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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
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
This was a very good, imaginative book. One thing that keeps this book from being amazing is perhaps the translation. I read the book that was a translation of a translation so I'm sure something has been lost. Another thing was weak character development. No matter though because the story itself, even though it is over 50 years old, seems fresh, timely and very original.
Here we explore the limitation of mankind, particularly, how we are bound by our physical apparatus to experience the universe, and how we are bound by the limitations of our own intellect, mental quirks and consciousness. We use our five senses to observe and experience our reality. How can one communicate with something that has none of these things? When we blithely use science to affect a response how can we be sure we are not causing harm when we don't understand the thing we are studying? And conversely, when the thing causes pain to us, how can we be sure what it is communicating? A great story about what drives us subconsciously, the emotional baggage we carry, what limits us, how we persevere regardless.
A great read that leaves a lot of questions in its wake, but in a good way.
Here we explore the limitation of mankind, particularly, how we are bound by our physical apparatus to experience the universe, and how we are bound by the limitations of our own intellect, mental quirks and consciousness. We use our five senses to observe and experience our reality. How can one communicate with something that has none of these things? When we blithely use science to affect a response how can we be sure we are not causing harm when we don't understand the thing we are studying? And conversely, when the thing causes pain to us, how can we be sure what it is communicating? A great story about what drives us subconsciously, the emotional baggage we carry, what limits us, how we persevere regardless.
A great read that leaves a lot of questions in its wake, but in a good way.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ugh. I wanted to like this. The premise is intriguing and Lem’s idea that our imagination of aliens is extremely limited is fantastic and I would love to explore the concept of a planetary pan-intelligence. But he doesn’t get there. He just prattles on about made up science and how nobody understands the planet. The story doesn’t get you anywhere - the characters do not evolve or change from their contact with Solaris, they are mostly apathetic and paper-thin. Concepts such as what makes us “real” and whether one intelligent being can or cannot be described as self-aware are touched upon and promptly abandoned. A shame.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is not strictly a science-fiction novel. It is a tedious read, uneven and cumbersome as is the case with any philosophical writing. Saying too much and not knowing anything for sure. Enumerating scientists and their theories that amount to very little in the end. In its essence this is a purely theoretical analysis of a theoretical question. Therefore not really about science or fiction.
This is not going to be a fun experience for a lot of readers and I believe Stanislaw Lem did not intend to write a fun read at all.
This is not going to be a fun experience for a lot of readers and I believe Stanislaw Lem did not intend to write a fun read at all.
This is my first time reading Lem. Been meaning to get around to him for years. Found a handful of his books for my Kindle on Bittorrent so now seemed like the time. Of course I'm a fan, although it's been quite a few years now since the last time I saw it, of the Tarkovsky film. As a matter of fact I can't really remember how I interpreted the mysterious film, if I even tried to put it into words. The master's films are so hypnotic it almost seems like to try to translate them into any other language than that of pure cinematic experience is to betray the overall effect that so few auteurs have managed to achieve.
At any rate, the novel... I believe it was Harlan Ellison who pointed out that the original Star Trek TV series only had the one conceit: The crew of the Enterprise encounter god. While not totally 100% true, it's true enough, and actually goes much broader to define, in my humble opinion, most sci fi. Oh, sure, it's almost always presented as the encounter with another species with superior technology, but as we here on Earth long ago discovered, when our species encounter superior technology, it usually retreats into superstition to cope with the incomprehensible fear such superior power engenders.
Well, this is my take on Solaris the novel. In the final chapter the short discussion of the "flawed god" seems to bring (as others here have noted) the dual elements of the novel together, the narrative of the imposter doubles who appear to the three astronauts, and the long digressions on the history and taxonomy of the Solaris sea and its phenomena. It struck me that the long scientific passages were a parody of both science and, in retrospect, theology as well--the rational human brain's attempt to conceive of and encapsulate an omnipresent superior being. The folly of that resonates, to me, with the narrative of Kelvin's perhaps subconscious murder of his wife and her return--an existential conundrum as he can not change the past or undue the act committed but only try to make the best of living with a physical embodiment of his guilt and shame and try, in human fashion, to somehow make partial amends through love and devotion which he may or may not truly feel. The dual aspects of religion, awe before a higher power and the limits of our own morality and our ability to identify and then abide by that morality's rules, seem to come together in face of humanity's encounter with the living sea of Solaris.
As we might expect from such a narrative, there are no solutions and humanity remains in awe at the end, only with a slight sensation that its trials and tribulations are far from over.
At any rate, the novel... I believe it was Harlan Ellison who pointed out that the original Star Trek TV series only had the one conceit: The crew of the Enterprise encounter god. While not totally 100% true, it's true enough, and actually goes much broader to define, in my humble opinion, most sci fi. Oh, sure, it's almost always presented as the encounter with another species with superior technology, but as we here on Earth long ago discovered, when our species encounter superior technology, it usually retreats into superstition to cope with the incomprehensible fear such superior power engenders.
Well, this is my take on Solaris the novel. In the final chapter the short discussion of the "flawed god" seems to bring (as others here have noted) the dual elements of the novel together, the narrative of the imposter doubles who appear to the three astronauts, and the long digressions on the history and taxonomy of the Solaris sea and its phenomena. It struck me that the long scientific passages were a parody of both science and, in retrospect, theology as well--the rational human brain's attempt to conceive of and encapsulate an omnipresent superior being. The folly of that resonates, to me, with the narrative of Kelvin's perhaps subconscious murder of his wife and her return--an existential conundrum as he can not change the past or undue the act committed but only try to make the best of living with a physical embodiment of his guilt and shame and try, in human fashion, to somehow make partial amends through love and devotion which he may or may not truly feel. The dual aspects of religion, awe before a higher power and the limits of our own morality and our ability to identify and then abide by that morality's rules, seem to come together in face of humanity's encounter with the living sea of Solaris.
As we might expect from such a narrative, there are no solutions and humanity remains in awe at the end, only with a slight sensation that its trials and tribulations are far from over.