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Salley Vickers' new book is called 'The Instances of
Number 3'. Rebecca Goldstein seems to subscribe to the same philosophy,
as tragedy comes in threes in 'Properties of Light', which features more car
crashes than John Irving or J. G. Ballard can usually manage. 'Properties
of Light' steers an uneasy course between literature and melodrama.
The beginning is poetic enough, with the
references to Yeats and Blake that will resound throughout the novel.
Unfortunately, these literary interjections, although very skillfully placed by
Goldstein, are a reflection of the very American campus 'Physics for Poets'
courses that make me want to smirk uncontrollably. Samuel Mallach has
been reduced to teaching such a course. Once a brilliant physicist,
whom Einstein regarded as his successor, Mallach regards himself as
"destroyed" by the reception his work on "hidden variables"
received. Thus does Rebecca Goldstein strive to fight the cause for
reality, a curious thing for a novelist to do. Justin Childs is also
summoned to the cause. The product of an unconventional childhood, and a
brilliant mathematician, Justin comes across Mallach's seminal work and is duly
inspired. There are a few coincidences that bring Justin Childs and
Samuel Mallach together, mainly through Mallach's beautiful daughter,
Dana. It's the Kevin Bacon game and the Six Degrees of Separation all
over again. Certainly, the physicist with whom Justin also works seems to
have got his name cobbled together from the film poster for 'Judgement at
Nuremberg', starring Spencer Tracey and Marlene Dietrich. 'Spencer
Dietrich', you come to think, may not be the best pseudonym for a
Nazi on the run.
The language of 'Properties of Light' seems
quite modern. There appears to be an essence of timelessness about the
novel. We know that it's probably set in the early 70's, but no
one's smoking dope or saying "Peace Man!" 'Properties
of Light' is nowhere near as humorous as 'Boogie Nights'. It's also
rather dark and heavy, more akin to strange matter than a solar flare.
The physics is quite hard going, so it's something of a relief to discover that
Mallach is somewhat of an eccentric in his sexual habits. Justin is
disgusted to discover that the otherwise rational Dana fully believes in the
Kundalini mumbo jumbo that spouts forth from the Self-help books of her late
mother. Justin is very willing to help Samuel Mallach complete his work,
to produce the mathematical proof for his contentious physics, but the way that
Mallach believes that the knowledge will be drawn out of Dana and Justin is
most unusual.
Both Justin's parents were killed in a car crash,
leaving him an orphan. Dana's eccentric mother was also killed in a car
crash. Part of Mallach's work is that apparently distant particles can
have an effect on each other. So it is that an announcement from
Stockholm sends Mallach into a mad frenzy which threatens to undo all their
work...
Rebecca Goldstein has mentioned elsewhere that
only she could have written 'Properties of Light', and I would agree with
that. Certainly, her husband, Sheldon Goldstein, a mathematician at
Rutgers, has written a great deal about David Bohm, upon whom Samuel Mallach is
based. Maybe Sheldon Goldstein has his own biases, since David Bohm
certainly dated the author of 'The Feminine Mystique', Betty Goldstein (a
relative perhaps?). Like Mallach, David Bohm did find complementarity
with certain Eastern beliefs (along with Schrodinger). Mallach's name is
taken from the Hebrew for "Angel", and maybe Goldstein's referring to
Lucifer rather than Gabriel. Dana is also described as "this
Pharaoh's girl". Maybe there is a tyrant hiding beneath Mallach's
seemingly placid nature? Justin certainly regards him as a king of
Physics. David Bohm himself seems to have been closer to Philosophy than
Physics, and Goldstein has a philosophical basis herself. To a certain
extent, Bohm mistrusted mathematical proofs, so it's not entirely realistic
that he would have sought out a mathematician like Justin Childs to validate
his work once and for all.
'Properties of Light' has been described as a
Gothic novel, and I believe that this is where it falls down. The gothic
melodrama is more akin to the risible antics of 'The Castle of Otranto'
rather than the racy excitement of Matthew Lewis's 'The Monk'. The drama
of 'Properties of Light' is simply light years away from Hamlet, and the book
is only occasionally rewarding. The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy's
approach to life, the universe, and everything is so much more fun, and you can
always stick a Babel Fish in your ear to comprehend the more difficult
parts. Rebecca Goldstein tries to do too much in 'Properties of Light':
you can admire her bravery, but you wouldn't want to go there yourself.
Kevin Patrick Mahoney
authortrek rating: 6/10.
Read
an extract from Properties of Light
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Visit our Rebecca
Goldstein page, with author biography, Properties of Light Reading Guide,
and author interviews |
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