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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Okay Read (Mostly), but Caveat Emptor, August 6, 2010
This review is from: The Einstein Enigma: A Novel (Hardcover)
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I have to say that my opinion about José Rodrigues dos Santos' "The Einstein Enigma" rose and fell like a demented roller coaster as I made my way through its 485 pages. At first, I thought, "Well, this is okay, but nothing special." Further on, when the characters talk about fractal mathematics, quantum mechanics, relativity, chaos theory, Schrödinger's Cat, cosmology, etc., I thought, "Wow, this is great stuff!" My opinion waxed and waned as Portuguese cryptanalyst Thomás Noronha travels to Iran to decipher a mysterious document written by Albert Einstein shortly before the great physicists' death in 1955. Noronha gets thrown into an Iranian prison, escapes, travels to Tibet and then back to his home in Portugal, all the while desperately trying to break the code of what Einstein called "Die Gottesformel" ("The God Formula"). About two-thirds of the way through, I got bogged down in seemingly endless discussions of Buddhist, Hindu and Tao philosophies--interesting in a way, but not really my thing. Then, with more cosmology discussions, my opinion soared again. But unfortunately, near the end, it took a nosedive when I found myself thinking, "You MUST be kidding me!"
So what to say about this hard-to-characterize novel? Well, it's definitely filled with far more talk than action. I didn't really mind that, since I found the talk, at least when it involved science and not religion, very interesting. I personally enjoyed the many long dialogues about matter, energy and cosmology, although these parts may be tough going for readers not interested in those subjects. The characters are pretty well-developed, except for a few American CIA agents, who come across as flinty, profane, two-dimensional, lone-wolf, shoot-'em-up, hyper-patriot types. I find it intriguing to speculate that this is what many non-Americans (author dos Santos is Portuguese) really think about CIA agents--but that's another blog. The cryptological analyses that Noronha performs on Einstein's manuscript are fascinating, if not exceptionally deep, and there's a strong sense of revelation when the answer to the enigma finally emerges.
But not in the answer itself. My biggest disappointment with "The Einstein Enigma" comes from my feeling that the cover blurb, based on which I decided to read the book, is misleading. I won't reveal the ending, but I will alert readers by mentioning two cautionary code words: "intelligent design." This is not exactly the same "intelligent design" that the Evangelical Christian right-wing is trying to force into America's educational system, but it is "design" by an "intelligent" entity. If rational scientific thought and any form of ID can co-exist in your mind, then you may find "The Einstein Enigma" an enjoyable, thought-provoking read. But if your nature is purely rational (if you are a "freethinker," to use another code word), you should probably carefully consider whether you want to read a book that, toward the end, deals with a subject you'd normally steer well clear of. Thus my three-star rating, which is basically an average of my ratings for the science parts (five stars) and the religious parts (one star). Read it if you like, but be aware that it may not be what you expect...
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The themes I like, the pace of a turtle., August 19, 2010
This review is from: The Einstein Enigma: A Novel (Hardcover)
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A code that might prove the existence of God. Einstein. Mystery, international intrigue, spies. Cosmology, quantum physics, and proofs for the existence and reality of God.
Wow!
Except, drag that wow out a bit. W---o----w, slowly, because that is the pace at which this book proceeds.
There is also a certain amount of chutzpah. Einstein's initial conversation with Ben Gurion contains a simplistic refutation of God, said by Einstein, and barely passable in a Philosophy 101 class. Later in the book, our lead character suffers a painful meeting with his parents, in order to learn his father has cancer. Three pages, to introduce a few key plot details.
A meeting with the CIA yields a painfully 7th grade level discussion of nuclear fission and fusion, with our PHD interpreter expressing ignorance of each basic fact. This is the pattern of the book, with one person after another lecturing in a condescending fashion, to other characters and to the reader.
The author also has a tick... when one of his characters makes an argument about the existence of God, he has the listender say "Incredible!" in a complimentary fashion. Well. This is a clever little writing trick, where the author presents the argument, and presents the correct response to the argument. Guess what? The reader gets to decide if an argument is awesome, incredible, earth-shattering. And, on the so-called proof for the existence of God, I say, ho-hum, a bit vague, stated in an unclear fashion, many veils and little substantial presentation.
I think that a plot with Einstein, God, and quantum physics... and a lead character very aware of feminine wiles -- should be a Wow. This one is at best mildly cool, in a slow, slow, slow way. Drop 90 pages and add some oomph to the dialogue and this would be a winner.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A philosophical, scientific, religious, ficitonal mishmash--worthy or not?, September 6, 2010
This review is from: The Einstein Enigma: A Novel (Hardcover)
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Do you want a philosophical treatise? Fine, dive in. How about religious fundamentalism concerning the Creation? Yep, get it here. Or, fascinating lectures on the chaos theory, or the Big Bang account of Creation and its accompanying Big Crunch or Big Chill (we are nearing that deterministic point which has not established which Big C will happen). Or how about a little fictional?/biographical? accounting of Albert Einstein's theory of God? And cryptology? Yes, for sure, cryptology is at the heart of the novel, for the main character is a cryptanalyst. Oh, yes, the actual novel content? A story about a man (the renowned cryptanalyst) hired by dubious sources to discover the formula for cracking a direly urgent cryptogram in order to obtain the formula for making an atomic bomb--AND this character's improbable romance with an Iranian scientist (a beautiful and brainy woman).
Yes, you get all of that--what a bargain!--right here in "The Einstein Enigma" by Portuguese writer Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos. Perhaps I seem a bit sardonic, perhaps I am. It's been a week since I finished the book and I'm still mulling what I read. No matter how sarcastic I might sound throughout this review, let me point out at the onset that I read the entire novel--every page, every word, and did much highlighting at that! That alone should tell the reader that no matter whatever else I might write, that I did, indeed, read this book in its entirety (even though I read three other books during the duration). So, what am I indicating? Even though the book is an enigma (ha! use of pun!), it is really fascinating and educational and instructional--
Perhaps I can clarify my mixed responses. The novel really grabs the reader's attention at the onset. A flashback shows a meeting between Albert Einstein and then Israeli leader Ben-Gurion, who wants the great scientist to do him a favor. What that is remains a secret for the reader. Over the next few years Einstein (and clandestinely, some of his assistants) work on what he calls "Die Gottesformel" or the God Formula. He hides the most important part in a double cryptogram.
Years later the Iranians "acquire" (through torture, murder, and theft) Einstein's manuscript, then hire Tomas Noronha, the cryptanalyst, to decipher the cryptogram, but refuse him access to the manuscript. You know how it goes: a cryptogram is based on the manuscript, none of which Noronha is allowed to see, making deciphering triply difficult.
I loved this part of the novel, this search for the mystery behind the cryptogram, this pairing of such disparate minds--the Portuguese humanist and the Iranian scientist in deciphering this deep mystery. Unraveling the meaning also introduces the reader to the mind works of Mr. Einstein himself, as well as companion problem solvers (for that is truly what Einstein was).
Then there's all this dialogue (actually, lecture) about the Big Bang theory, chaos theory, quantum science, relativity, the scientific method, who and what is God, electromagnetism, the uncertainty principle, Eastern wisdom, Western science, Olber's paradox, gravity, black holes, the Bible--you get the picture? The book is just about everything of eternal importance.
Fascinating stuff, I thought, but in a novel? Then I justified the author's use of all this lecture: Wow, what a bold move for a writer to create a philosophical treatise based on mathematics, science, religion, philosophy, history and call it a novel! Then I thought, why not just write a treatise? Patience, reader, patience, for patience is required to read this thoughtful, provocative novel of ideas.
About three-fourths in, all the pieces began to lay in place, making the writer's intent clear. And what an intent! Without giving a spoiler, I can refer the reader to the title: The Einstein Enigma. No, still not clear?
For the reader who enjoys a great mystery, a complicated puzzle and doesn't mind seeming digressions into all those realms of human thought and experiment previously mentioned, this journey is well worth taking. The reader may disagree with the final conclusion, but that's pretty much irrelevant. It is the journey, not the destination that will test and tease the mind. Frankly, now that I've written this review and completed my mulling, I will state that I loved this novel, despite its annoyances. I don't have to agree with a person to appreciate his thought processes or originality or sheer creativity. For those are the stuff of this novel!
Note: Two days after posting this review, I see that I failed to mention what a globetrotter Noronha had to be in his quest for answers. First to Iran with Ariana (and later becomes a "guest" of the Iranian prison system), back to Portugal, then on to Tibet to visit one of Einstein's assistants for another piece of the puzzle via Hindu, Buddhist, and Tao lectures, then back to Portugal for more lecture and puzzle solving via the assistant of an assistant. Does all this seem complicated? You bet. Entertaining? Definitely. Instructional? To the nth degree!
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