Song of Two Worlds

by Alan Lightman

In Alan Lightman's new book, a verse narrative, we meet a man who has lost his faith in all things following a mysterious personal tragedy. After decades of living "hung like a dried fly," emptied and haunted by his past, the narrator awakens one morning revitalized and begins a Dante-like journey to find something to believe in, first turning to the world of science and then to the world of philosophy, religion, and human life. As his personal story is slowly revealed, little by little, we confront the great questions of the cosmos and of the human heart, some questions with answers and others without.

Genres: Poetry, Philosophy

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

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

[Vanessa Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

K I think it would be 👍

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting narrative made with poetry, questioning science and our understandings of the world. Not bad, but repetitive and overall not very touching. I'd give 3 stars if it was a little shorter.

[jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

with great excitement i look forward to each new alan lightman book, hoping to recapture the unexpected charm, imagination, and near-brilliance of einstein's dreams. of the five books i have read of his since that dazzling first foray, none have come anywhere close in their overall effect. lightman is clearly very bright and fortunate enough to be gifted with an aptitude for both the sciences and the arts. his fiction is often quite creative, and it is obvious he finds great joy in writing it, but it sometimes reads as though it were a bit too carefully constructed. so it is with song of two worlds, a 100-page verse narrative divided into two parts: "questions with answers" and "questions without answers."

while there are moments of real beauty in song of two worlds, the vivid imagery is not enough to distract from the sometimes clunky and coerced poetic language. melding the worlds of science, history, and the personal into poetic form is certainly no easy task, and although lightman's attempt has its successful moments, the book fails to convincingly maintain its spell. it certainly does, however, engage the reader in a thoughtful consideration of their own small life amidst the grand multitude of the cosmos.

lightman's works are always uniquely crafted, and the fearlessness with which he is willing to attempt new forms is actually quite refreshing. his writing is always enjoyable and often contains some gorgeous sequences, but his works as a whole sometimes leave a bit to be desired. despite these few flaws, i will eagerly await any new alan lightman book (and its rich combination of art, science, humility, and grace), before i would settle for the formulaic mediocrity of most other contemporary fiction.

i sit in my chair reading physics,
old song on the radio,
soft so it won't wake abbas,
sound of the sea, headdress of stars.

at the moment of midnight,
i embark on a journey inside myself,
marco polo of organ and vein,
my own body a miniature realm
of the great kublai khan.
what is this thing that i am,
forces and loss?

liver and lung, masterworks,
hormones and nerves, the conductors
of symphonies. cells,
the skilled singular players-
i go deeper, am caught in a chemical sea
and electrical storms small as molecules.
deeper, the chromosomes,
text of my body, the ladder and rung,
three billion steps folded thousands of times,
going nowhere yet leading to all.
helical molecule twisting at fifty degrees,
constant in all living things,
constancy fighting the inconstant stars.

[Bill Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

But you don't like Poetry? :-)

I encourage you to try this narrative. The author is a man of science - he is the professor of the Practice of the Humanities at MIT. Here in his narrative we find a man who has lost his faith. He lives a simple life by the sea - and observes the goings on around him with the eye of a scientist... and as a poet. It re-awakens him to his life, as well as unfolds the story of his own life - his own tragedy - as he confronts the great questions of life. A book of 99 verse narratives, it is a book to escape into as a refreshing pallet cleanser between other books that may have more weight, but likely less substance. Highly recommended.

[ZeN · Rating 4 out of 5]

A challenging narrative of poetic prose that melds science and imaginative philosophical whimsy. Its free verse metaphysical musing of an old mans dichotomous existential crisis.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love love love that he wrote this. His attempt at tying scientific ponderings and poetry is amazing. I just…. Didn’t like it.

[Kailey Kraus · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell a guy wrote this because he mentions his junk within the first quarter of the book.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful verse poem about life and death. How does one deal with life after a tragedy? The book is divided into 2 parts; questions with answers and questions without answers. How do we act and behave on this small piece of dirt in the universe. Ultimately uplifting. My first thoughts were of being and nothingness. But this small package is full of meditations on existence, written with exquisite language. Loved reading this.

[AnandaTashie]

"A dot in the roiling, / Convulsed by the waves, / I ask and find stillness in knowing: / This is the stuff of the water, / And this is the shape of the sky. / This is the measures of masses, / And this is the logic of air."

Only read 18 of 99 pages, hence no rating. I think it has potential as it looks at a man's progress from hopelessness to science to more. Yet, I found myself rather uninterested. Since I read for enjoyment, I opted not to force it.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am an unabashed Lightman fan. This book is written more as poetic prose than a novel, and I have to admit I do not sit and ponder literature in this way. There are passages that are thought-provoking and link to science, but overall it was a quick read that I did not dissect, which I think is the intention of this novel.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for National Poetry Month, and you can read my review here. I loved it - its writing, its beauty, its story.

[Sandra]

I gave up on it!