannot intuit that. Later, as societies begin appearing on the planets within Aalam-104729, Belhor and Mr. G dispute whether the actions of the people on these planets are good or bad. But wait, where does this idea of good or bad come from? It’s not something Mr. G created. Does it exist independently of Him? Is it beyond Him?

Later, Belhor claims that concepts are defined by their opposites; that is, one can only know beauty if one has seen ugliness to compare it against, one can only understand light if one has seen darkness, and one can only understand “good” if one knows “evil”. He posits that evil is necessary to define good. Once again, this argument breaks apart pretty quickly. We can know a thing by its shades. I don’t need to see red to understand the difference between robin’s egg blue and cobalt. I don’t need to see a ceiling to understand a floor. I don’t need to see an evil anti-sandwich to understand PB&J. And this is why I sympathize with those who say the philosophy is not handled well. The book raises arguments, but then doesn’t really spent time engaging with them, not really. I suppose one could argue that it nevertheless gives the reader the opportunity to grapple with them independently, but I find that justification thin. I’d much rather the book take more of an active lead here.

But then, it may be true that part of the point is that Mr. G, despite identifying as God, is fallible. There’s a moment where he admits, “After watching the formation of galaxies and stars and planets, I had a sensation unlike any I’ve ever had before. It was a kind of fullness. But it was more than a fullness, it was an overfullness, because I felt as if new things had been created within Me. An odd turn of events, since it was I who had created Aalam-104729. Or more precisely, I had created the laws and organizational principles, the matter and energy, from which everything followed. One might have thought that every new thing in that universe was already inside Me. But this did not seem to be the case. As with the invention of the quantum, I felt that I had been changed. I felt that my imagination had been amplified and enlarged. I felt that I knew things I hadn’t known before, and I felt larger than before.” A God who doesn’t know everything, who is susceptible to bias, who is uncertain or wrong—a God who is changed by his creation is not in fact the Prime Mover. Could it be that Lightman intends that reading? After all, the very fact that Mr. G has an aunt and uncle urges the reader to question how this family “unit” came to exist at all. What created Mr. G? What created the Void, which is in fact material rather than a total vacuum?

So—altogether. I did like MR G, referring to the book not the character. I did not like it as much as I liked EINSTEIN’S DREAMS, though, so I gave it 3 Goodreads stars. I would be comfortable calling it a 3.5-star book in actuality. It has fewer moments of the gorgeous prose of the previous book, but it has them and they are still beautiful. The premise and the characters are both intriguing. My struggle with the mechanics of the book’s world and concerns about the limited dissection of its central philosophical arguments lead me to view it as a slightly lesser version of the earlier book. I would probably be open, still, to reading more of Lightman’s work. Though I haven’t fallen head over heels for either of the books of his I’ve read, he’s got a vision and a style that I admire and I’m certainly interested in seeing if there is another that I connect with more.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Such little lives,” said Belhor. “Wouldn’t you agree? But there is also something of grandeur in them. Not in the individual lives. The individuals are just tiny specks, nothing. But in the monstrous jellied masses of them, the crowds, the communes, and planets, there is something of grandeur. They have thoughts. And they strive.”

“They strive for what they might attain,” I said. “And they also strive for what they cannot attain. Most of them yearn for immortality. They want to live forever, even though they do not know what forever means.”

Belhor and I were walking together through the Void, just the two of us. He, as I, could hear the voices. “Yes, it is strange,” he said, “that they wish for immortality. As far as they know, immortality could be unending torture and excruciating pain.”

“But they understand very well its opposite,” I said. “They understand mortality.”

“That they do,” said Belhor. “They see death and dying all around them. They see other living things grow old, parents and loved ones. They see skin become brittle and dry. They see their ability to move slowly decrease, hearing and seeing diminish, internal organs fail one by one. Disease.”

“You always describe things so grimly,” I said. “Death is the way of all matter.”

“It is your law,” said Belhor. “It is what you wanted.”

***

Einstein’s Dreams author Alan Lightman offers an unconventional take on God: as a youthful renaissance soul; the Peter Parker-esque apple of his Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva’s eyes, naturally gifted in music, mathematics, and physics. Mr g’s take on God is that of an ambitious, somewhat childlike creator who, on an impatient whim, decides to create the universe.

Each chapter in Mr g deals with another aspect of creation to be considered when designing a universe from scratch: “Time”, “Space”, “Matter”. Even basic operational laws and principles of action and reaction are matters of consequence and consideration for the young artist-cum-scientist.

The God portrayed in Mr g is less the omniscient, omnipresent force of Christian mythology and more a curious philosopher. He approaches creation as a means of giving his own existence a purpose; it is not about us, about unnamed mistakenly sentient beings created not purposefully but as a natural reaction to the basic articles of existence, as decreed by God. Rather it is about his existence, with his aunt and uncle, and the undefined parameters of immortality. Mr g does not philosophize the whys and wherefores of God’s existence—only that he does exist, and that his existence is as meaningless as any other until he chooses to create a universe (or series of universes) to which his presence is of great importance.

Yin and Yang—the light side of the force and the dark side: with the creation of the universe and life within, there is also the creation of a counterweight for God—the enigmatic Belhor (see also: Belial, Baalial, Beliar). Belhor, though somewhat troublesome, is not presented as the fallen angel to God’s throne. He is, in Mr g, God’s philosophical other half—the question to his authority. Where, regarding the creation of sentient life, God might say:

“Tell me, what do you think is the meaning of these creatures? What would you say is the meaning of their lives?”

And Belhor would respond:

“What meaning could they have? They amuse me. That is their meaning. But whether they have meaning in and of themselves? That would be giving these little things far more credit than they deserve.”

Mr g is ambitious in concept, but not in scope. The philosophy presented is not particularly new or unconventional. However, it is in the humanizing of a creator as an artist with need of a canvas, as lacking definition until choosing to define existence for his self, where Lightman’s novella finds its surest footing.

Similar in tone to Kevin Brockmeier’s The Illumination, Mr g is physics-and-spirituality-light from Pantheon: easily digestible yet engaging. There’s just enough fuel for curiosity and speculation in Mr g to hold one’s attention through to the end, but not so much as to drive away non-believers or anger the devout. A well struck balance.

[Belhor Crowley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Mr. Lightman for his work in Einstein's Dream. That was one of the best books I've ever read. A true scientific poetry (I believe they exist!)
This one here though, fails at what it's trying to achieve. God may not be a good subject to be infused with science. Ever! Even if the writer is Lightman.
Science is fascinating, God on the other hand is boring.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that I've recovered from this icky stomach flu, I can officially review this wonderful book!

I would say this is a solid 4, at least ! If I were more scientifically minded, it probably would have been higher.

The story starts out with Mr. g (God with a little "g" because the author intends to humanize Him) hanging out in the void with his aunt and uncle (no, this is not explained - just go with it) and he decides that he is going to create the universe. The first few chapters describe Mr. g conjuring up the universe, galaxies, stars, planets, etc., which is where the author dips heavily into the astro-science. From what I read in the end notes, all the astrophysics described is accurate, which I thought was pretty cool! The truly fascinating part of the book, however, is several chapters in when Mr. g begins creating animate matter (living, breathing beings) and the consequences of that choice.

As I mentioned before, the author sets out to humanize Mr. g. which adds all sorts of interesting layers to the underlying philosophy of this novel. He is all powerful, but not all knowing . He struggles with the fact that he has the power to create but doesn't have the power to control what he has created.

Finally, it gets really interesting when Mr. g's sinister counterpart and intellectual equal arrives on the scene and they discuss the balance between good and evil. By far my favorite few chapters!

What a brilliant concept for a book! It truly made me ruminate on big concepts, but with pleasure rather than boredom! Bravo!

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up with the first line from Genesis hardwired into my brain: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. This became an issue for me once I started learning about science. Well, this book is the scientific bedtime story version of the creation myth.

Mr. g (lowercase, and not once does the author use the word God), exists with his bumbling Uncle and crabby Aunt in the Void. What, you believe the Bible stories, but are going to questions this premise? Mr. g is bored, so decides to tinker and creates time, space, and matter (the quantum physics kind). Well, as any creative person will tell you, things quickly spiral (pun intended) in manners unforeseen.

I loved the first half of this book - the science is accurate, and reflects current modern knowledge. As Mr. g stated many times, both inanimate and animate objects were subject to the fundamental three laws, and he was a mere spectator in what unfolded. I loved the dance of this creation story with that told in Genesis. I also appreciated the humor in adding Belhor and his companions to the story, but interestingly enough, I found myself rather bored once the intelligent beings appeared in the Universe. Yes, the story explores many of the philosophical questions that a self-aware mind conjures up, but I found myself not as enamored with the second half of the book as I was with the first. Still, this is a fun and worthwhile quick read, and the audiobook was well narrated by Ray Porter.

[Cornelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I remember, I had just woken up from a nap when I deiced to create the universe. That is the first sentence of Mr g … how it all begins.

The author is a theoretical physicist as well as a novelist of five previous books. He’s served on the faculties of Harvard and MIT. Alan Lightman was the first person ever to receive a dual faculty appointment at MIT in science and in the humanities and he utilized that wisdom and talent in writing his latest work, Mr g.

A young creator living with his aunt Penelope and his uncle Deva in the void creates time, matter, space, energy, galaxies, stars, and planets. From all of that, life begins to emerge all on its own, from simple to highly complex, throughout his universe. With that life is great beauty and great sorrow that touches the young creator, his uncle, and his aunt, deeply, and in turn they are changed by his creations. The best current data and theories in physics, astronomy, and biology are followed but put into almost poetic explanations though still scientifically accurate.

This is a heartfelt fictional account of an artist’s greatest work, the creation of the universe and life itself. It’s an amazing, uplifting read. Quite original. This book is nothing short of a work of art. I highly recommend it.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has just become one of my all time favorite books. i really enjoyed reading this fable/novel. The author Alan Lightman delves just deep enough into the universe to hear the beauty and suffering poignancies, to properly consider the necessity of opposing qualities such as good vs evil (or the unity of good and evil and keeping both concepts as unneeded labels) dilemma, control issues over how much knowledge should an animate being (like us humans) have over the Void, immortality and the causes of the universe....

i am a fan of theoretical science, quantum physics and music and art and the pain that one feels when one lets go of something beloved permanently. And i love the ease with which the author transcended from the beings who communicate with energy. I love the breakdown of existence into particles and chemicals and the concept of time passing as a measurable thing even though its contextual. And I loved the brief discussion on absolute or relative pleasure.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished Mr g and I am quite astonished by it. It’s a whammo story, beautifully and elegantly told. Full of wit and invention and science and humor, it is a consummate performance, a true work of literary art. It is made of philosophy and science and religion and poetry and whimsy. One of the book’s finest pieces of myth-making prestidigitation is, through its first person narration by g(G)od, to make you see human life differently, to make us see our world anew. That is a wondrous thing! It reminded me, of course, of Calvino and Borges, but also of the intellectual playfulness of John Barth, especially the Barth of Chimera. Quite simply, it’s the best piece of new fiction I have read in quite a while.

[Lela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a crazy book --- but it really gave me so much food for thought about the origins of the universe, the unlimitedness of God (or Mr g?) and a few other heady things. It, also, made me laugh!

[Mir · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

[Edwin Nunez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. G by Alan Lightman

"Mr. G" is a fascinating novel that explores the relationship between Mr. G and his universes in a creative and original way. The story follows Mr. G, a character who creates the elements necessary to bring entire universes to life, from inanimate matter to animate matter and eventually intelligent beings. However, the creator did not expect these intelligent creatures to evolve in the way they did.

Positive Aspects

The novel has several positive aspects that make it stand out. Firstly, Alan Lightman's imagination is awe-inspiring. His descriptions of the universe and creation are unique and fascinating. Additionally, the novel raises interesting questions about the nature of God and the universe. Although these questions are not always explored in depth, they invite the reader to reflect on important themes.

A Non-Traditional Creation Story

It's worth noting that the creation story presented in "Mr. G" is not the traditional one described in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Instead, the novel depicts a God who is fallible and learning and evolving infinitely from his creation. This portrayal of God is refreshing and thought-provoking, raising interesting questions about the nature of God and the universe.

Negative Aspects

However, there are also some negative aspects worth mentioning. Firstly, the novel's exploration of philosophical and theological concepts is somewhat superficial. Important themes and discussions are often treated superficially and not explored in depth. Furthermore, Mr. G's character can seem somewhat one-dimensional and does not cover all the angles of thought. Although it is interesting to see how he interacts with the universe, it is not always clear what motivates his actions or his thinking about the themes he tackles.

Conclusion

Overall, "Mr. G" is a novel worth reading, especially for those who enjoy science fiction and exploring philosophical and theological themes. However, it's worth noting that the novel does not offer a deep exploration of these themes. If you're looking for a novel that will make you think about the nature of God and the universe, "Mr. G" may be a good choice. However, if you're looking for a more in-depth exploration of these themes, you may need to look elsewhere.

Rating: 4/5 stars

[Chinchilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the most palatable hypothesis of the Creation that merges both Theology and Science. Told from the perspective of "god" (deliberately lowercased), this is a story of how god created everything. The story is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Lightman has a fascinating yet realistic way of describing inanimate objects that stimulates the readers' imagination. I could envision the creation of the universe as the story unfolded "before my eyes", figuratively. It was tremendously amusing. I can't help but feel that the story should be adapted into a feature film just based on how "visual" it is.

I think Lightman uses the lowercase "g" for god because in this story, god is not absolute. god chooses not to control everything and is fallible, too, in a sense. The "devil" (or the equivalent of) also has a presence throughout the story. It comes into existence as soon as god decides to create time, space, and matter. It exists much earlier than what resembles life appears in the picture. Interestingly, the devil is not without reason and has provided logic that influences god's decisions.

This is, yet, another piece of wonderful thought experiment written by Lightman. It has graduated into one of the all-time-favourites. 5 stars from me.

[Kathy Mcconkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stumbled upon this in the library while looking for this author's previous novel (Einstein's Dreams) which had been recommended in my book club. What a fascinating little book! From the point of view of the 'creator' (who got bored in the Void), we get to examine the biggest questions and ideas in philosophy, physics, theology, evolution, ethics, etc. etc., from the most vast scale possible, ie, all of time.
Although Mr g (according to his uncle) is "good", a being not so good, Belhor, came into existence as soon as matter, energy, and the laws of physics were put into motion. Their conversations and the conversations between Mr g and his Uncle Deva and Aunt Penelope (yes, the creator has an aunt and uncle existing with him in the Void) drive the various questions posed.
I ended up with a soft spot for Uncle Deva -- who thought the creation would have to be all good since his Nephew was. And despite the existence of Behor, I ended with a hopeful positive feeling about the tragic and joyous fact of existence.

[Ali Bomaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

kitabin ilk yarisi ortalamanin uzerinde kozmoloji ve fizik bilgisi gerektiriyor.

ikinci yarisinda ise daha teolojik konular iyilik kotuluk gibi kavramlar isleniyor.

Tanri neden kotuluge musade ediyor? yada neden dunyaya mudahale etmiyor? sorulari bence kisa ve tutarli bir sekilde cevaplaniyor.

#######

En ileri uygarlıklar beni hep şaşırttı,” dedim. “Örgütsel ilkelerimi kendi başlarına keşfettiler. Hem de ellerinde fazla bir şey olmadan. Etkilendim doğrusu.”

“Evet, etkileyici,” dedi Belhor. “Ama hiçbiri İlk Neden’i keşfedemedi.”

“Yok, imkânsızdı o kadarı. Hesaplamalarıyla zamanda geriye, evrenin henüz bir tikin en minik parçası yaşındaki haline kadar gidebildiler. Ama en başa gidebilmeleri mümkün değildi.”

“Elbette,” dedi Belhor. “İçinde yaşadıkları kürenin dışına çıkamazlardı.

#######

Mr G. yi bu kadar tutarli anlatabilmek cok etkileyici.