Dark Matter is another book that I bought just because of Bookstagram! And well worth it!
Jason Dessen is knocked unconscious by a masked abductor. The last question his abductor asks him is “Are you happy in your life?” When he wakes up, he is surrounded by strangers who seem to know him. But his life is not the one that he knows. His wife is not his anymore and his son was never born. Has he woken up in a different world? How can he get back to his world and life?
The book turned out to be much better than I expected. Very fast-paced and it was literally like watching a sci-fi movie. Kept me hooked right till the end and obviously finished the book in a day. That says a lot!
The book is based on the concept of Schrödinger’s cat where a cat and a glass vial of poison are sealed in a box. Once we open the box, we know whether the cat is alive or dead. What if there is a universe where the cat is dead and another universe where the cat is alive based on the choice that the cat made? This is the whole basis of Dark Matter.
Every choice that Jason makes, defines his life. For every choice, there are alternate universes that are created. An interesting thought, right? Crouch smartly doesn’t let us think about it for long and we do not question the feasibility of the theory too much. Until the end, we are kept trying to figure out what’s going to happen next and how it will end.
Irrespective of whether the whole concept is practical or not, my key takeaway from the book is that the choices we make define who we are. Each and every choice we made in the past brought us to where we are right now. The ability to think and make a choice is what makes us humans.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it. It was after a long time that I read a book in one day and there is no feeling better than that. I’ve already made up my mind to read Wayward Pines by Crouch.
My Rating: 5⭐.