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Mr g: A Novel About The Creation

3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 · rating details · 698 ratings · 187 reviews

“As I remember, I had just woken up from a nap when I decided to create the universe.”

So begins Alan Lightman’s playful and profound new novel, Mr g, the story of Creation as told by God. Barraged by the constant advisements and bickerings of Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, who live with their nephew in the shimmering Void, Mr g proceeds to create time, space, and matter. Th...more

Hardcover, 224 pages

Published January 24th 2012 by Pantheon

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Apr 05, 2012 Jacob rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction-and-literature

god lives in the Void with his Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva. One day he decides he wants to create a universe. So he does.

It is all very boring.

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May 20, 2013 Casilde rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tedious. The premise is intriguing. How would a creator view the experience of bringing the universe into existence? What thoughts and dilemmas would occur? What existence would this creator have? So many possibilities. Apparently he lives in a void with his bickering aunt and uncle. Honestly I wanted so much more from a vantage like this. I would expect majesty and brilliance, but these characters seemed entirely banal and blatantly human. The way they spoke, the lives they lived just didn't ma...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Harley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the heck out of reading this book, pretending to understand the physics of the creation and its laws -- well, I more or less understood the laws -- and was carried along by the processes and their implications and results. Mr. g encounters numerous questions as he watches it all unfold, meanwhile interacting with his crotchety Aunt Penelope and sentimental Uncle Deva and their opinions about how it should be done, and discussing outcomes with the arrogant Belhor, who was an accidental...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Carrie rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Quotes:

Unlimited possibilities bring unlimited indecisions. (3)

Sometimes, the absence of a thing is not noticed until it is present. (5)

The emptiness shimmered with possibilities, each tiny volume trembling with a nebulous version of everything that could possibly be, everything I might eventually create. (21)

But rational thoughts lead only to rational thoughts, whereas irrational thoughts lead to…new experiences. (24)

Your response implies that in some situations you would be willing to accept...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

The narrator lives in the void with his aunt and uncle, and the void is without dimension or time until the narrator, Mr g, imagines these things. This sets off a series of events where the narrator creates a number of universes and experiments with their various properties. He eventually creates a universe with a simple but distinct set of rules that is able to exist for a while. Those rules lead to matter, to galaxies, and planets. Some of the planets bear autonomous life. Mr g and his aunt an...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Cornelia rated it 5 of 5 stars

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...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Adwoa rated it 5 of 5 stars

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'...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Kelly rated it 1 of 5 stars

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 o...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Marco rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 se...more

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May 05, 2012 Dot rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating book. A slim novel, it imagines the creation of the universe by "Mr g" (alias God) as something to do when he gets bored with his life in The Void where he lives with his Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva. Alan Lightman is a theoretical physicist at Harvard University who also writes books and holds a cross appointment in the Humanities. His description of the formation of the universe is therefore an authentic one which takes the reader through the basic laws of the cosmos ( eg...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: pop-science, fantasy

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...more 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. (less)

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Apr 08, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, nonfiction-other

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 st...more 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. (less)

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Feb 11, 2012 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

“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, eve...more “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.(less)

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Jan 12, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

Physicist Alan Lightman deserves ample praise for being among those rare few scientists who have garnered ample recognition for their literary efforts. In many respects he has demonstrated that he is a far better writer than more notable physicists like his eminent colleagues Brian Greene and Lisa Randall. However, in writing what is in essence, a long novella, Lightman has written a fictional account on the creation of the universe probably best left in the realm of nonfiction, and one covered...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Judith Hannan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alan Lightman once again uses his talents as a writer and his knowledge as a scientist to create a book of wisdom and questions. Mr. g wakes one morning and decides to create the universe. Combining Kabbalistic, Buddhist, and biblical story with the physics behind the birth of the universe, Lightman offers a thought provoking view of creation. While the physics can at times clash with Lightman's often poetic writing, what becomes clear is that there are many parallels between science and the Ge...more Alan Lightman once again uses his talents as a writer and his knowledge as a scientist to create a book of wisdom and questions. Mr. g wakes one morning and decides to create the universe. Combining Kabbalistic, Buddhist, and biblical story with the physics behind the birth of the universe, Lightman offers a thought provoking view of creation. While the physics can at times clash with Lightman's often poetic writing, what becomes clear is that there are many parallels between science and the Genesis story. When my kids were little, they would ask me if I believed that there was a God who created the world in six days. Not tackling the issue of whether I believed in God or not, I told them that it depends on how you define a day. No, the world could not be created in six of our days, but the sequence of creation as described in Genesis is the sequence of how the world came into being as Lightman describes it.

So who is this Mr. g? Is it supposed to be God? It certainly makes the reader think about the ways in which we think of God. Of particular interest to me is that Mr. g is a non-intervening God. He saw his role as creating the laws of physics and then stepping back. Once things took off, Mr. g is often surprised how things evolve. He has almost a childlike curiosity; indeed one of the reasons Mr. g creates the universe is because he is bored. A kabbalistic notion is that God was lonely. Mr. g has two companions in the void, an aunt and uncle, as well as the darker character known as Belhor, who constantly challenge Mr. g about issues of suffering, good and evil, beauty and ugliness. If creating the universe begins as an experiment for Mr. g it soon evolves into an exploration of morality and the meaning of life.

Mr. g. is not Alan Lightman's best books. For me, that designation would go to Einstein's Dreams. When I finished it, I was thinking it deserved only 2 or 3 stars. But I'm glad I didn't rate it right away because it has stayed with me. Mr. g in many ways has the same questions we all do. He becomes a poignant character not just because of this but because he has it within his power to intervene and choosing not to adds to his compassion.(less)

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Dec 17, 2012 Alex Nagler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

What if God was a Physicist, and only that? What if his sole act was creating the shape of the universe and delivering the four fundamental forces? What if he had no interaction with his creations at all, did not embue them with a soul, and in fact decided to deliberately stay out of things as part of an ongoing conversation with his accidentally created rival, whose sole purpose is to keep God from doing anything to his creations.

That is what Mr. g is. An all powerful being, Mr. g gets bored o...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Webster Bull rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: faith

Alan Lightman is a professional physicist and a published poet. He is the first professor at MIT to receive a joint appointment in the sciences (astrophysics) and the humanities. His scientific research has focused on relativistic gravitation theory, the structure and behavior of accretion disks, stellar dynamics, radiative processes, and relativistic plasmas (don’t ask; in Wiki I trust). His literary output includes poetry, essays, and novels, including the best-selling Einstein’s Dreams (which...more

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Jan 29, 2012 jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

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 sav...more 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.

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Apr 04, 2012 Thomas Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: god, fantasy-magic

This was an interesting book. The creation story as told by God, but not our creation story - just a creation story. One day God, who is living in the Void and is all powerful decides he will create something. He accidentally creates time and by creating matter and energy he also creates light and dark. And it is good. Less funny than you think it would be, this is an intellectual look into the life of a thoughtful being who has taken on a new project. He creates a universe, gives it some rules...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Jennifer D. rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Cindy, Andrew

Recommended to Jennifer by: Laurie Grassi

Shelves: 2012-books, books-i-own, arc

Take One...

Okay - so right out of the gate, the reader is asked to suspend disbelief! Which is easier said than done - for me anyway. Skeptical and questioning by nature, "Yeah, but..." should probably be on my business card. So I will admit to spending the first few (brief) chapters talking to Mr. g and Lightman, "How can you be writing this story if words and language don't exist?" Jeez!

;)

But, Lightman - he's a witty guy! Of course he is smart - along with being a novelist, Lightman is an ess...more Take One...

Okay - so right out of the gate, the reader is asked to suspend disbelief! Which is easier said than done - for me anyway. Skeptical and questioning by nature, "Yeah, but..." should probably be on my business card. So I will admit to spending the first few (brief) chapters talking to Mr. g and Lightman, "How can you be writing this story if words and language don't exist?" Jeez!

;)

But, Lightman - he's a witty guy! Of course he is smart - along with being a novelist, Lightman is an essayist poet and professor at MIT, in both theoretical physics and humanitites. But the humour was unexpected.

Matt Stagg offers this helpful interview with Lightman at Suvudu:

Mr g reminds me of so many classic creation myths, not just the Judeo-Christian one. I’ve heard people describe these as pre-scientific, as if they were only useful until the advent if science. However, Mr g uses the framework of myth to make a scientific theory of creation palpable. Can myth be an acceptable tool for teaching science in other contexts?

Myth is, of course, very important in human culture, and it reflects our values and stories. However, I do not think that myth in any way can replace science as the best understanding of our physical world. I think that well students should study both myth and science, but these two parts of knowledge and culture should not be mixed together. Science is based upon careful testing and experiment, whereas myth is based on our imagination. There is a good place for both, but they have their separate domains. Please keep in mind that Mr g is a work of fiction, a literary adventure, not a prescription for college courses.

Mr g mixes science and religion, a sometimes flammable mixture. Did you worry about making enemies among these two camps?

I think that good literature is often provocative, and especially literature of ideas. I knew when I wrote the book that some people on both sides of the science/religion divide would be unhappy with Mr g. But I hope that there will also be many readers who see it as a new kind of literary creation story, in which both science and spirituality can live together.

I quite enjoyed Mr g’s relationship with the other otherworldly beings in his life. Why did you choose to give him friends and family?

If Mr g had no one to interact with, the book would contain only his ruminations. Such a treatment would be both boring and also fail to tease out Mr g’s views about the universe and his own creations. Characters need other charaters to flesh out their thoughts

While your book is a work of fiction, it represents the kind of anthropomorphic image many might have of their own deity. It’s comforting to imagine a being like Mr g looking over all of us, but I wonder if this comfort can be dangerous as well. What are your thoughts?

No one knows the nature of God, or even if God exists. In a sense, all of our religions are literary works of the imagination. My Mr g differs from the gods of most religions in that he is modest and humble, and he is not all knowing, although he is all powerful.

Creationism, improbably enough, continues to pose a challenge to evolution in some corners of the country. As a scientist who obviously has some insight into the nature of religion, what advice would you have –if any– for educators seeking to bridge the knowledge gap?

Creationism, as a theory about the physical universe, has been proven wrong by the facts – its is as simple as that. As far as briding the gap between science and religion, I wrote a long essay about that in Salon magazine recently. Very briefly, science and faith have their own domains of validity, as long as people do not make claims about physical reality that are contradicted by the knowledge base and experiments of science.

What if your book became a sacred religious text in a few thousand years? Would it amuse you?

Yes, especially if that meant it had sold lots of copies.
(less)

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Feb 12, 2012 Meredith Wickham rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Alan Lightman's Mr g contains some bits of prose so luminous that it is worth the rest of the novel to get there -- but barely. Most of this work felt a bit like a layperson's guide to what physicists know so far about the unfolding of the universe. I might not be the average audience here, since I am married to a theoretical physicist.

The interactions between Mr g and Belhor (the Satan-type figure representing the dualism that came into being at the moment of creation) felt a bit cliche to me,...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Anabelle Bernard Fournier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosohpy-and-theory, contemporary-lit

Another happy random find at the library, Alan Lightman’s Mr G was a surprisingly delightful read. Alan Lightman is a physicist, novelist and writer who was the first academic to receive a double assignment in physics and the humanities at MIT.

Such a description might seem daunting, but Lightman’s writing skills are the kind that I wish all academic writers had.

The story

This is not so much a plot-based book as a philosophical fable. One day, Mr g, living with his Aunt Penelope and his Uncle Deva...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alan Lightman has an incredible imagination. In Mr. g he's conjured up a bored, void-dwelling physicist-artist who through his dynamic talents creates universes and planets and adorns them with the rules quantum mechanics, which allows for conscious animate material to evolve. Mr. g, his Uncle Deva, his Aunt Penelope, and even g's own spontaneously self-created alter-ego Baphomet focus their awe and philosophies and entertainment on one universe, and soon find themselves and the void they live i...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: recently-read

Whether using a macroscope or a microscope, it's damn near impossible to cover creation, physics, chemistry, philosophy, religion, ethics, metaphysics and the problem of good and evil in 212 pages. That Alan Lightman even tries to do as much in "Mr g" is a Herculean feat.

Certainly thought-provoking (and that's always a good thing), and a more digestible treatise than anything Stephen Hawking has put out, "Mr g" has the right amounts of frivolity and light-heartedness to keep it from being a dry...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: humorous

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 l...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Miz Moffatt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: humour, philosophy, science-fiction, science

Full review posted on Across the Litoverse

In the beginning, there was time—and with it came the dire knowledge of Mr g's napping regimen. Eons had passed in the shimmering Void as the Creator slept, meditated, or moderated the arguments of his headstrong Aunt Penelope and his long-suffering Uncle Deva. But one decision leads to the creation of time, space, and matter governed by Mr g's three laws and his innate love of quantum physics. With its foundations in place, Mr g's universe—Aalam-104729—...more Full review posted on Across the Litoverse

In the beginning, there was time—and with it came the dire knowledge of Mr g's napping regimen. Eons had passed in the shimmering Void as the Creator slept, meditated, or moderated the arguments of his headstrong Aunt Penelope and his long-suffering Uncle Deva. But one decision leads to the creation of time, space, and matter governed by Mr g's three laws and his innate love of quantum physics. With its foundations in place, Mr g's universe—Aalam-104729—evolves before His very eyes, forming stars, planets, animate matter, and intelligent beings challenged with endless moral dilemmas and questions of faith. Through trial and error, Mr g's creation takes its own shape and buzzes to its own intoxicating music…

But one unforeseen hitch complicates Mr g's plans. Out in the Void, a clever and devious rival appears. Belhor's intentions are unclear, but his intellect is razor-sharp and, worst of all, he's developed a keen interest in the animate matter that will soon develop its own independent thought…

What follows is a tale both playful and profound, and a narrative celebrating our mysterious, beautiful, and tragic place in the cosmos.

Such grand ideas in such a small package—Alan Lightman proves that logic and ration can co-exist with spirituality and mystery in breathtaking ways, and he even suggests that, perhaps, our great Creator planned for both sides to complement one another. I admit, I've read very few books that romanticize quantum physics and chemistry successfully, but Lightman reminded me of my first love for the unknown depths of space and the wonder of all that lies beyond our meagre planet.

Lightman offers beautiful reflections on science, music, morality, and philosophy as seen through the eyes of the Creator himself, and he does so with great humour and a nice touch of domestic tension to boot. Star-gazers, make sure to set your sights on Mr g next time you're in the bookstore.

Ideal for: Science nerds and music fiends; Armchair philosophers and theologians who appreciate absurdist humour; Readers who marvel at the majesty of our universe and fancy a complicated portrait of our origins.(less)

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May 25, 2012 Kristine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Here is a scientist's contribution to the many creation stories. Author Alan Lightman uses a playful tone to a serious topic that mixes science, theology, and philosophy. Lightman, an MIT physics and humanities professor, is probably most trustworthy in the science arena, although it might actually be the least riveting for some to read.

Mr g is God living in the Void with his Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva -- and he is a bit bored in an adolescent way. He creates time -- and more.

Just as the auth...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wanted to like it as much as Einstein's Dreams, but I just couldn't. Lightman clearly finds joy in the physical laws of the universe and the evolution of atoms and molecules, and while I could understand - and even sometimes revel in - his enthusiasm, I couldn't quite muster up the same sense of awe that he was striving for. There are some exquisite passages, and the overall work is creative and beautifully written, but the most profound and humanistic elements of the story seem like a footnot...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Charity rated it 2 of 5 stars

This novel relates to the creation of the universe and how the main character, Mr. G set about to create something in his world of nothing. Living in the Void with his aunt and uncle, Mr. G procedes to create a universe but he is soon joined by a new creature who questions his motives and intentions for his creation.

I was anticipating more humour in this book and was a little bored by the extensive scientific descriptions of the universe. Lightman didn't write a book relating to the religious vi...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Fiona rated it 5 of 5 stars

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...more

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About Alan Lightman

Alan Lightman is a physicist, novelist, and essayist born in Memphis, Tennessee. He is an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of the international bestseller Einstein's Dreams.

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“-But rational thoughts lead only to rational thoughts, whereas irrational thoughts lead to new experiences.” — 5 people liked it

“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'".” — 2 people liked it

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