A very clever idea for a book: the story of Einstein’s publication of the theory of relativity is superimposed over a series of short vignettes, which would be qualified as science fiction except that they’re so charming, about worlds in which time works differently than ours. In these worlds, time can be envisioned; time is discontinuous; time moves (measurably) more slowly at higher altitudes; people can see the future; and on and on. All of these stories take place in early 20th century Berne, each one of them infused with enough quaintness to make you burst. And these different ideas about how time might work in alternative universes each give us useful insight into our own world. Many of the stories feature some sort of behavior, thought process, or social construct, which is purportedly the product of a different kind of time, but is in fact quite recognizable in our own world.

On the whole, it’s a wonderfully easy and accessible, but still profound work full of interesting thoughts. It’s not a good way to learn about physics, and in some ways it does drag - since it has only trace quantities of plot and character development. I’m glad not every book is written this way, but I very much appreciate this book as a remarkable literary experiment.