Reviews - Solaris | The StoryGraph

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2.93k reviews for:

Solaris

Stanisław Lem

3.76 AVERAGE

miriamnietd's review against another edition

4.0

Un libro no para entretener sino para reflexionar. Lo recomiendo.

mythicent's review

3.75

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

simbotheking's review against another edition

3.0

Spoiler

Solaris is an odd book to be totally frank and one I'm not entirely sure I will read again. I did like quite a few aspects of it, but sometimes I felt like I was just losing the thread of the story and its themes. In particular, there is a long stretch in the middle where it all goes a bit theoretical and, to be honest, quite dry. I don't feel like this part really contributed much in terms of emotional depth to the novel, especially considering for how long it is.

I am a fan of the whole Harey situation and the way it impacts the protaganist (Kris) and these were far and away my fave aspect of the novel. I feel the ending also really cements the emotional underpinning I personally feel the book was going for; I quite like the decision to leave the resolution open-ended as, with a nice, tidy conclusion, I feel the themes of loss and longing would have been betrayed a little bit.

I just feel a little dissapointed as the novel starts off so strong from the initial unease of the station when Kris arrives up to and including his first encounters with Harey. I just felt that beyond this initial point some aspects started to get unnecessarily convoluted and they kinda dragged me out of the book. I much preferred the Kris and Harey chapters and they are absolutely the most interesting part of the book for me.

So yeah, an interesting novel that does a really good job of making some food-for-thought but not consistent enough all the way through to warrant a higher score imo

samureads's review

5.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rsells72's review

2.5

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

advere's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nikolabenc's review against another edition

5.0

One of the dearest books that I have ever read. In the 1961 it might have been a bold step of an imagination into the unknown, now it is more and more moving into the realm of contemporary social critique. I will never stop being grateful to Stanislav Lem for introducing the idea of an embodied thought into my imagination. This book for me is becoming itself a token for interstellar travel, a way to uncover the deepest places in me (which I might endlessly wander through), realising me as a continuum, as a planet myself.