davidl@orca.UUCP (04/02/84)
I would like to second LESLIE's defense of Stanislaw Lem. I've been
enthusiastic about Lem ever since I read "The Cyberiad", which is still
my favorite book of his. If you're looking for something really funny,
but philisophical, with marvelous wordplay, I really recommend Lem.
However, you've got to check two things: the original publication date,
because Lem's work has gotten much darker in the later part of his
career; and the translator's name: be sure it's Michael Kandel. Kandel
is a fantastic translator for Lem; he comes up with poetic phrases,
terrific puns, and ingenious neologisms with an amazing rhythmic flow
and vitality. My recommendations:
"The Cyberiad" (now out of print): fables for and about robots, set
in a far future (or past?) time when Man is almost forgotten.
Mostly concerned with the adventures of Trurl and Klapaucius
(Klapauciuscz in the original), two Cosmic Constructors who are
forever trying to outdo each other. They create universes, and
nearly destroy the Universe. Many of the best fables are self-
referential forays into the Nature of Reality.
"The Futurological Congress": humorous and dark by turns, this is
another quest into the nature of reality. You could very well
wind up wondering whether what you perceive as real has any bearing
on reality when you finish this book.
"The Star Diaries" (of Ijon Tichy): further adventures of the
hero of The Futurological Congress. More lighthearted, less social
commentary, but still full of philisophical insight. Particularly
memorable is Ijon's trip through a time warp, in which he gets into a
gigantic brawl with several of his past and future selves and is
rescued by himself at an early age after knocking himself out the
previous day...
"A Perfect Vacuum": a collection of introductions to nonexistent books.
Very funny at a purely intellectual level.
"Mortal Engines": set in a similar universe to The Cyberiad, but more
serious. Most of the stories concern themselves with robots,
but the real theme of the book is identity. Masks within masks abound.
"Return From The Stars", "Tales of Pirx the Pilot" and its sequels, and
"Memoirs Found In A Bathtub" are much more serious than the above, and
can be depressing, so I don't recommend them as highly, but they are
still very well written.
On the other hand, I found "Solaris", "The Investigation", "The Chain
of Chance", and especially "The Invincible" virtually unreadable. I
chalk up all of these except "The Investigation" to poor translation.
"The Investigation" is just a very strange story.
I just wish I could use italics.
(If there are two .signatures here, I apologize in advance)
David D. Levine (...decvax!tektronix!tekecs!davidl) [UUCP]
(...tekecs!davidl.tektronix@rand-relay) [ARPA]
--
David D. Levine (...decvax!tektronix!tekecs!davidl) [UUCP]
(...tekecs!davidl.tektronix@rand-relay) [ARPA]chabot@amber.DEC (Lisa Chabot) (04/05/84)
The real problem with @i{Solaris} is the poor translation.
The movie was a bit more successful at keeping the attention of the audience.
But despite all the difficulties with Solaris, there is something haunting
about the attempt at communicating through images evoking strong emotional
responses in the humans. What do you do when presented with the ghost of
someone sorely missed? What do you do when given this second chance, even
though you know it's entirely fabricated? Is it evil? Do you deny it?
And what sort of communication is taking place?
I found @i{Solaris} as amorphous and shifting as the creature (?) itself.
Lisa Chabot
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